He Is Risen

"Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid." — Mark 16:8

There is a common practice in TV called the cliffhanger. It happens a lot in season finales. It's a way the makers of the show can keep you on the edge of your seat, and ensure you come back for more. This is also a common among shows struggling to earn a pick up. When they don't get picked up, we're left with that unresolved story as the last word on the matter.

As Americans, we generally don't like this. In movies there are basically two kinds of stories — the ones that are tied up in a neat little bow, and those that remain unresolved. We are pioneers of the wrapped up story, and generally reject those open ended, we don't know what happens endings. We don't like them. They frustrate us. We want to know that everything is worked out; that people live happily ever after.

Life isn't always like that. In fact, it's rarely like that. Yet, as Christians, we often perpetuate this kind of storytelling when we offer the Gospel. We give the false impression that when you become a Christian, life magically improves. It's a false reality, but we're more comfortable living in resolution than the mess of life — even when that messy life includes the hopes and promises offered by Jesus Christ and His resurrection.

Originally the Gospel of Mark ended on a messy, unresolved note — just like life. Jesus had risen, and the people were bewildered and afraid. In later years we've finished the story, add a more palatable ending.

What I loved about the message offered this morning by Nate at church is that that original ending — the messy one — is the one we should prefer. It's the ending that's most like our lives. It doesn't wrap things up in a neat bow, it doesn't promise a fairy tale, but it offers hope as we live into the mess of our lives. That's what the resurrection is all about. That is the hope offered on this day when we remember Jesus sacrifice and His fulfillment of His promise.

He is Risen. That changes everything.