Loving God, the power of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus continues to be experienced today. May the reality of that power fill our minds and our hearts this day with thankfulness and praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Imagine being a Christian near the end of the first century A.D. and hearing the entire gospel of Mark. Imagine hearing this account of "the good news of Jesus Christ" (Mk. 1:1), which never explicitly tells you what that good news is. Imagine hearing this entire work that asks the question, "Who is this Jesus anyway?", and coming to the confession of the Roman centurion at the foot of the cross. This Gentile - this foreigner - seems to be the only one who "gets it" by the end of the gospel of Mark, as he confesses, "Truly this man was God's Son!" (Mk. 15:39). The disciples don't "get it." They all ran away. The women at the tomb don't "get it." They are simply afraid and don't seem to know what to do. Imagine hearing the entire gospel of Mark and then getting to the ending: "And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid" (Mk. 16:8).

You would know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the story did not end there. You know it didn't end there, because you have heard about the resurrection of Jesus. You have heard about the people who saw him after he was raised from the dead. And you have experienced the presence and the power of the risen Jesus in your own life. No - as a person near the end of the first century, you would have experienced Mark exactly as it was meant to be: a biography of Jesus that invites the listener to finish the story.

It's relatively easy for us to finish the parts about the disciples' experiences with the risen Jesus - relatively easy because we have those experiences recorded for us in the Scriptures. It's also relatively easy for us to see the difference that the resurrection of Jesus made in the lives of those same disciples. People who were filled with fear and hiding behind locked doors before they met the risen Christ are suddenly transformed into powerful and persuasive witnesses of the resurrection.

Peter, whom we heard preaching in the first reading today, was previously denying that he even knew Jesus (out of fear for his own life). He also ran away, just like the other disciples. However, now he is preaching about the forgiveness of sins through Jesus - the crucified and risen one. He preaches, not like somebody who is scared, but like somebody who knows for a fact that what he preaches is true, and is so sure of the resurrection that he would even put his life on the line to tell people about it.

And so, in the readings that we heard today, and in the New Testament as a whole, we find all kinds of evidence about how the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus totally changed the lives of those who followed him. Once they had met the risen Jesus and had received the Holy Spirit, nobody could suppress their joy and nobody could stop them from telling others about Jesus and about the resurrection at every opportunity. However, the story does not end with the first disciples. The effects of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus are still being experienced today.

James Taylor, writing about the experience of Thomas following the resurrection of Jesus, points out how Thomas looked for his evidence in the present rather than in the past ("Follow Tom" in An Everyday God, Wood Lake Books, 2005). Understandably, Thomas wanted some evidence that Jesus had been raised from the dead. The word of the other disciples simply wasn't enough for him. James Taylor writes,

"Significantly, Thomas didn't go looking for that evidence in the past. He didn't say that he would believe if a gynecologist could verify the virgin birth or if a genealogical expert could prove that Jesus was directly descended from David. He asked for his evidence in the here and now." (p. 183)

Thomas, of course, got his evidence in the form of a face to face encounter with the risen Jesus - even touching the wounds on his hands and his feet and in his side (Jn. 20:26-28). But what about us who haven't physically met the risen Jesus? How do we find any evidence of the resurrection in the here and now? We hear all the time about evidence from the past that has been uncovered - and people using it both to try to prove and to disprove the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. However, if we were to look for evidence in the present, would it not come in the same form as it did in the first century?

A number of people have looked back and have said that, for them, the clincher is in the changed lives of the disciples. They lived and acted like people who knew for a fact that Jesus had risen from the dead, and they were so sure of this fact that they joyfully put their own lives on the line in order to spread the word. Over the years, the reality of the resurrection has continued to show up in the lives of believers. Isn't that still the best place to look for evidence today?

Those who are looking for a face to face encounter with the risen Christ just like Thomas experienced, where they can see him and touch him and talk to him are bound to be disappointed. Although there have been people over the years who have had experiences where they met the risen Jesus, there is no guarantee that we will have such an experience. What is far more likely to happen is that we will experience the presence and power of Jesus as we walk with him in faith.

Now, I am aware that for many people, it is the "walking with him in faith" part that gives them trouble. Many people want proof before they will believe in anything. However, there is always that first step that is required where we don't have all the answers and we don't have all the proof that we might want and we're not sure if there's anything solid there or not. For me, the best visual depiction of what it means to step out in faith comes from one of the Indiana Jones movies (I'm pretty sure it was the Last Crusade). In the movie, Indy comes to this deep gorge that looks like there is no way across it. Of course, he urgently needs to get across, and he remembers a clue which he interprets to mean that he has to just step out there. He steps out from this opening in the cliff, fully expecting to fall into the chasm below, and his foot lands on a bridge which is invisible. That is stepping out in faith - stepping out and discovering that there is solid ground there, in spite of the fact that you couldn't see it before.

This is what happens as we walk with Jesus in faith. We discover strength and power that we never knew was there before. We discover answers to prayer when we really do place ourselves into God's hands. We discover that we have everything that is needed whenever we are seeking to do God's will and not our own. We discover that the Spirit of Jesus - the Holy Spirit - will work within us and through us, if only we will allow it to happen and ask God to work through us.

And why would we do any of this? - We would do it because it is a matter of life and death. In this world, and under our own power, there is only death, as we stand condemned and separated from God by our own sinfulness. However, under the power of the risen Christ and through our living faith in him, there is life in all its fulness, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. Thanks be to God for this most precious gift! Amen

The Resurrection of Our Lord (B) Mark 16:1-8
April 16, 2006 Acts 10:34-43
St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore
? 2006 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved