Faith in Progress

April 19, 2015 Luke 24:36b-48 Are you a witness to the resurrection? I have an admission to make this third Sunday of Easter.  The truth is, there’s a lot I don’t understand about that first Easter.  I don’t understand why God couldn’t find a less violent and wrenching way of getting to Easter than Good Friday.  I don’t understand where Jesus was and what he was up to between Good Friday and Easter.   I don’t understand how it worked that Jesus died, but then suddenly was alive in a new way.  I don’t understand how he ate fish and could be physically touched by the disciples after he died.  I don’t know exactly what Easter means for us.  I’m still working on the theology of it all. And yet, I am a witness to the resurrection. About a year ago, my non-religious stepfather-in-law with no fanfare, and against the wishes of his children, gave a kidney to an acquaintance who was the minister at the church across the street from his house...

Easter 2015 -  Mark  16:1-8 “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Or from another translation: “They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone.” That is IT, my friends.  That is the true last line of the Gospel of Mark.  No post-resurrection walks or breakfasts with Jesus, no sudden appearances in locked rooms, no heartfelt talks.  Mark leaves us dangling - with the women frozen in shock and fear and silence.  Mark is not about to let us mindlessly read our cheery Easter Gospel and move on to our Easter egg hunts and ham dinners. Unsurprisingly, later readers couldn’t stand Mark’s ending, and so hundreds of years later they added another ending that throws in an assurance that the women actually did spread the news about what they saw, plus a few meetings with the raised Je...