“A New Hope” – Mark 16:1-8 – April 12, 2009 – Easter
One of my favorite movies is Cast Away, with Tom Hanks. He played the part of Chuck Noland, a man who went down with a plane and ended up on a remote island. When I first saw the movie you just knew he was eventually going to get off that island.
I can’t imagine being marooned on an island, completely cut off from civilization and especially those who love you. To be alone with no cell phone or the ability to send emails would have to be devastating. The disciples and friends of Jesus must have felt abandoned when Jesus was crucified. No doubt their faith was challenged and they felt all was hopeless.
Those who have lost a job have feelings of hopelessness. Others may be experiencing health problems or struggling with a relationship. Feeling hopeless is like being trapped on an island. We feel alone, stuck, with no way out. We wonder where God is.
When the women arrived at the tomb that first Easter morning they seem puzzled. They weren’t expecting to see the tomb open and the body of Jesus missing. After they encountered the young man who told them that Jesus was not there, “they fled, terrified and amazed.” They were not expecting Jesus to be resurrected. In fact, it was probably the furthest thing from their imaginations.
This however is the message of Easter. Just when it seemed that all was hopeless, God intervened and raised Jesus from the dead. Nothing is impossible for God.
For me, the most profound part of the film, Cast Away, was when Hanks returned home. Everyone had given him up for dead. He had been gone for over four years. In fact they had a memorial service for him, assuming he was lost at sea. So when the news that he had been found and was returning home, all his friends, co-workers and especially his fiancé, Kelly Frears, played by Helen Hunt, were in total disbelief. Although Hanks had overcome impossible odds, he could not be reunited with his fiancé, because she was now married. That only added to his sorrow. After an emotional encounter, they said their goodbyes and Hanks moved on. The movie ends and really don’t know what happened next, much like the resurrection story of Mark.
Hanks’ life had been totally changed forever and he had experienced hopelessness and despair for four years, but there was still hope. During the time on the island he counted his days and kept focused on his fiancé, Kelly, for whom he had a picture. He anticipated the day when he could leave the island and be reunited with her. He may have been marooned on an island, but he still had hope.
The only hope Hanks had was to prepare himself for the possibility of sailing away from the island. For months he gathered the necessary material. At one point he had to climb a high, rocky cliff in order to retrieve some rope that would be used to tie logs together. Little by little the essential pieces he needed to build a raft drifted ashore. He completed his raft then waited until the wind was blowing in the right direction. That day eventually came and Hanks sailed away from the island.
Easter means hope. We celebrate God’s amazing power to raise Jesus from the dead. Although Jesus suffered and died, death did not have the last word. In spite of everything you may have been through, including disappointments, grief, anxiety or hopelessness, the resurrection of Jesus represents a new hope for you.
The women could not believe their eyes nor their ears. The stone was rolled away although they had no idea how. The young man said, “Jesus is not there, he has risen.” They could plainly see Jesus was no longer in the tomb and the young man clearly confirmed what they saw. And when he said, “go and tell the disciples,” they could not because they were afraid.
Fear, more than anything, hinders our faith. There are times when we simply do not want to see or hear, because it just doesn’t meet our expectations. When we accept that Jesus was resurrected it means we believe in something that we are unable to explain. It is very difficult to believe that God can do something that makes no sense. Had the women told the disciples what they had witnessed they would have been laughed at or even admonished for spreading such a ridiculous story.
I don’t believe they were afraid of the disciples, however. I believe that by accepting what they saw and heard meant they would have to change. By spreading the word they would become the voice of God. They would have to surrender to God’s will and risk their lives because of their faith.
The gospel of Mark implies that fear is a normal human reaction to the resurrection. I’m saying it’s okay to be afraid. One need not be ashamed because they are afraid. Recently I was having a conversation with my two-year-old granddaughter. Her parents wanted to have her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. She said she was afraid. She didn’t know why she was afraid, but for her it was a real feeling. She told me that story apologetically. She had been told by her parents that there was nothing to be afraid of, but that didn’t change the fact that she was still afraid.
