Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here

 

The White Angel, 1235, fresco. Mileseva Monastery, Serbia

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  

 

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.   Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

 

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.  

 

- Mark 16 

 

Yesterday we read that there were also women looking on from afar at the Crucifixion as Christ died, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.  Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.  So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen.  And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

 

  Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  My study Bible explains that because Christ died so close in time to the Sabbath, the burial customs of the Jews could not be completed.  So these faithful women have gone as early as possible in order to complete the rites of burial.  Regarding Mary the mother of James, some patristic commentary teaches that she was the wife of Alphaeus, the this James was one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15).  But the majority hold that this is the Virgin Mary, who was in fact the stepmother of a different James, "the Lord's brother" (see Matthew 13:55; compare to Mark 15:40, 47).  In certain icons of the Myrrhbearing Women the Virgin Mary appears, and in a hymn by St. John of Damascus, it is sung, "The angel cried to the lady full of grace, 'Rejoice, O pure Virgin:  your Son is risen from His three days in the tomb."  Many teach that Salome was the wife of Zebedee, and the other of James and John.  

 

 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  The stone had been rolled away, my study Bible notes, not to accommodate Christ's exist from the tomb, for in His resurrected body, He needs no such accommodation (John 20:19).  Instead, we're to understand that this was to allow the witnesses -- and ourselves -- to look in and see that the tomb was empty.  

 

 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.   The messenger (the "young man," an angel) mentions Peter specifically and thus reveals a special care for the one who had denied Christ (see this reading).  My study Bible cites the commentary of Theophylact, who writes that Peter would have said of himself, "I denied the Lord, and therefore am no longer His disciple."  This angel's command is a promise that Peter is forgiven.  That the women said nothing to anyone does not mean that they never said anything -- it means that they kept silent until Jesus appeared to them (see the verses that follow).  

 

 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.   Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. My study Bible first tells us that two early manuscripts do not contain these and the following verses as part of St. Mark's Gospel, while nearly all other manuscripts ever discovered have them.  They are canonized Scripture and are considered by the Church to be inspired, authoritative, and genuine.  The text here tells us that Christ appeared in another form to two of the disciples as they walked and went into the country, and that He later appeared to the eleven (see Luke 24:13-43).  Christ's resurrected body transcends not only physical space and time, but appearance as well, according to my study Bible.  He was sometimes recognizable to His disciples, while at other times He was not. 

 

 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."  This is the Great Commission, Christ's final commandment given on earth.  It is to be lived out in the Church until the Lord returns again.  My study Bible comments that to make disciples cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  The power of the Resurrection isn't just for Christ Himself, but is given to all believers for Christian life and mission. 

 

"And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  To speak with new tongues is the capacity to speak in languages that one has not learned in order to edify others in worship (1 Corinthians 14) and to preach the gospel (Acts 2:1-11).  To take up serpents is a reference primarily to spiritual battle against demons, my study Bible says.  So, therefore, Christ is promising here to deliver believers from the powers of sin.  Moreover, it would include certain physical protection as well.  St. Paul was bitten by a serpent and suffered no harm (Acts 28:3-6), and according to tradition, Barsabas Justus (Acts 1:23) was forced by unbelievers to drink poison and survived.  However, my study Bible adds, while God's grace can protect believers from both physical and spiritual harm, to test god by deliberately committing harmful acts against oneself is a grave sin (Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:7).

 

 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.  This describes what is called the Ascension of Christ, which is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  My study Bible comments that it fulfills the type given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11), and it marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  At the Incarnation, my study Bible explains, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature.  In the mystery of the Ascension, however, He brings human nature to the divine Kingdom.  Christ reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, revealing His glorified human nature -- indeed, human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  At Vespers of Ascension, the Orthodox sing, "The angels were amazed seeing a Man so exalted."  In some icons of the Ascension, Christ's white robes are tinted red to indicate the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world and the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalm 24:7-10).  

 

