Dcn Tom Lindell

My Brothers and Sisters,

We have just completed another cycle of the wonderful birth and tragic death of Jesus of Nazareth. Now we individually contend with the significance of the resurrection event, its meaning and significance in our ongoing lives.

Some want to believe in a “bodily” resurrection, or that he died to take away our sins (atonement). Others search for different interpretations. No matter what we might believe, there is a mysterious aspect to this event that defies rational explanation. Just as in the birth narratives, who was there to record it?

I have used the final verses from Mark that scholars believe was the way it was originally written. Someone felt the need to complete the story because they viewed it as incomplete. Having discovered an empty tomb and a young man in a white robe who told them to report that his followers would meet up with Jesus in Galilee, the women fled and said nothing because they were afraid.

Historical Jesus’ scholar James M. Robinson, author of The Gospel of Jesus: In Search of the Original Good News, writes: It is not the resurrection stories that make Easter, but the other way around. It was his disciples experiencing Jesus still making his point, as a gospel still real even after his death, that created the Easter stories…It was his disciple’s renewed experience of Jesus saying again that God continues to be there for us, and for others through us, in spite of the horror of “Good” Friday.

Marcus Borg and John Crossan, in The Last Week write: The spirit, the presence, his followers knew in him before his death continues to be known. Jesus lives…Easter is not about an afterlife or about happy endings. Easter is God’s “yes” to Jesus against the powers that killed him.

A major reason I am an Episcopalian is that I have always felt it is acceptable to ask questions. In my role as a teacher it was my responsibility to invite others into the questions, not offer answers. Thank you for indulging me…

—Dcn Tom