The Goal and Destination of Creation (part two)

In the previous blog we explored the goal and destination of creation, and this is where we will pick up again in this post.  

The Freedom of Creation to Become 

It is often supposed that God created a kind of static or steady-state universe.  It is imagined that God said, "Let there be mountains!" - and then there were 20,000 feet mountains dotted everywhere across the landscape.  But the sense of the "let there be" phrases in the Hebrew of Genesis 1 carries more of the idea of both being and becoming.  It might be better to translate these verses as, "let there be the power of (mountains - or anything else, including humans) to become".  

Even the name, YHWH carries within it the sense of both being and becoming.  YHWH is the God who is and also the God who "becomes".  Theologically, this has a profound impact on how we understand God, creation, and ourselves.  

Within God's very nature is freedom.  In fact, there is no being or entity with a greater freedom than God.  Humanity is also given the freedom to not only "be", but to "become".  This is true of the creation itself.  But becoming is a process, it is not static.  To put it bluntly, it takes time.

If you've ever been to the Grand Canyon, then you have seen what the slow trickle and flow of water can create, if given enough time.  Like Rome, the Grand Canyon was not made in a day.  In fact, it didn't take thousands of years, rather it took millions of years for the Grand Canyon to be carved by the forces of nature that God established.  Mount Everest and the Himalayas did not automatically tower over Asia and the Indian subcontinent overnight but were formed through millions of years of plate tectonics.   

In Genesis 1, like he does for the rest of creation, God speaks humanity into existence.  In Genesis 2, he forms the human out of the dust of the earth - using the elements of creation to sculpt humankind.  Neither of these descriptions tell us exactly how God created humanity, nor do they tell us how long it actually took.  Instead, they describe the significance and role that humanity is given within God's creation plan.  Like mountains and canyons, humanity's formation took not thousands, but millions of years to complete.  

And here is the interesting thing.  The job of forming and creating humanity is not yet complete.  Like the rest of creation, we too are on a continuous journey of becoming.  And like the rest of creation, God has allowed a freedom in our journey.  What we will become is not set in stone.  There is an open-endedness to not only creation as a whole, but for individual lives within creation.  God's plan for the creation - and for us - includes a great deal of latitude.  

Though we are given freedom to become, some of the free choices that we make, ironically lead us into a path of slavery, rather than freedom.  The Bible describes these free, but suboptimal choices as "sin".  Sin limits our freedom to become the true humanity we were originally created to be and instead condemns us to slavery and eventually death.  The message of the New Testament declares that through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross, he destroyed the power that sin has over us, setting us free to truly become human.  Through Jesus' resurrection, we can be sure that death will not have the final word on our lives.  Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so all of God's faithful people will one day overcome death through bodily resurrection.  At that moment, we will truly be free to become.  And so will the rest of creation be set free. 

 The Creation Will Be Set Free 

The apostle Paul, in Romans 8:18-21, describes it like this: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.  For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God."

Paul tells us that one day, we will be set free from death and decay and will obtain the ultimate freedom to become the humanity that we were created to be but failed to be.  In the same way, the rest of the universe will also be set free to freely and truly become that which it was always meant to be.  Creation isn't just about "being", but much more about "becoming."  But what will that (re)new(ed) world look like?  What will it be like?  We'll tackle that question in the next post.  In the meantime, consider who you are now and who you wish to become one day in the future.  We are all on a journey of "becoming" and who we are becoming has not yet been determined. - Shay    

The Goal and Destination of Creation (part one)

There are those within the scientific and philosophical communities who argue that ultimately everything within the universe is meaningless.  According to these, often brilliant minds, there is no purpose, there is no morality, and there is no goal or destination for us or for anything!  And yet, these super smart people (and I really do believe that these individuals are incredibly intelligent) spend their lives exploring and searching for the deep structures that underlie reality.  Kind of ironic, eh?  