 In today's reading, the risen Christ gives His final commandment on earth:  "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."   At this stage in the reading of the Gospel, we know what these disciples have been through, what their supporters (and relatives, often mothers) have been through.  We know the struggle, the teaching, the campaigning (so to speak) in ministry, and all the things Jesus and they have been through, including the testing and of course the final effort to bring down and to kill Jesus, the attempt to rid themselves of Him by the religious leadership.  We know the manipulation, the false witnesses, the attempts to entrap Him, and we know there is more to come for His disciples.  And it follows, of course, that the same is in store for the Church, as it is even today.  But we need to ponder His words.  What does it mean to believe?  What does it mean to be saved?  And what does it mean to be condemned?  As is often pointed out on this blog, the word translated as "believe" has as its root the word meaning trust in the Greek (πιστις/pistis).  Think what it means not simply to believe as a kind of flat statement to the effect that you will agree with a teaching, but to trust in a Person.  It adds an entirely different dimension to Christ's teaching to understand belief in this way.  We put our trust into Christ for all times, for every moment in our lives, in our doubts and fears, even when we're terrified to go forward, think what it means nevertheless to trust.  This is a deep personal relationship, which extends to complete communities and forms and shapes those communities.  We are baptized into His life, even as we symbolically die in the waters of baptism.  That is a depth that we can't comprehend, but nevertheless, we trust and go forward into what that means, and the experience of that faith.  This is what it is to be saved, that ongoing forward motion of what it means to trust, and to grow in trust, to entrust our depths -- even those we don't know -- to Christ and to the work of the Holy Spirit, and the Church not built by hands.  What does it mean to be condemned?  In St. John's Gospel, we read the words of Jesus to Nicodemus, "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God" (John 3:18-21).  We so often forget that we are all offered salvation, but not all of us is prepared to take up this trust, to return to Christ the love that He offers to us in His saving gospel.  He asks for our trust, but not all are willing to give it -- and we must note that trust is related to truth.  What hides from the light?  What do we want to hide from the light?  To be condemned is not to be condemned by Christ but to fail to take up that salvation that He offers, to return His love for us by loving Him.  Just like the first disciples had work to do to be His followers, let us not forget He's asking us to take up our own cross, and to follow Him.  He doesn't promise it will be free and easy, but that the way is narrow.  We are all invited in.  How many of us will take up His offer?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And these signs will follow those who believe

 

"The Ascension of our Lord" by John La Farge, 1888 [mural painting]. The Church of the Ascension in the City of New York.  (Note the reddish tint in Christ's robes.)

 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into the all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.

 

- Mark 16:9–20 

 

Yesterday we read that when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

 

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  Once again, we observe that this news that Christ is risen is so far beyond the context of what the disciples know and expect that they did not believe Mary Magdalene.  This is despite the fact of Christ's repeated predictions that He would rise after three days.   Of today's entire reading, my study Bible reports that there are two early manuscripts which do not contain this section of Mark's Gospel (Mark 15:9-20).  But nearly all other manuscripts ever discovered have all of these verses.  They are canonized Scripture, and they are considered by the Church to be inspired, authoritative, and genuine.  

 

 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  That Christ appeared in another form teaches us about the resurrection.  My study Bible comments that our Lord's resurrected body transcends not only physical space and time, but also appearance.  It notes that He was sometimes recognizable to His disciples, while at other times He was not.    This seems to be a possible reference to the story told in the Gospel of Luke of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).  Note again that the rest did not believe them either.  

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into the all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."  This is known as the Great Commission.  It is our Lord's final commandment given on earth.  My study Bible comments that it is to be lived out in the Church until Christ's return.  To make disciples, it says, cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  The power of the Resurrection is not only for Christ Himself, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission. 

"And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  New tongues is a reference to the ability to speak in languages that one has not learned in order to edify others in worship (1 Corinthians 14), as well as to preach the gospel (Acts 2:1-11).   To take up serpents, my study Bible says, is a reference primarily to spiritual battle against demons (Luke 10:19).  So, therefore, Christ is promising to deliver believers from the powers of sin.  This would also include certain physical protection.  For example, St. Paul was bitten by a serpent and suffered no harm (Acts 28:3-6), and according to tradition, Barsabas Justus (Acts 1:23) was forced by unbelievers to drink poison and survived.  Nonetheless, my study Bible adds, while God's grace can protect believers from both physical and spiritual harm, to test God by deliberately committing harmful acts against oneself is a grave sin (Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:7).  

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.    The Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  My study Bible comments that this event fulfills the type given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11) and marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  At the Incarnation, it notes, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature.  Then, in the mystery of the Ascension, Christ brings human nature to the divine Kingdom.  He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, which reveals His glorified human nature -- even human flesh -- to be worshiped by the entire angelic realm.  At Vespers of Ascension, an Orthodox hymn declares, "The angels were amazed seeing a Man so exalted."   In some icons of the Ascension, Christ's white robes have a red tint to indicate the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world, and the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalm 24:7-10).  

