Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So 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.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, April 2, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
What if this was all there was? What if this short account in Mark was the only ending in all of the gospels? The tomb was empty. A young man in a white robe told the women Jesus had been raised and would meet everyone in Galilee. And the women were so terrified they didn’t say anything to anyone. Full stop.
Would it be enough for us? Would we believe Jesus had been raised? Would we be able to explain the growth and persistence of Christianity in the face of incredible resistance and persecution?
Scholars who have researched what we can actually know about the historical Jesus posit that this is, in fact, where the whole thing ended for the disciples. And yet something happened to them and with them that drove them to devote their lives—and frequently lose their lives—to share the good news of all that Jesus had said and done for them and for the world. And from their commitment, the movement grew and grew and grew.
What if this was all we believed? I think more of us are unsure as to whether Jesus was actually raised from the dead than we’d like to admit. Does believing or not believing this make a difference to our faith? Why or why not? What is it that Jesus has done for us and does for us still that sustains our faith? I don’t have answers, though I have my own personal theories that inform my spirituality, my faith, and keep me solidly connected to God through Christ. As you read this abrupt end to the Gospel of Mark, I encourage you to wonder about it, not as a skeptic, but in the true sense of wonder—openness, amazement, awe—and ask yourself where you continue to encounter Jesus each day.