Although the women “said nothing to anyone,” we know that they did later on. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have the rest of the story. I like to believe that at first the women were in shock. No wonder they were afraid. I remember going into the tomb in the garden tomb in Israel during my Holy Land tour. It was a little scary, standing in the tomb where Jesus was (allegedly) buried. I was eager to get out of there as soon as possible.
Even though there are times when we are afraid, there is still hope. At some point later on the women overcame their fear and believed. God’s power is greater than our fears. God still believes in us although we don’t always believe in God.
The gospel of Mark is primarily about the failure of the disciples. Jesus walked with them, taught them and constantly invited them to follow him. At one point he said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) When Jesus was arrested and crucified, all the disciples rejected him. Even Peter denied Jesus three times.
Rejection and denial are defense mechanisms. They enable us humans to cope with adverse conditions. The disciples did not have the courage to take up their cross and follow. Instead they pretended not to know who Jesus was. But, we know the rest of the story. After the resurrection the disciples proclaimed the good news and built the church. I believe that Jesus understood that they were weak and afraid and thus forgave them for their unwillingness to follow.
As one who has worked with people in many difficult life situations, I have learned that people get through those situations by being in denial. We tend to look at denial as a bad thing when in reality it helps us cope with extreme circumstances, including death. According to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, denial is one of the stages we go through in the process of death.
It’s okay to be in denial but at some point you have to move on. I believe the hardest task for believers is to accept the fact that before Jesus could be resurrected he had to die. How difficult it is for us to learn that to experience newness, transformation or change, we have to let go of the old self. In other words, some part of us had to die.
Theodor was an artist of sorts. He drew cartoons for the “creature of the month” ad campaign for a popular insecticide called “Flit.” But Theodor wanted to expand the scope of his commercial illustrating. Unfortunately, his advertising contract wouldn’t allow it. So instead, he decided to try his hand at writing and illustrating children’s books. After twenty-seven rejections of his first attempt, A Story No One Can Beat, Theodor was ready to give up. On his way home to burn his manuscript, Theodor ran into an old schoolmate who had just been hired as a children’s book editor at Vanguard Press. He advised Theodor to change his title to, And to Think it Began on Mulberry Street. Then Theodor’s first book made it to press. Thus began the career of the best-selling children’s author of all time, Theodor Seuss Geisel. In addition to eventually winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1984, “Dr, Seuss” had been awarded eight honorary degrees.
When we face rejection it is easier to give up. The willingness to make some changes however can lead us to a new life. Easter teaches us that there is hope on the other side of rejection and denial. Death does not have the last word; it is simply the beginning of a new life. It was for Jesus and it can be for us.
The angel told the woman to tell the disciples that Jesus would go ahead of them to Galilee and there they would see him. It is not God who deserts us; it is we who desert God. God is always one step ahead of us, calling us, beckoning us to follow. There is hope when we follow. There is hope when we prepare ourselves for God’s saving grace, although we don’t know how or when it will happen.
It is hard to see down the road when things are going badly. Some wonder if there will be enough funds for their retirement. Others wonder if they can afford schooling for their children or healthcare for their families. Some just wonder if they will have the basic essentials of life to sustain them.
For me the good news of Easter is the promise that Jesus will be in Galilee for us as well. Galilee was the place where Jesus invited his disciples to follow him. He was there for them then and he will be there for them in the future. God never abandons us.
The women did not find Jesus in the tomb that Easter morning because Jesus was not dead. He was alive. And, he is still alive today. Easter is about having the faith that God is with us on all the islands of life. God is always out in front of us, pulling us forward. There are times when we have to admit to ourselves that we can’t make it in life by ourselves. We need God to pull us through but with God we have a new hope.
Dr. Keith Wagner