Jesus speaks of these signs among believers:  "In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  If we take a close look at these things, they are fundamental outcomes of the coming of the Holy Spirit.  In John's Gospel, in Christ's Farewell Discourse (His final teaching to the disciples, John 14 - 17), Jesus says the following about the coming of the Holy Spirit, whom He calls the Helper here:   "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."  If we look carefully, we see Jesus explicitly speaking about issues of truth and of judgment.  To cast out demons is part of this work, to speak with new tongues in order to edify and to teach and to spread the spiritual truth of the gospel, is to participate in this work.  To take up serpents is, as my study Bible says, an image of protection against the demonic;  and that would include the powers of sin and of evil.  To drink poisons is related to the demonic and the image of a serpent or venomous snake:  certainly this can also apply to lies, false doctrines, heresies, all kinds of things counter to the truth of the gospel and in opposition to the things that are truly good for human beings to take in.  What is poisonous or venomous is that which destroys life, leading to death -- and the powers of death are associated with evil and with all that is in opposition to the good, to Christ who is the Prince of life (Acts 3:14).  To lay hands on the sick, and to help them to recover, is to correct the things that ail human beings.  Spiritually it is parallel not simply to bringing the good of the gospel, but to correcting the things that do harm, the poisons, the errors and the lies, misleading half-truths, all the ways in which the life of the world is diminished and harmed, and death comes into the life of the world.  Let us note that Jesus does not use the word "poison" or "venom" here, but the word deadly, indicating by what action we understand something is bad for the life of the world.  So, therefore, Christ's Ascension, and His final teaching to the disciples -- and therefore to all of us -- is all about the effects of the Holy Spirit, and the work and action of the Holy Spirit, which is to correct, to reprove, to bring judgment, and even to identify what is evil and harmful to life in order to bring protection for the good and the life-giving.  Let us consider the powerful truths here which are given to us as signs that must accompany faith and all that must happen in the work of faith in His name. 

 

 

Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen!

"White Angel" with Holy Myrrhbearers at Christ's Tomb, c. 1235.  Fresco, Mileseva Monastery, Serbia

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

 

- Mark 16:1-8 

 

Our previously posted reading (from Thursday) described the events of the Las Supper.  In Mark's Gospel, this took place on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb.  On this day, Jesus' disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?"  And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.  Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?" ' Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us."  So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.  In the evening He came with the twelve.  Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me."  And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?"  And another said, "Is it I?"  He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had never been born." And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.  Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

 

  Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  My study Bible comments that, because Christ died so close in time to the Sabbath, the burial customs of the Jews could not be completed.  So, these faithful women (who had followed and supported His ministry even from Galilee; see Luke 8:1-3) went as early as possible to complete the rites of burial.  Another note tells us that in patristic literature, some teach that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15).  But the majority hold that this Mary is the Virgin Mary, as she was the stepmother of another James, who is called "the Lord's brother" in Matthew 13:55; compare with Mark 15:40, 47.  Also, my study Bible says that many teach that Salome was the wife of Zebedee, the mother of James and John.  

And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  My study Bible comments that the stone had been rolled away not to make way for the Lord's exit from the tomb, for in His resurrected body, He needed no such accommodation (John 20:19).   Instead, this stone was rolled away to allow the witnesses -- and us -- to look in and see that the tomb was empty.  

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  The specific mention of Peter, my study Bible says, reveals a special care for the one who had denied Christ.   My study Bible quotes Theophylact, who comments that Peter would have said of himself, "I denied the Lord, and therefore am no longer His disciple.  The angel's command is a promise that Peter is forgiven.  

So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  My study Bible explains that they said nothing to anyone doesn't mean these women never said anything, but rather that they kept silent until Jesus appeared to them (verses 9-11, which follow today's reading).

