Mark 16:1-8
An Easter People in a Good Friday World
I love the song Every Morning is Easter Morning from Now On–thank you, Epiphany. We need to hear that good news, because so often it feels like we are living in a Good Friday world. The UN Human Rights Commission recently released a report on the Human Rights Condition in the Ukraine. The report documents the horrors of war, the inhumanity of war, and it tells the story of Ukrainian children attending school in tunnels 32 feet underground while Russian bombs are exploding above their heads. It’s a Good Friday world. It is uncertain at the moment if Israel will invade Rafah in the holy month of Ramadan, but the United States continues to supply Israel with weapons of war, so it seems more like a question of when not if Rafah will be destroyed. Meanwhile, children in Gaza are starving. It’s a Good Friday world. We don’t hear much about the war in Sudan, but April will be the one year anniversary; 5.4 million people have been displaced and another 1.5 million people sent into exile. Closer to home, early on Tuesday morning of this week a cargo ship ran into the Francis Scott Keys Bridge. At least 8 people fell into the river. Two people were rescued, two bodies were recovered, at least four are missing. The workers were on the bridge fixing potholes in the middle of the night. They came from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. They did not have a direct line to the emergency dispatch even though others did. Everyone knew they were doing dangerous work. But the people in harm’s way did not know what was about to happen until it happened. It is not a rare event. The US Department of Labor says that there has been a 42% increase in workplace deaths among Latinex workers from 2011 to 2021. It’s a Good Friday world.
Easter is a day to remember that Jesus died at the hands of a criminal justice system that failed to protect the innocent. He did not die for our sins to appease God’s sense of justice–as the theory of atonement would have us think. He died not for our sins; but because of our sins. He died because religious prejudice demanded it and the law sanctioned it. Realizing this can lead to despair–the utter loss of hope that anything can ever change. Who will roll away the stone? Despair and resignation is one response. Another response is vigilante justice. According to the FBI the number of hate crimes in this country rose from nearly 8,000 in 2020 to nearly 11,000 in 2021. Crimes against Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Sikhs, and bisexual people more than doubled. Hate crimes against Black, White and LGBTQ people made up nearly half of all incidents reported.
But, the FBI says that most hate crimes go unreported. This is a Good Friday world.
On Easter morning Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome made their way to the tomb of Jesus so they could anoint his body. As they walked in dawn’s early light they asked each other: “Who will roll away the stone?” That’s a Good Friday question. Who will roll away the stone? It is also an act of hope. Who will roll away the stone? The women refused to be held captive to corrupt systems of violence and death. Ecclessiastes says that there is a time to weep and a time to mourn, but there is also a time to love and a time for peace and a time to tear down and a time to build up.
When they reached the tomb the stone was rolled away. Good Friday gives way to Easter Sunday. The National LGBTQ Task Force is holding a rally today in Washington D.C. in honor of our trans, nonbinary, and gender non-confirming siblings, family members, and friends. And similar gatherings are being held around the country–including here in Wichita. The women in the biblical story brought spices to the tomb. The National LGBTQ Task Force invites us to bring our stories and experiences, to educate ourselves about transgender issues and history, support organizations, and do what we can. Nearly half the states in this country have passed laws banning health care for trans young people, proposals banning people from updating their driver’s licenses, and other hate legislation threatens the fundamental rights, freedom and safety of transgender people.
Let me read this statement from the National LGBTQ Task Force written for today. The statement says in part: “By denying trans individuals access to basic rights, services, and facilities, these bills send a message that some people are not worthy of respect, dignity, reinforce harmful stereotypes, and contribute to a culture of transphobia. Now more than ever it is essential to speak out against this wave of discrimination, hate and violence.”
At the end of the story, at the end of Mark’s gospel, the women leave the tomb “distressed and terrified” according to one translation. The Native American version says “they ran as fast as they could from the burial cave.” They turned their back on the culture of death and ran to embrace a radically new future. There is a line from Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I came across this week that I think gets at what Mark is telling us. Bonhoeffer was executed as a prisoner of war, but before he was murdered he told his friends: “The world must not be prematurely abandoned.” We must not give up on the world that God created and loves. We need to run from the burial cave as fast as we can.
We carry within ourselves the possibility of creating, reforming, reclaiming a way of life inspired by awe. Mosab Abu Toha is a Palestinian poet living in exile. He and his wife and children were forced to leave Gaza. His story is told in two January issues of The New Yorker Magazine. In one poem Mosab writes, “What is prayer but sharing the pain and living the beauty of life together.” Good Friday gives way to Easter Morning when we pray; when we ask: What can we make of the possibilities that we have? What can we make of life by sharing our pain and the beauty of life together? Nina Simone was a singer and artist and a powerful voice and advocate for civil rights. She sang “Strange Fruit” which is a Good Friday song, but she also asked the Easter question: “How does it feel to be free?” How does it feel to know that every morning really is Easter morning from now on.