For those of us who hold to the Christian faith, we believe that all of creation is fueled by purpose and meaning.  We have faith that what we do with our lives, really matters.  In fact, from the very beginning, the Jewish and Christian scriptures argue that God has a purpose and plan for the entire universe.  Let's consider God's final destination for creation, beginning in the beginning. 

Sabbath Rest 

As well as serving as the climax of the creation narrative in Genesis 1:1-2:4a, God's celebration of the first Sabbath on the seventh day points to God's ultimate goal for all of creation.  Throughout the remainder of the Bible, the Sabbath reminds both Jews and Christians that peace and rest will one day come to the Promised Land, the whole world, and in fact, to the entirety of the cosmos.  Meaningful work is baked into creation from the beginning, but so is Sabbath rest.

Purposeful Vocation 

Sabbath rest is baked into creation from the beginning, but so is meaningful work.  We often think of the Garden of Eden as a tropical paradise on steroids - it makes resorts like Sandals appear quaint and under-resourced.  And though there is an element of paradise associated with Eden; God doesn't plant humanity in the garden to simply lounge around on hammocks, eating pineapples and drinking Mai Tais.  Genesis 2:15 tells us that God placed the man in the garden to till it and to keep it.  Humanity is created to engage with the creation around it and to build creatively upon the foundation provided by God.  To mix metaphors, women and men are to paint freely upon the canvas of creation that God has established.  It is clear that the universe is not simply created for its own sake, and that the cosmos has not yet come to completion.  It is as it were, a work in progress.  We are called to join God in this work, and we will continue to engage in our purposeful vocations in the age to come as well. 

East of Eden 

The first 11 chapters of Genesis tell the truest of all true stories, but they are not true in the way a news report about a car crash or a political scandal might be true.  However, the truths that emerge out of such newspaper stories are already embedded in the universal truths that emerge from the primeval narratives of Genesis.

A large number of Biblical scholars have noticed that the early chapters of Genesis tell the story of the world in general and Israel in particular through a grand sweeping epic narrative.  In particular, the Garden of Eden can be seen to represent the Promised Land of Israel.  Just as Adam (humanity) and Eve (the mother of all the living) are banished from the garden, so the people of Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel) are exiled from the Promised Land and sent east to Babylon (589-586ish BC).  Throughout much of the Biblical corpus, to be "east" is to be far from home and distant from that which is desired.

After Judah is exiled, much of what else is written in what Christians call the Old Testament is centered around returning to the Promised Land, both geographically, and even more so, spiritually.  Eden represents what the world is supposed to be like.  The Promised Land of Israel and Judah was also to be a kind of foretaste of the age and world to come.  Getting back to the Promised Land or Eden was in part the journey to a renewed creation where stuff finally worked right and where everything and everyone functioned effectively, and people interacted appropriately within their properly defined relationships.  

Isaiah 35 describes both the journey and the destination like this: "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.  The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.  They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.  Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear!  Here is your God.  He will come and save you.'  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.  For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jakals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.  A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.  No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.  And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (NRSV) 

Sounds pretty good, eh?  There is more to be said about the goal and destination of creation, but we'll have to do that in the next blog.  Until then, let's continue to live into that new reality, even now. - Shay 

  

In God's Image

In both creation stories of Genesis, the crown of God's creation is humanity.  Genesis 1:26 & ff describes it like this: "Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.'  So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them: male and female he created them.  God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth...God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good." (NRSV)

Genesis 1 describes God's creation poetically using a seven-day structure.  With all that God creates over the five days before he creates humanity, God declares that his creation is good.  But after creating humanity on the sixth day, God exclaims that his creation is very good! Humankind is the jewel in the crown of creation.  Unlike the plants and other animals, humans are made in the image of God.  But what does it mean that mankind is created in the image of God?  We'll explore a few ideas about imaging God in this blog post, although it's certain that we'll only be skimming the surface of what it might fully mean.

