Easter Sunday
My dear parishioners,
God is Good!!! All the time!!! And all the time!!! God is Good!!!
Our first reading is the classic narrative of deliverance for Israel. The sea withdraws so they can cross on dry land; the same sea engulfs the entire army of Pharaoh, their bodies scattered lifeless on the seashore. The reading also reinforces the role of Moses as God’s appointed leader, destined to take them to the Promised Land. He will accomplish this mission as long as he carries out faithfully every word of the Lord, just as he does in this reading.
Most scholars agree that the original ending of Mark’s Gospel is Mark 16:8. This ending raises many questions and in fact is not included in the Gospel reading for today. Two additional endings were added at a later time by editors and, while they are considered canonical and inspired, they were not composed by the original author of the Gospel of Mark. The challenge is to struggle with the text as the original author composed it.
The women at the tomb. The only people in the story who know where Jesus was buried following his crucifixion were a group of women: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. They come to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ dead body. This was an action that was considered most sacred by Jews and thus they arrive early on the morning following the Sabbath. Their main concern was how to remove the huge stone that would have been placed at the tomb’s entrance.
The stone rolled back. To their great surprise, the women discovered not only that the stone has been rolled back, but also there was a young man clothed in a white garment sitting there. He is understood to be an angel and the women are utterly amazed. More amazing yet is the good news the angel communicates to the women. The crucified Jesus is not in the tomb. He has been raised. The women are then given clear instructions, “Go and tell his disciples and Peter, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you” (Mk 14:28). Everything depends on these women since they are the only people who know what really happened to Jesus.
Fear versus faith. In this Gospel, the women fail. They are overcome by trembling and bewilderment. The final sentence of the Gospel states: “They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” How can this be? Who will spread the good news? Did Mark make a mistake? Was a more complete ending to this Gospel lost? The answer is that this is all part of Mark’s creative theology. Throughout this Gospel, Mark has told the reader every important aspect regarding who Jesus is and what his mission is to be. Now, everything is up to the reader. He or she is the only one who knows what happened. Easter depends on the reader now proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.
Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org. All rights reserved
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Aloysius