Here is a wonderful paradox to contemplate:  the greatest news ever given to humankind is given to these women who come to the tomb:  "He is risen!"  And there is even more powerful news for these women who have followed and supported Christ's ministry, only to see Him crucified:  "He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."   But how do we see these women responding?  Do they leap and rejoice at this greatest of good news?  No, they respond with fear.  In fact, they are so afraid that they say absolutely nothing to anyone.  They trembled and were amazed, and they were afraid.  The Gospels truly reveal to us much more about human nature than we're usually prepared to accept.  In this time of myriad upon myriad of stories available through all forms of media at all times present to us, we still might find this response entirely paradoxical and unpredictable.  The stories we tell one another do not necessarily reflect the reality of human nature -- and the human-divine encounter -- that we're shown in the Gospels.  We would do well to pay attention to this, for it helps us to understand ourselves and our limitations, and additionally the struggle for faith as a lifelong journey.  In the Old Testament, there are a series of what we could call "landmark" encounters with God of one form or another.  There is the stunning story of Moses at the Burning Bush, and in that fire of God's energy, there is God's voice, and God even naming God's name, "I AM" (Exodus 3:14).   As this article points out, for the earliest centuries of Christianity (and for Eastern Christianity in general), these encounters with God are encounters with Christ the Lord, the One who became Incarnate for us, who was given a form that human beings could see, the Logos.  But in this story of the Resurrection, the encounter of these women with the angel gives us a dimension of an encounter with God that we perhaps have either forgotten, or watered down, or discounted for various reasons in the modern world.  That would be related to a healthy "fear" of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7), and the meaning of the word "awe" as in "awesome" (Merriam-Webster definition).  Of course this great good news is entirely unexpected, but also perhaps unfathomable -- even though Jesus prophesied His rising after three days many times.  But an encounter with the risen Lord, as many descriptions in the Gospels emphasize, is one of real "otherness," for want of a better word.  It is something so far outside of our experience and expectations that a natural response is fear, because there is what we might call a boundary-less unknown made present to us.  We cannot define the "ends" of God; we don't know where God ends and begins, and we can't circumscribe or classify all aspects of this real aspect of God.  This is why, so often, Eastern theology in particular will describe God more in negative terms (what we know God is not) than positive ones (what God is).  (This is called Apophatic as opposed to Cataphatic theology).  In other words, we can speak more authoritatively as to what God is not, than to what God is.  The message of the angel is so disconcerting because these women have no idea what to expect of this God -- the Lord who has risen and will meet them in Galilee.  And as we ponder the meanings of Easter and Resurrection, we should consider for ourselves how much there is to this risen Lord that we know nothing about -- for God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, is beyond our capacity to fully know, describe, or define.  And yet everything we know of Christ the Lord has been an act of love for us, to encounter us, to even become one of us.  And after the Resurrection, we also have Christ in the Eucharist, even to the point of becoming a part of us on levels we can't determine.  It would take evolution and blossoming of the Church to know what expression all of this would take in the world, the expansion of the communion of saints, the uncountable things that have their root in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and in the Resurrection -- and all of that is unfolding still.  But for these women, who knew Him so well, who had followed Him and supported His ministry even from Galilee, the angel's words open up an encounter too far outside of experience to be anything but stunning, frightening, to the point of making them tremble and stay silent.  We might be better off to understand that in some ways this is the proper response to God, because it takes into account the vastness and unlimited quality of God, which we forget about all too often.  The shocking nature of the angel's words reminds us that God remains unpredictable and surprising, the ultimate "wild" thing we can't control nor fully define.  And yet, we are to worship with awe, and be grateful for the gifts we've been given, and all that may yet come.

Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?

 

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demon; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen. 

 

- Mark 16:1–8 (9–20) 

 

Yesterday we read that, at Christ's crucifixion, there were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.  Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.  So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen.  And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

 

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  As Christ died so close in time to the Sabbath, the burial customs of the Jews could not be completed.  So, therefore, my study Bible explains, these faithful women went as early as possible to complete the rites of burial.  Mary the mother of James is taught by some in patristic commentary to be the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15).  But most hold that this is the Virgin Mary, who was in fact the stepmother of another James, called "the Lord's brothers (see Matthew 13:55; compare Mark 15:40, 47 from yesterday's reading).  The Virgin Mary appears in certain icons of the Myrrhbearing Women.  

And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  The stone had been rolled away not to make way for Christ's exit from the tomb; in His resurrected body, He needs no such accommodation (John 20:19).  It was, instead to allow the witnesses -- and we who hear and read the Gospel -- to look in and see that the tomb was empty.

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.   My study Bible comments that the specific mention of Peter is a revelation of a special care for the one who had denied Christ.  According to Theophylact, Peter would have said to himself, "I denied the Lord, and therefore am no longer His disciple."  But the command of the angel is a promise that Peter is forgiven.  That they said nothing to anyone does not mean the women never said anything; only that they kept silent until Christ appeared to them (verses 9 - 11).  

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  That Christ appeared also in another form shows that His resurrected body transcends not only physical space and time, but also appearance as well.  My study Bible notes that He was sometimes recognizable to His disciples, while at other times He was not.  This second reference would seem to be to the disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."  This is called the Great Commission, and it is our Lord's final commandment given on earth.  It is meant to be lived out in the Church until Christ returns again, my study Bible tells us.  To make disciples cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  It notes further that the power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus alone, but is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  

"And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demon; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."   My study Bible says that new tongues is a reference to the ability to speak in languages one has not learned in order to edify others in worship (1 Corinthians 14) and also to preach the gospel (Acts 2:1-11).   To take up serpents is primarily a reference to spiritual battle against demons (Luke 10:19).  Therefore, my study Bible says, Chris tis promising to deliver believers from the powers of sin.  Moreover, it notes, this would include certain physical protection also.  St. Paul was bitten by a serpent and suffered no harm (Acts 28:3-6), and according to tradition, Barsabas Justus (Acts 1:23) was forced by unbelievers to drink poison and survived.  Nonetheless, as god's grace can protect believers form both physical and spiritual harm, to test God by deliberately doing harmful things to oneself is a grave sin (Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:7). 