Humans are Relational Beings 

We were made for relationship.  The fact that we were created male and female highlights this.  Through sexual union and companionship, the building blocks of community are established.  For the past several thousand years, the family unit has served as the bedrock of society.  As a child we relate to our parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles.  As we age and mature, those relationships extend outward into our communities.  Through them we learn what it means to be human and how our individual lives can be taken up into the larger tapestry of civilization.  

God, with the participation of his heavenly council, creates us as beings who relate not only to each other, but also to him.  This only makes sense, as God's very being is relational.  In fact, as the Christian doctrine of the Trinity implies, within his own being, God exists in an eternal state of relationality.  Part of what it means for God to be love is that within his own nature, God is personal, relating within Godself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The relational God has created humanity to also be relational.   

As a side point, the male half of humanity does not image God independently of the female side, nor does the female side image God independently of the male side.  It is both male and female together who are created in the image of God.  This reminds us that whatever characteristics we describe as feminine are as much a part of the nature of God as those we describe as masculine.  Though it has been common to refer to God as male, there are quite a few places throughout scripture where feminine metaphors are also used of God.  God (the Father and Spirit) is neither male nor female, but the best qualities of both male and female are a part of God's eternal nature.  The incarnation of Jesus means that God the Son is in fact male and remains eternally so.   

Communication, Meaning, and Understanding

There is no evolutionary reason for humans to have developed our enormous brain power, but here we are - the only animals on earth who build massive cities, create technological marvels, and ponder the universe, including our existence.  We are capable of not only asking who, what, when, where, and how, but we also ask that pesky question, why.  How did this come to be, or better yet, why did this come to be?  Genesis 1 says it is because God created us in his image.

At some point in our development, we became capable of thinking deeply and then expressing those deep thoughts with others through spoken language which only ramped up our capacity as a species to collectively probe the depths of meaning and understanding.  Scientists believed that there was a "great leap forward" in our evolution when we developed speech.  Could this have been the moment that God bestowed his image upon us?  

Partnering with God in the Stewardship of Creation

God's image does not just afford us privilege, it also presents us with responsibility.  As the second creation story in Genesis 2 makes clear, God invites humanity into a partnership as custodians of the creation.  Many believers have interpreted this to mean that people are free to exploit, dominate, pollute, and strip the world of its natural resources, regardless of the outcome.  Some take this attitude with the misguided notion that all that we see will one day be destroyed and annihilated by God, so we might as well get all that we can while we can.  In a later blog I'll reflect on God's ultimate purpose and plan for the creation (it's not annihilation, but renewal), but in the meantime, it's worth remembering that at least part of the way that we image God is in the care and concern we are to provide for the created order, including plants, animals, and natural resources.  

We aren't just tasked with stewardship.  In addition to the responsibility of looking after God's world, we are given immense freedom to follow God's lead and create as well.  Art, music, poetry, engineering, fields of education, and countless other creative ventures are made possible by the freedom and imagination given to us by YHWH.  

Reflecting Creation's Praise Back to the Creator

The great Biblical scholar, NT Wright, has aptly stated that part of our role in imaging God is that we reflect creation's praise back to God, while simultaneously serving as God's image back out into the creation.  So, in a sense, we serve as a conduit or a medium between God and his creation.  Certainly, we were made for worship and if you are like me, when I witness the majesty of God's world, I can't help but break into praise in honor of my creator.  If creation already praises God in a sense, humanity is able, and often willing to give voice to that praise.  

These thoughts certainly fall far short of exhausting all that it means to be made in the image of God.  Of course, we have much to still learn and discover as it relates to humanity, so how much more do we fall short in our understanding of God!  What is clear is that if we are in fact made in God's image, it should transform the way we view ourselves and those that God places in our paths.  As the Psalmist so ably put it, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." - Shay 

Genesis 1: History, Science, or Poetry?

Imagine a world without speech and written language.  One such world existed for the better part of 4 billion years.  But at some point, humanity slowly developed spoken language which thousands of years later led to written communication.  It's probably not a stretch to say that what led to the development of humanity's exceptionalism compared to the other great apes was the evolution of our big brains and the ability to use that computing power in conjunction with our voice boxes and mouths designed to articulate speech.  With words came communication.  With communication came meaning.  With meaning came understanding.  With understanding came humanity as we know it, created in the image of the God who spoke the world into existence.  

