And Peter!

 Jesu Juva

St. Mark 16:1-8                                               

March 31, 2024

Easter B      

 Dear saints of our Savior~

        Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

        Wow.  After forty days of bewailing and bemoaning—lamenting and repenting—it sure feels good to let rip a few dozen alleluias.  Praise the Lord!  Jesus has done it!  He has risen, never to die again.  He is living with life to the full—with life for you and you and you.

        But Easter starts in the cemetery.  We’ve all been there.  We know the well-worn path the women took that Sunday morning.  They certainly weren’t shouting “alleluia” as they made their way to the tomb.  They were going back to give their Lord a proper burial.  Late Friday there had barely been time to toss Jesus in the tomb—before the sunset signaled the start of the Sabbath.  Their hearts were heavy.  Their eyes were blurry with tears.  Death had claimed another victim.  We know the grief those women carried.  We’ve shared their sorrow.  We know what death can do.

        But as they approached the tomb, even their tear-filled eyes couldn’t miss the fact that death’s stone had been rolled away.  And as they stepped inside, an angel greeted them with good news—the best news ever:  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has risen; he is not here.  The same Jesus who was crucified, died, and was buried—that Jesus—was now risen and living.  And nothing would ever be the same again.

        All four gospel-writers report the resurrection of Jesus, each evangelist providing a unique accent to his own account.  We heard St. Mark’s Easter account today.  And, as you might recall from last Sunday, Mark’s narrative is always tight and compact—everything happens immediately in Mark.  So if Mark dangles some unique detail before his readers, then those readers should sit up and take notice.

        If you are a careful connoisseur of Easter, then you may have already caught the exclusive bit of good news that only Saint Mark includes.  You won’t find this anywhere else in the Bible.  It’s found in the marching orders the angel gave to the women:  But go, tell his disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee.  Did you catch it?  Tell His disciples . . . AND PETER.  Wait, what?  Isn’t that a little redundant?  I thought Peter was one of the disciples.  Why single him out?  Why tell something to the disciples . . . and Peter?

        Well, Peter had pretty much vanished by the first day of the week.  You really have to hit the “rewind” button in Mark to pinpoint where Peter last popped up.  Prior to this, the last thing we heard about Peter was two chapters back.  There it says:  And He broke down and wept (14:72).  That was late Thursday night.  And if your performance had been like Peter’s, you too would have broken down and wept. 

        You remember what happened.  Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him.  But Peter proudly professed:  Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.  A little bit later in the Garden, Jesus asked Peter simply to stay awake and watch and pray.  Jesus prayed; while Peter all but passed out.  When Judas showed up with soldiers, Peter started swinging his sword—severing a servant’s ear—but only to be reprimanded by Jesus.  Peter then fled the scene, following Jesus from a distance to the High Priest’s house.  He tried to keep a low profile and blend in.  But when the questions started coming, all Peter could do was deny, deny, deny.  He cursed and he swore:  I do not know this man of whom you speak!  And then . . . the rooster crowed.  And Peter dissolved into a puddle of tears.

        Now you know why.  Now you know why the angel told the women to tell His disciples AND PETER that Jesus was alive and was going before them.  Peter, especially, needed to know.  Peter was still numbered among the disciples of Jesus.  Yes, Peter had taken the exit ramp that leads to hell.  Yes, Peter had denied his Lord.  Yes, Peter had been faithless as Jesus had forewarned.  Yes, Peter was guilty of all that and more.  But Jesus—Jesus is faithful and forgiving!  Jesus said what He would do, and then He did it.  Jesus soaked up the sins of the whole world—took those sins to the cross and to the tomb—and saved His people from their sins. 

        And among those people was a man named Peter.  The angel said, “Go, tell His disciples and Peter.  Be sure to tell Peter!  Make sure Peter hears the good news that Christ is risen!  Let Peter know that Jesus is alive—that He is risen and Jesus wants to see [Peter].”  The good news of the resurrection was especially for Peter.  Peter needed to know.

        And so do you.  The good news of the resurrection is especially for you.  For how often have you charged off down that exit ramp that leads you away from your Savior—away from the faith—down that broad and easy road that leads to destruction?  How often have you simply tried to blend into the crowd—keeping your faith a secret—cursing and swearing your way right out of the faith?  How often have you secretly admired yourself—concluding that Jesus is lucky to have you on His team—praying with pride: I thank Thee, Lord, that I’m not like other men?  The fact is, you are a sinner just like other men, including Peter—the man who didn’t deserve to be a disciple.  With Peter, you can weep all you want.  Shed bitter and shameful tears.  But those tears change nothing.

        What changes everything is the resurrection.  What changes everything is that Christ has risen.  Death could not hold Him.  The sacrifice He made on the cross for your sins has been accepted.  We have failed; but Jesus has succeeded.  We have been faithless; but Jesus is faithful.  We who are lost in sin, are loved by Jesus, the Son of God, who gave Himself for us.  He was raised again on the third day; and your day of resurrection is coming soon.

        Tell His disciples . . . and Peter.  Tell them what?  Tell them this: Jesus is going before you to Galilee.  There you will see Him, just as He told you.  The plan was for Jesus to reunite with His disciples (and Peter!) in Galilee.  And, eventually, Peter and the gang did reunite with Jesus up north, in Galilee.  But the Bible plainly says that the disciples actually met up with the Risen Lord much sooner than that.  Already on that day, on the First Day of the Week, in Jerusalem (and on the road to Emmaus) the disciples of Jesus would see Jesus.  They would hear His Words and see His wounds.  And they would know the peace of sin forgiven and death defeated forever.

        So what happened?  Did Mark’s angel get the message wrong about the get-together in Galilee?  Angels are “messengers.”  That’s an angel’s main job.  Did someone forget to tell Jesus—such that Jesus jumped the gun for a Jerusalem reunion, instead of a get-together in Galilee?  Or, did Jesus already want His disciples to start learning that every Sunday is an Easter feast?  Did He want them to begin to realize that on the Lord’s Day—on the First day of the week—that they would see Him then and there?

        Perhaps Saint Mark wants you to know, dear disciple, that Jesus is going before you—not to Galilee, or even to Jerusalem—but here.  Here you will see Him.  Here you will experience the power of His promises, and the relief of His forgiveness.  Here you will know Him in the bread that is His body and the wine that is His blood.  Here you will know the joy that Peter knew when he heard his name from the lips of an angel. 

        I’m no angel; but I am a messenger of the Lord.  I’m here to tell every disciple—every believer—including you and you and you and you:  Jesus Christ has gone before you, from death to resurrection life.  He restores us and forgives us.  And one day in the not too distant future—all the Lord’s disciples—and you—and you—and you!—you will see Him, just as He told you.

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!