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.  My study Bible notes that the Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  This event is a fulfillment of the type given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11), and it marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  At the Incarnation, it says, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature. In the mystery of the Ascension, Christ brings human nature to the divine Kingdom.  He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, revealing His glorified human nature -- even human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  In some icons of the Ascension, His white robes are tinted red to show the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world and the ascent of His life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see as well Psalm 24:7-10).   

 

Of these final verses in Mark's last chapter (Mark 16:9-20) it should be noted that there are two early manuscripts that do not contain them, but nearly all other manuscripts ever discovered do contain them.  They are canonized Scripture and, as my study Bible notes, are considered by the Church to be inspired, authoritative, and genuine.  We might also note here that Mark's Gospel is considered to be the first one written, and is also the shortest of them.  As we've read, we've seen the word "immediately" crop up many times, as it is very fast-moving, and unlike the other two Synoptic Gospels of Matthew and Luke, does not contain various elements reported there, such as Christ's birth, or the Sermon on the Mount.  But an interesting thing to note is that out of only 16 chapters, the last six concern themselves with the events that happened in Jerusalem.  What's significant about that is that it teaches us what was considered to be of most importance to our earliest Christian faithful in the Church.  These events of Passion Week, Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection form the great teaching of our faith in terms of the significance of the events of Christ's life and what they mean for us -- the gift of life that imparts to us the things Christ brings into the world in His divinity, and the Ascension in which He takes our humanity with Him into heaven, thus forming and including us in the great communion of saints both in heaven and on earth, together at once.  What this means for us is that we do not worship alone and isolation, but that we worship together with the angels and saints and faithful of all ages -- even as my study Bible comments on the changing form of Christ's resurrectional body:  that it transcends time and space and even appearance.  And we are to understand that all of these elements contained in Christ are a part of our communion, even as we partake from His cup in the Eucharist.  What remains most touching to us, however, are those who are faithful in their smallness and meekness and who come to mean so much through their faith:  the Myrrhbearing Women such as Mary Magdalene and others (even including Christ's Mother), the disciples who at first do not believe but then return to faith and to their apostolic mission, Peter who's given special mention by the angel at the tomb, Joseph of Arimathea who takes courage and goes to Pilate asking for Christ's body, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, even the centurion who comes to faith at the Cross and is known to us as a saint -- and so many more who are unnamed and unknown to us.  For we are taught that it is through the small that God works in the world, even through weakness.  St. Paul writes, "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;  and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord'" (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).  In an era of stupendous achievement, great armies and technologies, unimaginable world telecommunications, and power and control mechanisms that shape the world in ways like never before, let us each remember these words of St. Paul's and what we read in this short Gospel of those who would also shape the world even through their meekness and smallness.  For the power of God remains as it was, with Christ who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption -- for nothing else even in such an era can do this for us.  And let us remember that even today there are those small and meek around the world who suffer for the faith of Christ.  Let us therefore glory in the Lord.  The women in today's reading ask, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  And rightly so, for it is rolled away for us.

 

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature

 

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee;  there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.

 

- Mark 16:1–8 (9–20) 

 

Yesterday we read that, at Christ's crucifixion, there were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.  Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.  So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen.  And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

 

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.   My study Bible explains that because Christ died so close in time to the Sabbath, the burial customs of the Jews could not be completed.  Therefore, these faithful women go as early as possible to complete the rites of burial.   Some patristic writers teach that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15).  But most hold that this is the Virgin Mary, as she is in fact the stepmother of another James, called "the Lord's brother" (see Matthew 13:55, compare to Mark 15:40, 47 from yesterday's reading).  Many teach that Salome was the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John.

And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  We understand that the stone had been rolled away not to accommodate Christ's exit from the tomb, for as in His resurrected body, He needed no such accommodation (John 20:19).  Instead, this was specifically to allow the witnesses -- and us readers -- to look in and see that the tomb was empty.

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee;  there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  My study Bible comments that the specific mention of Peter reveals a special care for the one who had denied Christ.  Theophylact comments that Peter would have said of himself, "I denied the Lord, and therefore am no longer His disciple."  This command given by the angel is a promise that Peter is forgiven.  That they said nothing to anyone doesn't mean they never spoke of this, but that they kept silent until Christ's appearance to them (see subsequent verses).