Words are meaningful.  Words have power.  In part, what gives words their meaning and power is their flexibility.  Words do not have to be rigid or static.  By rearranging their order, by slightly altering their tone, and by creating alternative genres of words both written and spoken, words can unleash an infinite possibility of...of...of anything!  Words are that powerful!

For thousands of years, the genre of poetry has inspired people in a way that adds an embellishment and flair to more traditional communication.  Poetry has the power to unleash imagination in ways that prose cannot.  So, it's only fitting that the editors of Genesis chose to start the narrative of scripture with a big bang that only poetry could provide. 

Poetry and Rhythm 

Biblical scholars tell us that Genesis 1:1-2:4a is Hebrew poetry.  There is a structure and a rhythm to how the author(s) of this text describe the making of the habitable world.  The days of creation hint at life's lived rhythm, structured around a seven-day week.  For the first three days of this poem, God is at work in creating a space that the creatures of the next three days of the poem will thrive in.  On day one, God speaks the concept of light into existence.  On day four, the sun, moon, and stars become the vehicles to emit this light out into the galaxies.  

On day two, God separates the waters of chaos from one another.  The bottom waters become the seas, and the top waters are held at bay above the earth by the firmament and the dome of the sky.  Yes, ancient near-eastern people believed that beyond what we call the atmosphere and near outer space there were waters in what we would today call far "outer space".  To grasp their concept of the cosmos, imagine a snow globe.  Their world was essentially what might be contained within a snow globe and beyond that globe were what they described as the "heavens".  What might fill the sea and the sky?  On day five, God provides the seas with fish and the sky with the birds of the air.  Do you see the pattern, structure, and rhythm of this poem?  Day four corresponds with day one.  Day five corresponds with day two.  So, that can only mean that day six will correspond with what has come before in day three.

On day three, YHWH creates land (earth) and then allows the earth to sprout vegetation.  The land and the vegetation will provide the space and sustenance for the land animals of day six.  The six days of God's work in creation leads to day seven, when God ceases from his work and enjoys the world's first Sabbath.  The two-by-two rhythm of the first six days of creation is broken with this one final and climactic day.  This creation poem reminds us that the order of the cosmos must include rest, restoration, and re-creation.  

Additionally, in its near eastern context, this poem echoes the description of the construction of a temple.  The final act of temple construction in the ancient world was to place a statue or idol of a god in the center of the building.  In God's temple of creation, there is no idol setup, rather humanity, made in the image of God, is placed at the pinnacle of creation.  Humanity is to reflect God's glory out into creation, while simultaneously calling forth and summing up creation's worship of God and offering it back to God as a sacrifice of praise.  This poem of creation captures these ideas and concepts in ways that prose, especially scientific prose could not.

Literalism Literally Gets It Wrong

By taking a poem "literally", we might actually misunderstand the meaning.  But understanding any writing in its correct literary genre allows us to better understand its actual or "literal" meaning.  Genesis does not describe for us how God created the cosmos, but rather that he did create it, and that it is not only good, but very good.  Science might reveal some of the mechanisms that God predesigned into the "system" of creation, but it doesn't come close to answering our "why" questions.  In the next couple of blog posts we'll explore the "whys" a bit further, until then, dig into the poetry of Genesis 1! - Shay 

Two Creation Stories

It is a commonly held misconception that Genesis 1-2 is a single narrative describing God's initial act of creation in scientific and historical terms.  Not only are these two chapters neither science nor history, they don't contain a single creation narrative, but rather two distinct creation narratives that were brought together in the process of the editing of the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible, comprising Genesis through Deuteronomy).  Why would the editors of Genesis place two distinct stories back-to-back in this fashion?  We will probably never know the complete process of aural dissemination and then later writing and editing, but there is at least one good reason these Biblical compilers might have placed these two very different narratives side by side.  These two stories present two related, though different sides of the God of creation.    

