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Lent and Easter 2015 |

Finding our voice

 In this sermon Helen Jacobi explores the Mark version of the resurrection and wonders how and when the followers of Jesus found their voice. 
Rev Cate Thorn

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Finding our voice

Transcript
imagine for a moment that you are a cricket fan, 200 years on from now and you're reviewing some very important ancient digital footage, It's the 2015 World Cup Cricket semi-final between, New Zealand, and South Africa. And there are two balls to go and the footage Runs Out. Technology has not preserved, Grant Elliott's, winning six. You know about it because the story has become Legend and has been passed down through generations of cricket lovers. But frustratingly in the footage, there's no end of the game, it stops before the game is finished because, you know, technology hasn't preserved, it very well. Well, today's Gospel reading from the gospel of Mark does just that it stops in the middle of a sentence. The woman went out from the tomb for Terror and amazement had seized them. They said nothing to anyone. They were afraid for. That's how it reads in the Greek. The sentence and the gospel ends with a preposition for and then there's nothing else. The most important story of our Christian faith, just stops and the end just hangs out there. And we're left waiting desperately for that six to go over the boundary, because we know how it ends. The disciples see the Risen Jesus, right? He eats fish with them on the beach. They talk. They touch him. Well, not in Mark's gospel. One scholar Lamar Williamson sees winners and ending not an end. When a dead man rises from the tomb, and when the gospel ends in the middle of a sentence, Now several ancient versions of the Gospel did attempt to fix this Anomaly by adding other endings, most bibles. If you look at them, print three different endings for the gospel of Mark, and the so-called long ending has an appearance to Mary Magdalene, just like in John's gospel. Then a short description of the Emmaus story, just like Luke's gospel and then a command to go into all the world. Like the ending of Matthew's gospel. But the style of writing is so different that you can tell. Even in the English that these were added by another Hand, by someone who wanted to make gut, Mark's gospel sound like the others by someone who wanted an ending. Mark's gospel was the very first one to be written down and the original. A writer was obviously happy with his endings, but scribes in the second century, added the new ones. Even back then there was some editor or filmmaker who was saying we can't have this. We need a conclusion, we need to wrap this up so and bring up the background music, roll the credits and let people leave with a good feeling about this. We can't have, they said nothing to anyone because they were afraid, we have to see that six cross the boundary. But on an Easter morning, 2000 plus years on, I think it's hard to relate back to the fear and the uncertainty of that first Easter day. We have centuries of Theology and paintings and music and films, which kind of sanitize the picture and make it full of those, happy images with, even those fluffy chicks creeping in. But the version of the Gospel that we read today, clearly shows us a stark fresh story. And it's a story which begins in fear and silence. Feminists theologians are always reminding us that in the other versions of the gospels. It's the women who first spread the good news of Jesus. Resurrection. But here, even the women are silenced or they haven't found their voice yet. And this one away as typical of Mark's gospel with a disciples are never Heroes. They never understand who Jesus is, nobody gets it. And earlier, on in the gospel, the disciples are specifically told to say, not to save who Jesus is for fear of the Romans, and for fear of being misunderstood Mark's account is very real. Of course, the woman would have been terrified. Most of the disciples have already run off, or are hiding and their teacher, and their leader has been brutally killed and for all they know they could be next. That Roman rule was very oppressive and their hopes for any kind of revolution had been dashed hiding was definitely a good option. And yet out of love for Jesus, the women went to the tomb to tend to the body as was their custom. It had not been bathed and anointed as was fitting and they need it to complete that task. But to their horror, even this last dignity is taken away from them. The body is gone. There was an angel there, but seeing an angel doesn't really help. It's just one more thing to make you really scared. I sit in my sermon on Good Friday that our only response when confronted with the crucifixion of Jesus is silence. We are left wordless and the face of the pain and The Forsaken - of it all, but on Easter day we come expecting joy and song, not silence. but today, we have silence again, even from the women, How often I wonder do, we find ourselves silent silent. When we have good news to share or silent when we have fears to share silent about the things we really want to do, or say silent about our dreams. Because we're worried, they might seem silly or silent about our hopes because no one else might share them. Or silent about someone we love and case. They don't feel the same. silent about who we really are in case people might criticize Or are we silenced silenced by a bully at work? Or at school or silenced by lack of money or lack of skills? Silenced by poverty, or silenced by illness? Or silenced by an abuse of power. as we look around us at our world this Easter day, we know that there are thousands if not Millions, who are silenced Refugees and Syria. The kidnapped girls in Nigeria, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the slaves of Isis. Political prisoners in so many countries, journalists who cannot write and singers who cannot sing. Some of these voices, get a voice for a day or two on social media, that favorite hashtag, that goes viral and then goes quiet again. The lack of an ending that we find. In Mark's gospel could also be political. It could also fit into that political context of today. Mark is writing and about the year 70 around the time of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, Jews are being massacred life is full of Terror, so they said nothing to anyone for. They were afraid is very, very real for Mark's community. And like all political movements. No stuff that is written down. Can be held against you a written copy of the Gospel with a resurrected. Jesus in it was most definitely seditious. Better. Perhaps not to write it down because the first century version of WikiLeaks is sure to leak it. So we don't know how the women of Mark's gospel found their voice, but I'm guessing it was something to do with remembering how much Jesus loved them and he them and they him and thinking about the Angels, instructions to go and tell and perhaps they found their voice. Remembering many of the confusing things. He had taught them about the first being last and losing your life to find it and the poor being blessed. And then maybe finding within themselves a seed of Hope, which said, maybe maybe he has come back to us. Finding our voice in a world rather to dominated by bad news. Stories is about finding, hope and love, and good news stories in those around us. Because we all have those stories of hope. We all have those Sparks of love. Mark's gospel ends abruptly but I think the editor knew that was where everyone else's story would pick up and continue and by not giving us the script, the next part of the story is so much more our own for our own time And our own context, your story. And mine is the next chapter. What we do with the Jesus story, is the next chapter of the Gospel. So when you find your voice this Easter Day, what story will you choose to tell? Grant Elliott had his 6 thus we know the woman eventually told what they had seen that first Easter Day, an empty tomb, The hope that Jesus had brought them and life was real in death also. What hope will you add to the story today? Claim it claim Life and Love, and Hope. Find your voice. for it is your voice, which continues the story