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.   My study Bible notes that verses 9-20 (that is, these verses and the rest of today's reading) do not appear in two early manuscripts of Mark's Gospel.  But nearly all other manuscripts ever discovered have them.  They are thus canonized Scripture and are considered by the Church to be inspired, authoritative, and genuine.  Note that Jesus appeared in another form to two disciples:  the specific emphasis is on the Lord's resurrected body, which transcends not only physical space and time, but also appearance.  My study Bible points out that He was sometimes recognizable to His disciples and at other times He was not.  It's interesting to note that the rest of the disciples did not believe these early reports from Mary Magdalene and the two disciples (see Luke 24:13-35).

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."  This is called the Great Commission; it is the Lord's final commandment given on earth.  My study Bible says that it is to be lived out in the Church until He returns again.  To make disciples cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  It notes that the power of the Resurrection is not only for Christ Himself, but that it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.

"And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues . . . "  My study Bible says that new tongues refers to the capacity to speak in languages that one has not learned in order to edify others in worship (1 Corinthians 14) and to preach the gospel (Acts 2:1-11).

". . . they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  To take up serpents, my study Bible writes, refers primarily to spiritual battle against demons (Luke 10:19).  Therefore, Christ is promising to deliver believers from the power of sin.  Moreover, this includes certain physical protection as well.  St. Paul was bitten by a serpent and suffered no harm (Acts 28:3-6), and according to tradition, Barsabas Justus (Acts 1:23) was forced by unbelievers to drink poison and survived.  Nonetheless, while God's grace can protect believers from both physical and spiritual harm, to test God by deliberately committing harmful acts against oneself is a grave sin (Deuteronomy 6:16, Matthew 4:7).

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.   The Ascension of Christ (He was received up into heaven) is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  This event fulfills the type which was given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11) and it marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  My study Bible teaches that at the Incarnation, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature.  But in the mystery of the Ascension, Christ brings human nature to the divine Kingdom.  He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, revealing His glorified human nature -- indeed, human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  In some icons and paintings of the Ascension, we may observe that Christ's white robes are tinted red to indicate the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world and the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalm 23:7-10).

How do you carry out Christ's Great Commission?  He commands the disciples, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," adding that "he who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."   In order to properly take in this second statement, it is necessary to read John 3:18, and understand that a lack of faith in Christ sets up a personal barrier against the salvation Christ offers.  But how do we go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature?  In the Greek, this command literally reads that the disciples should go into all the world and preach the gospel to "all the creation" (πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει).  This is affirmed in the statements in John's Gospel, in which we're taught that Christ came into the world "for the life of the world" (John 6:33, 51).  There is, in effect, nothing left out of this salvation plan.  In fact, in the Greek for "all the world" (in Mark 16:15 as well as the two verses from John 6) the word used for world is κόσμος/kosmos, which effectively embraces the whole created order, as while it is a word used to indicate "the world" as we understand it, it is also the word for literally all of creation -- that is everything created by God, an entire universe of all things visible and invisible, as the Creed states.  What that seems to indicate regarding this Great Commission is that God's redeeming mission, and the power of the Resurrection, will leave absolutely nothing out of this redemption.  Only human beings have the power to reject this for themselves, but the nature of this healing, transforming, redeeming gospel mission is to be complete in every respect imaginable.  The Creator has come into the world as a human being in order to restore all of creation to communion with God, to heal what is broken -- and that brokenness, apparently, goes way beyond only the minds and hearts of human beings.  It is something we need to understand in its fullness, both the effects of sin reaching into all levels of life, and the power of redemption which will not stop until it is fully complete for the entire creation.  And so, this gospel message of redemption is truly for all the world, all the cosmos, everything understood to be created by God, and not simply for individual human beings.  It is individual human beings who have the power through their will to reject it; but its fullness is intended for much more than we can possibly imagine.  Jesus also mentions baptism in this Commission, and if we think about baptism, it is about much more than the power of God coming to faithful human beings.  It is also about the transformation of the elements of this world into carriers of salvation.  Water is blessed in order to bring us to participation in Christ's death and Resurrection.  Oil becomes the oil of chrismation, a vehicle for the Holy Spirit.  The very elements of creation, through the Incarnation of Christ, have become those things through which the good news of the Gospel, and the power of God, carry God's power in sacrament and mystery.  This is why, in our churches, the tradition is to bless everything, from houses to objects we make use of, to gardens, to new endeavors, in order to be effective means of salvation in our use of them.  Christ's mission into the world, and His death and Resurrection -- which are necessary in order to send the Holy Spirit -- is for every single element of creation, without exception.  The ultimate sign of salvation and redemption is the Cross itself -- through Christ's Passion, death, and Resurrection it became the symbol of salvation, transformed from the horrific instrument of the worst kind of punishing death.  So it can be in our lives through God's work in us and among us:  the things that were once used to harm or bring pain can be transformed into something entirely different.  Forgiveness works in the same way:  we give up to God our pain and hurt and harm, so that God may work through our circumstances and set us on a right path, Christ's good road, instead.  Everything about Christ's mission, in short, is redemptive, healing, salvific, and nothing is left out of this plan nor out of the Great Commission with which He left this world in order to send the Holy Spirit.  Let us use the tools and instruments we're given, the sacraments and mysteries, the helpful vehicles which convey faith such as icons or holy water, the blessings which belong everywhere, and most especially the power of prayer, for Christ reaches out all the time (Revelation 3:20-22), and the Lord is still working with us and confirming the word through all kinds of accompanying signs.

