
A post from the archives for Easter Saturday.
Mark’s account of the resurrection is quite stark; it’s always left me feeling uneasy. There’s little joy of celebration in it, rather it seems full of doubt and recrimination. With very few details he describes Jesus’ appearance first to Mary Magdalene who rushed to tell the disciples only to be disbelieved. Later, the disciples who encountered Jesus on their way to Emmaus bring the same news and are also met with incredulity.
The response is understandable, these first disciples don’t have our gift of hindsight or two thousand years of belief and theology to fall back on. Even with all Jesus told them before his death, the idea of resurrection would have seemed completely incredible. When Jesus does appear to to eleven he berated them for their incredulity and then immediately sends them out to proclaim the good news to the world, saying to them:
“Go out to the whole world; proclaim the good news to all creation.”
Mark’s account challenges us to look honestly at the doubts we harbour about resurrection. He compels us to look at those dark corners of our lives and our world that feel beyond redemption, those places that we suspect new life will never reach, never transform.
He calls us to allow the light of the risen Christ to shine on those dark corners, offering the possibility of new life. Even in the presence of those dark corners of doubt he challenges us to proclaim the Good News to the world in whatever way we can.
How is the risen Christ challenging you to share the Good News of resurrection today?