40. Mark 15:47

Posted by DJL on Apr 7, 2012 in Lenten Devotions | 5 comments

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

We began our devotions on the Passion of our Lord by noticing the dramatic note on which Mark begins his story, comparing it to the classic scary-story opening: “It was a dark and stormy night….” On this end of the Passion narrative – indeed, arguably the last verse in the Passion narrative proper – we have another classic literary device employed in countless cliffhanger tales whether in print or on the screen: “To be continued.”

Mark’s story of the Passion – of Jesus’ last days and night, of his meal with his disciples, prayers in Gethsemane, capture, trials, crucifixion and death – is now over. Jesus has died. The story is over, and Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses are witnesses to that, the last characters in view as the camera pulls back from this tragic scene of death and destruction and the screen fades to black.

Except the story isn’t over. We know that.

What comes next, however, isn’t simply a reprieve, a sudden plot twist. Rather, it is the beginning of a whole new episode in God’s story to save and redeem the world.

It’s tempting, actually, to call it not just a new episode but a new story altogether – as when God raises Jesus from the dead the very assumptions governing our existence are fundamentally altered. But to do so risks separating this new episode from all that came before. And it is imperative for us to recognize that the God who raises Jesus from the dead is the same God who created the cosmos in Genesis, made a covenant with Abraham, led the people of Israel out of Egypt, gave them law by which to structure fruitful lives and prophets to call them to right relationship with God and each other. It is the same God, that is, that made Israel the promise to bless and preserve them that they might, in turn, bless all the world. And now God is keeping that promise.

So rather than think of what comes next as a new story, let us regard it instead as the next episode, not unlike the foreshadowing at the end of one of the Harry Potter books that their adventures are not over, or Darth Vader’s space ship flying away at the close of the first Star Wars. We know this story we’re watching has come to its conclusion. But it is not yet done.

So the women watch, and see all that has been done. Jesus is dead. Were this any other story, this would be the end. Death would, as death always does, have the last word. But this is not any other story. And Mark sets the brave sentinel these women keep as the link between the story that is ending that that which is about to begin. For God is not done; God, in fact, has another word to say.

And so the curtain drops on this rendering of the Passion, but as we look over the shoulders of these women and view the spectacle of those three crosses on a hill outside Jerusalem, the screen fades to black and three more words flash across the screen: To be continued….

 

Author’s note: Speaking of “to be continued,” I’ve enjoyed writing these devotions even more than I expected and so plan to continue, moving to the 16th chapter during the week of Easter and then returning to start at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel and going through to the Passion in chapter 14. I won’t call them “Lenten Devotions” any  more but instead name them “Daily Bread,” as I hope that’s what they can be for us, something to sustain us in our daily faith journey. Thanks for coming along during Lent, and if you’ve enjoyed these devotions, please let your friends, family, and fellow parishioners know that they will continue as daily devotions starting on Monday. Thanks so much. Blessed Easter!
David