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature

Pantocrator (Almighty), 6th century, St. Katherine's Monastery, Sinai

 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So, then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.

- Mark 16:9-20

Yesterday we read that when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  Two early and important manuscripts do not contain the verses in today's reading (Mark 16:9-20) as part of Mark's Gospel.  But nearly all other manuscripts ever discovered have them.   My study bible reminds us that they are canonized Scripture and are therefore considered by the Church to be inspired, authoritative, and genuine.  Let us note Christ's first appearance to a woman, Mary Magdalene.  She is titled Apostle to the Apostles because of this event.  Yet, they did not believe.  It is a testament to the power of her faith, for which she rightly known as a saint.

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  My study bible points out that the Lord's resurrected body transcends not only physical space and time, but appearance as well -- as He appeared in another form.  He was sometimes recognizable to the disciples, and at other times He is not.  This perhaps refers to the appearance documented in Luke's Gospel which occurred while two disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).  At that time, they did not recognize Him, but He was suddenly known to them as He took bread, blessed it, and broke it. 

 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."  This is called the Great Commission (see also Matthew 28:19).  It is Christ's final commandment given on earth, and to be lived out in the Church until He returns again.  My study bible says of the command to make disciples (in Matthew's Gospel) that it cannot be cone in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  It notes that the power of the Resurrection is not only for Christ Himself, but is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.

"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."   We are to understand that to take up serpents refers to spiritual battle against demons (often encountered in representative images of serpents). (See also Luke 10:19, which gives similar images in the context of "the power of the enemy.")  Therefore, Christ is promising here to deliver believers from the powers of sin, my study bible notes.  Moreover, it adds, this includes certain physical protection as well.  St. Paul was bitten by a serpent and suffered no harm (Acts 28:3-6), and according to tradition, my study bible says, Barsabas Justus (Acts 1:23) was forced by unbelievers to drink poison and survived.  But nonetheless, my study bible also adds, while God's grace can protect believers from both spiritual and physical harm, to test God through deliberately committing harmful acts against oneself is a grave sin (Deuteronomy 6:16, Matthew 4:7). 

So, then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.  The Ascension of Christ (He was received up into heaven) is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  My study bible notes that this event fulfills the type which was given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11), and it also marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  At the Incarnation, it notes, Christ brought divine nature to human nature.  In the mystery of the Ascension, He brings human nature to the divine Kingdom.  (In other appearances to the disciples, for example, He carried the scars of the Crucifixion; see John 20:24-29.)   Christ reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, my study bible says, thus revealing His glorified human nature -- even human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  In the Orthodox Vespers of Ascension it is sung, "The angels were amazed seeing a Man so exalted."  In various icons of the Ascension, the white robes of Christ are tinted red in order to indicate the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world, and the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalm 24:7-10).

