
Biblical Text: Mark 16:1-8
Full Text of Sermon
Of all the things to proclaim from a pulpit, the resurrection is both the most important and the toughest. It is the most important because there is no Christianity without it. If Christ be not raised we are most to be pitied is what St. Paul said. I just don’t get any form of Christianity that doesn’t take the resurrection as a historical fact. It is the toughest because its happened once. Most of us have no direct experience of it. The risen Christ just doesn’t appear to the vast majority of us. Believing the resurrection, and putting all of you metaphysical chips on it, is a big wager.
That is actually one of the reasons I love the Gospel according to Mark excluding the tacked on summary endings. (If you want to know more on that, leave a comment.) The gospel ends with the strongest believers in its entire story – the women who follow and support – running from the tomb scared. They had not seen the risen Christ either at that point. All they had was the witness – “He is risen!” The Gospel of Mark ends right where most Christians throughout time are placed. They have a witness telling them – “He’s risen!” And they have to answer that existential question – do I believe this? If I believe it what does it mean that dead people rise, this specific dead person rose?
Existential questions can cause flight. Are you running, or answering?
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