an Easter sermon on the shorter ending of Mark (16:9)
Hey y’all! I’m (finally) updating my sermons and writings on here with some musings from the last few months, but WHEW what a busy time. I’m excited to share this sermonette from Easter 2021. My colleagues, Rev. Dr. Tim Phillips and Rev. Dr. Patricia Hunter and I each took one of the endings of the gospel of Mark and preached on it—and I got the shortest one! So, here goes…
Image by @juhg on Unsplash
Mark 16:9 (the shorter ending)
[[And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.]]
…that’s it? That’s the Scripture? Yep, this is what we call the shorter ending of Mark, composed of just verse 9. But let us not overlook the verse simply because it is short...it shoulders a heavy burden: this verse is tasked with resolving a great deal of ambiguity. Because, as Pastor Patricia just addressed, the first ending to the gospel of Mark concludes in an open-ended plac. Unlike the gospels of Matthew and Luke and John, in Mark, there are no appearances of Jesus to the disciples, no road to Emmaus, no touching the scars in his hands and feet, no ascension into heaven. On the surface, ambiguity can be exciting and interesting, with myriad options and space for imagination. But ambiguity can also be challenging, especially when we’d just like some concrete answers, just some idea of what to expect or what to think. This ending of Mark has perplexed readers ever since it was written in the first century of the Common Era, perhaps even being the impetus for the other gospel writers to include endings in their renditions, as the community of early Christ followers tried to figure out how to continue Jesus’ ministry without him physically present. Now, forward to the 4th century and “the shorter ending” of Mark appears, offering an explanation for what happened after the women left the empty tomb and returned home on Easter morning.
I wonder what happened in the space of those few centuries such that someone felt the need to clarify what happened after the women returned home. I wonder what happened such that the mystery of Jesus’ resurrection was no longer satisfactory and so some concrete ending had to be added. I wonder if the mystery, the ambiguity, was dangerous in some way.
Beloveds, we are in an ambiguous time. Even today, on this festival of the resurrection, we find ourselves wondering what is to come next. After a year of worshipping virtually, many are experiencing hope that comes along with vaccinations and we are making plans to worship together in our sanctuary again this summer...and we also know there is still a lot of grieving to be done, and that the work of public health in containing this virus and addressing the harm is far from over. As a country, many may have been feeling like they can take a breath following the inauguration of a new president...and yet we must be aware that the work of deconstructing white supremacy and Christian nationalism is far from over, but we must do it so we can live justly with our neighbors here and around the world. As a church, we have had some fascinating and important conversations about long-range planning, dreaming big dreams about how we can love each other well and serve our neighbors...and yet we are still figuring out how to get from “here” to “there.”
And on Easter morning, we are leaning into the ambiguity even as we three pastors preach together. Here in the middle slot, between Pastor Patricia and Pastor Tim, I urge you to not move too quickly toward resolving ambiguity. I invite you to breathe. To imagine yourself at the tomb with the women, in the garden, listening to the young man. To imagine yourself about to be surprised when the women deliver the good news. I invite you to allow yourself to be fully present in this moment, embracing the mystery--just for right now. Even if you have lots of wondering to do, wondering what will come next, wondering how the story will end, wondering how you fit into God’s work of justice...know that even, and perhaps especially, in the liminal spaces at the edge of what is known and unknown, what has come to pass and what is yet to be, God is with us, calling us by name and empowering us to spread the good news.
This sermon preached Easter 2021 at Seattle First Baptist Church.