It is quite strange, to modern ears perhaps, to think of Christ's risen flesh as ascended into heaven -- into the divine Kingdom, as my study bible puts it.  But then, we have to think carefully about what heaven is and what it isn't.  It isn't a place up in the clouds in a literal sense, but it is a place whose existence both encompasses this world and is greater than this world.  It is a place, as Ascension would indicate, that encompasses and indeed gave birth to the entire cosmos, as our Lord is the creator of all that exists, of every created thing.  This notion is linked in our text for today, as the disciples are told, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."   In the Greek, it quite literally reads, "to all creation."  So there is nothing that has been created by God which is left out of this gospel, this Resurrection and Ascension.  There is nothing left out of this Kingdom made possible through Christ's Incarnation, and through His death and Resurrection.  It is for all, for everything made that was made (John 1:3).  Therefore, it is within this context that we must think of Christ's risen body ascended into heaven.  To be sure, this is not precisely the same Jesus in the flesh the disciples knew.  As we note, frequently the disciples do not recognize Him.  Jesus, both human and divine, has been glorified.  As my study bible put it, the Lord's resurrected body transcends not only physical space and time, but appearance as well.  And it is thereby that we must consider this intersection of heaven and earth, of the heavenly kingdom and the worldly kingdom, because they exist not in parallel stages like different floors in a building, but rather in dimensions that may at times intersect one another.  Mystical experience is one such intersection, where things that are not necessarily "earthly" are nevertheless perceived by earthly creatures such as human beings, who, through Christ's Incarnation and Ascension, we are assured are created to be able to dwell in and participate in that heavenly Kingdom.  We can't make a dividing line that predicts what is earthly and what is heavenly because they do, in fact, intersect one another, just as all was "intersected" in Christ.  We don't know the power of our prayers, for example, but I would venture to say that most who read this blog have some concrete idea or experience of their own of that power of prayer.  We may not be able to measure with mathematical precision what the power of faith can do, and what our communion is all about, but I would venture a guess that many who will encounter this writing have had such experience of communion and faith.  God comes into our lives in ways which we cannot quantify -- and just the same, we must understand that humanity, in the Person of the risen Christ, broke through into the heavenly realms as well, establishing the place of mankind as belonging there, and worthy of service of the angels to help us do so.  In short, the Ascension teaches us mysteries even more puzzling and unquantifiable than those which we have encountered in the whole of the Gospel, for it is here where we are given to understand that we are not separate from this Kingdom, but meant to be a part of it, and even to grow in likeness of our Creator.  Perhaps we, too, will enter this heavenly Kingdom with scars intact; that is, those which we might have suffered for our faith.  Indeed, in icons of John the Baptist, he is not only depicted with wings (as "messenger" of our Lord's appearance in the world -- which is the meaning of the word for "angel" in Greek), but fully intact himself, head in proper place, but also holding his head on a platter (as in this image, for example).  The things we live and do in this world in our faith are those which will follow us, just as the scars from the Crucifixion followed Christ.  It is said that, "You can't take it with you," in a popular expression referring to wealth.  But as faithful, our wealth will be counted in different ways, and there are indeed ways to be wealthy which have nothing to do with the sheer amount of physical possessions we amass in the material world.  We carry with us the things we do that become a part of ourselves.  And as such, we can also perhaps state the opposite, that we diminish our true selves through selfishness, and through neglect of the wholeness of life Christ preaches as salvation.  For it is in the fullness of the Person-to-person encounter that we find our own salvation, that place where we are healed and made whole by our communion with Christ and participation in His life that He offers us.  Through grace, we also can be led through this life, learning to discard the things we don't need (the "hand" or "foot" or "eye" we give over to false values and ideals; see Matthew 18:8-9).  Because we are also taught that each must take up one's own cross, we know that dwelling in and participation in this Kingdom that intersects our worldly lives will also ask of us sacrifice.  From the Ascension, we learn that such sacrifice for the sake of the Kingdom is in fact substance, and will be carried with us.  If all of this seems to heady or mysterious to even contemplate, let us but consider this:  that the One who died for us also Resurrected for us.  We don't live in a world separated so much from our Lord as it is one that invites and asks us to participate in His life with Him, to be with Him, and with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, even as we, also, are each served by angels.  This is where we dwell.  It is the place into which our faith takes us, even as we live yet in this world.  And that is just as it has been meant to be, for Christ's Incarnation and life has changed it all; His ascent into heaven invites us to follow and dwell with Him.  For where two or three are gathered in His name, there He is also -- and even a cup of water given to one in His name is as giving it to Him, as well.  If this all seems strange to ponder, consider what it means exactly that with grace, we can have a "peace that passes understanding" (John 14:27, Philippians 4:7), or "joy" when there is nominally not a worldly reason for joy (John 15:11, 16:22, 24, 17:13, Galatians 5:22).  Consider how we may know and share love even when our worldly circumstances or upbringing do not supply us with that love (John 15:9, 13:34-35, Galatians 5:22).  If this were not so, if the heavenly and worldly do not intersect, consider why we would even ask for blessing upon the food we eat.  The icon above is one of the few icons to survive the Iconoclastic Controversy.  In it we see depicted not only the dual nature of Christ, but also His suffering.  In his hand He holds the Gospel Book.  It is Christ Pantocrator, "Almighty," the One who is seated at the right hand of God, even as Father and Son and Spirit dwell within us (John 14:23).