Go! Tell His Disciples by Cheri Holdridge (with an assist by Patti Lusher)

The Gospel of Mark is believed to be the oldest of the four Gospels in the Bible, and it is the shortest. That makes sense. The later Gospel writers added more stories and embellishment. Mark kept it simple.  In Mark, there are no birth stories, no Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus in the manger. His story begins with the baptism of Jesus as an adult. Mark’s gospel ends as abruptly as it begins.

In fact, it ends so abruptly that we believe monks who were making copies of Mark’s gospel early on, added some verses. They did not like the ending so they added some resurrection appearances like those in the other Gospels. But the original ending, the one Mark intended ends with verse 8 which is what we read for you today.

The women came to the tomb to anoint the body and found the huge stone had been rolled away. They saw a young man dressed in a white robe in the tomb, presumably an angel. The young man told them: “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”

Now what do you think happened next? The women must have gone and told the story, because here we are. Somehow the story got out there. It got written in Mark’s Gospel. We heard it. They must have left with great joy ready to spread the Good News. But that is not how Mark’s Gospel ends. At least not the original ending.

The Gospel ends with these very troubline words: ⁸So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

They were afraid. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, were faithful followers of Jesus. These women had presumably stood at the foot of the cross and watched Jesus die when the male disciples were too afraid to be there and went into hiding. Now, the fear overcame the women. Now, when the miracle has occurred, the women freeze. They panic.

Fear is a basic human emotion, isn’t it? We have all felt it. Anxiety is related to fear. Anxiety is a worry about future events, and fear is a reaction to current events. About 18% of Americans suffer from some sort of diagnosable anxiety disorder. That is almost 1 in 5. I would call that an epidemic of fear. We’re not all afraid all the time. But at any given time, a good number of us are afraid. Fear can paralyze a person. You know this. Fear at its worst, results in panic attacks. Symptoms include increased heart rate, perspiration, dizziness, trembling and a sense of fear of losing control and going crazy. Other symptoms include chills or hot flashes, nausea, chest pain and crying. Fear and anxiety are real problems.

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, upon hearing that Jesus had been raised from the dead, were filled with fear. And Mark ends his Gospel with these words: “They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

It makes me sad that they were afraid. Such good news, and they could not bring themselves to believe it. They could not bring themselves to share the Good News. So they went home in fear and despair.

How often do we hear the message of Jesus, and fail to believe it? How often do we allow ourselves to give into fear? This message can’t be true. How can a man be God and come to earth to love us like God? How can God love us unconditionally? How can God forgive us when we are so broken? How can God keep giving us another chance when we keep messing up?

How could God die on a cross for us? Because he wanted us to know he would do that for us – that is how much God loves us! How could Jesus be raised from the dead? It’s impossible. And yet, that is just what happened.

We don’t have proof. But we have witnesses who saw and believed. You see, the women may have been afraid for a while. And Mark wanted us to understand just how afraid they were. I guess because Mark understands how afraid we can be. Mark knows that it is hard for us to understand and accept how much God loves us.

But here is the thing. Even though Mark’s Gospel, in its original form, ends with the women going home in fear, and not telling anyone. The story does not end there. They must have gotten over their fear. Somehow they began to talk, because we have the story, right? The story got out somehow. Eventually, they told. And why? Because the story is too amazing to keep to yourself. The women, no matter how afraid, HAD TO TELL THE STORY.

Eventually they were bursting with joy and had to tell, no matter how afraid they were that everyone would think they were crazy. They had to tell: “Christ is risen! He is not in the tomb, and an angel told us, he has risen from the dead! It’s a miracle! Christ was not defeated by death. When he told us the temple would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days he was talking about himself!”

You see, a story this great, has to be told. Fear does not win. Love wins.

So what about us? On this Easter morning. How will we tell the story? Because you see, we give into fear just like Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome. This is our story, but we don’t walk around telling it. Because we don’t want to push our religion on other people. We don’t want to be seen as Holy Rollers. And so we are afraid to share our faith with others.

And yet there are hurting people out there who need a miracle. They need a Savior. They need to know that death is not the end. Do you know how many people are terrified of death because they think it is the end? Lots of people. People don’t have a sense that we belong to God and when we pass from this earth our spirits live on in eternity with God, so they fear death. The resurrection is our promise that we do not die, but we live with God forever.

But more than that, the resurrection is the promise that in this life, when we feel dead, we will pull through. There is hope. God is with us, and there is light at the end of whatever dark tunnel we are in. We are not alone. Jesus came to show us that God loves us and God walks with us through whatever sorrows and challenges we face in this life. There are people out there who need to hear that message and we are the only messengers they have. We need to tell them. We are Mary Magdalene and Mary and Salome for them.

So how do we do that? When you encounter a friend or co-worker who is discouraged, you could say something like this. “I don’t want to be pushy, and maybe you already have some spiritual practices, but if not, have you ever tried to pray? Because when I get discouraged, I pray, and it helps. I would like to pray for you if that is okay.”

They may say “no thank you.” Or you may get an ear full about how they have been hurt by the church. But you might get a “thank you, I would appreciate your prayers.”

Then of course, you need to pray for that person. Even better if they will let you pray with them at that moment. Don’t worry about being eloquent. Just say a simple prayer from your heart. And then keep praying for them daily in your own prayer time, and in a few days check with them and see how they are doing.

You might invite them to come to church with you. Offer to give them a ride. Tell them why this church matters to you.

This is what it means to witness to the love of Jesus in 2015. When we find someone who is discouraged we offer to pray for that person, and we invite them to worship. We also offer a listening ear. Don’t try to fix them, leave that to God. Just listen. Sometimes a person just needs to know that someone will listen and care. Doesn’t it feel good to be listened to?

What an Easter miracle it would be, if we could all get over our fear of sharing our faith, and simply offer to pray for a friend when they are hurting.

Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James, and Salome were so afraid when they learned that Jesus had risen from the dead that they went home and did not say anything to anyone. That is what they did at first. But that was not the whole story. We are here today because they got over their fear and went out and told the good news. They shared the message of God’s love for all of us. 

Today, we are called to share the good news. Christ is Risen. Death does not have the last word.  Love wins. So go, tell the world. Tell the hurting people you know. Christ is Risen. We are not alone. We are loved by God. Amen.