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SUNDAY SERVICE
31st March 2024 Easter Day

Easter Talk by Peter Walley

Well here we are a year later, its Easter again. Life feels very uncertain especially as we look across the world. And we are especially thinking of Gaza and the terrible consequences of war. But the disciples too lived in a very uncertain world. And like them in the midst of the crises, the church is called to proclaim afresh in this generation the good news of the Kingdom as our first calling. And what was their message? Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead (scripture tells us that over 500 people met the resurrected Christ in those first few weeks).

The Kingdom that Jesus had taught about is good news for all. It didn’t matter what age people were, what background they were from, or indeed what religion they had been following. The Holy Spirit compelled the first disciples to go out and proclaim that Jesus Christ was risen from the dead. Their witness was so powerful and their life together was so attractive that thousands joined the church in the first few months after the resurrection. Wouldn’t that be great if that happened here in Derby among us now? Today we are with the disciples either upstairs in a locked room or we are walking with the women to the tomb, fully expecting to find the stone still in place where Jesus lay.

Let’s start with the bit that Mark tells us about, lets imagine we are with the three women, Mary Magdelene, Mary, the mother of James (and Jesus) and Salome.

They are on their way to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with spices (so they thought). What firstly does that little detail tell us? Well just before this part of the story in Mark, we learn that because the start of the Sabbath is just a few hours away (days always start at sunset of the day before), Joseph of Arimathea has taken courage in both hands, and has asked Pilate if he could take the body of Jesus for burial. Mark tells us that Pilate is surprised that Jesus is already dead and asks for the Centurion to confirm that it is so (this was the same Centurion who had exclaimed ‘Truly this fellow is God’s Son’). So Pilate grants Joseph permission.

Joseph then not only has to get back to Calvary, he also has to buy a linen shroud. Helped by others, he carries Jesus to his own newly cut tomb which we are told is nearby but because they don’t have time Jesus is placed, wrapped in the linen shroud on the shelf in the tomb and the stone is rolled into place.

The women Mark tells us saw all this, and agreed to come as soon as day broke on the morning after the end of the Sabbath to do what any Jewish family would do, cleanse the body, and put perfumed spices in the shroud. Mark even tells us what they said to each other. ‘Who will roll the stone away?” Imagine their surprise when they looked up and saw that it had been rolled away! Mark then adds yet another eyewitness detail (the stone was extremely large).

Because no one else was around, they entered the tomb and to their surprise they saw a young man sitting there. He was wearing white…. (methinks an angel!)

The Young Man then issues what is probably one of the biggest understatements in the Bible…. ‘Don’t be astonished, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He isn’t here! Look, this is the place where they laid him. But go, and tell his disciples, including Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You’ll see him there, just like he told you.’

Now, can you imagine what was going through their heads right at this time…. I imagine a mixture of complete unbelief and fear. What had happened? What was going on? Mark’s gospel then ends by saying that they fled from the tomb for trembling and panic had seized them and they said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. Now I’m not going to go into great detail about why I don’t think this is the true ending of Mark’s Gospel (if you want a quick comment on that, I do recommend Tom Wrights’ commentary).

If the last few pages were lost, it is remarkable that the ending we have stops where it does…for in the strange providence of God, the way Mark’s gospel finishes so abruptly, it encourages us to explore not just the facts surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the faith and doubts of the early church, but of course our own faith. Instead of a ‘happy ever after’ ending, we are invited to fill it with our own experience of doubt and faith.

For instance: do we take Easter and the resurrection for granted? What do we know of the risen Lord? Do we need to explore and find out more for ourselves? Where is he going ahead of us? Our Galilee may be Mickleover, it may be somewhere else What tasks has he for each one of us to undertake, to proclaim afresh the good news of the Kingdom to our family, friends and acquaintances?

Most stories aren’t meant to end this way…. it would have been better if there had been a straightforward happy ending… instead, Acts tells us that the disciples found that the next 40 days were anything but. Jesus was going to appear to them and disappear at will. Peter was restored to leadership by the resurrected Jesus, (and isn’t that an encouragement to us, when we mess up and feel that we never get it right…) Jesus doesn’t issue the disciples a manual of how to do church either… the only things he leaves with them are the necessity to pray, to eat together, to witness, and to remember his sacrifice by participating in a re-purposed thanksgiving meal which we now call a Holy Communion. They have got to work it out guided by the Holy Spirit. There are no blue prints from the Old Testament. And that also I think gives me and I hope all of us encouragement to try new things, to ‘boldly go’ where we haven’t gone before. Not necessarily to find new planets or stars, like Captain Kirk, but to take the things that we do know are important and re-think them for now. Prayer, fellowship, learning, witnessing, and remembering his sacrifice. Every Blessing, Peter