The First Creation Story: God's Transcendence  

The first creation story in Genesis begins the entire Biblical corpus at 1:1 and goes through chapter 2 verse 4a.  I will have more to say about certain aspects of this passage in later blogs, but the first thing I want to highlight in this story (or poem, as many Old Testament scholars consider it) is that these verses emphasize the transcendence of God.  YHWH is presented as the God who speaks and - "bang" - it is!  As one reads through this text, one is struck by God's awesomeness - his majesty.  Not only do we see the creator's might and power, but we are also floored by his genius.  Who could speak such a complex universe into existence?  How does this vast and complex system work together so well?  For modern sojourners who have been exposed to recent science, we can't help but stand in awe at the sheer size and wonder of the cosmos.  And to think...our God did that!  Genesis 1:1-2:4a gives us a glimpse into God's power, but Genesis 2:4b and following give us another perspective on the God of creation.  In these verses we get a glimpse of God's personality.  

The Second Creation Story: God's Immanence 

In the 1700s many leading thinkers in both Europe and North America adopted a deist theological stance.  The deists believed that the universe was created by a super-intelligence, but that this god was quite distant from its creation.  According to the deists, God set the laws of nature in motion and then quickly stepped away and watched what might happen, or possibly no longer even concerned him or herself with the outcomes of the created order.  The deists believed in a god, but not a personal god.  

If Genesis 1:1-2:4a was the only Biblical story of creation, we might adopt a similar view.  But thankfully the Biblical writers provided us another angle on creation.  Genesis 2:4b-25 describes for us a God who desires a genuine relationship with his creation.  Whereas in Genesis 1, God speaks, and it is, Genesis 2 portrays YHWH as the God who is willing to get his hands dirty.  He doesn't just speak the human into being, he forms adam (human) from the soil.  He shapes and molds humanity with his hands.  He gets up close and personal - breathing life into humankind (verse 7).  The God of Genesis 2 is not distant from his creation, but he enters into it.  He is not far from Adam (human) and Ish.shah (woman) and he is intimately involved with their wellbeing.  As the story progresses, this God indeed dwells within his creation and with his creatures.   

The Foundation of the Story of Creation to New Creation 

Though Genesis has provoked its fair share of controversy and debate over the past several hundred years, at their core, these first two chapters are really not that controversial.  The two creation stories do not describe God's making of the cosmos in scientific terms (the how), nor do they recount history (when), rather they describe God's intent in shaping the universe (they describe the why).  And as much as these foundational narratives are about creation, they are far more about the God of creation.  They describe an all-powerful transcendent God, who is simultaneously a relational God - One who is immanently available to and involved in his creation, especially with those creatures we call human beings.  There is far more to say about these verses than I can say in one blog post, or even one hundred blog posts, but for now, hopefully I've provided a few nuggets to chew on.  And as you consider these possibilities, please remember that there is an all-powerful God behind our world who is at this very moment, not far from anyone of us (Acts 17:27). - Shay  

In the Beginning...

 Ever since the Enlightenment, there has been controversy surrounding the primeval narratives in the Biblical corpus.  Usually, the questions involved have to do with whether the texts of Genesis 1-11 should be taken "literally" or "scientifically" or "historically".  Quite frankly, what one reads in these early chapters of the most significant piece of literature in world history doesn't fit well with what we know of modern science or history, though from a literary perspective, these dense narratives are far deeper than they've been credited by some modern critics. The heart of this controversy, if one can call it that, has to do with modern and ancient world views and genres of literature.  If a modern reader can imagine the cultural, historical, sociological, and philosophical perspectives of the writers and editors of these ancient texts, one comes away with a great appreciation for their depth and profundity.  But if, like some "fundamentalists" (whether of the religious or materialist atheist perspective), one is primarily interested in answering either scientific or historical questions, you've come to the wrong place and have brought the wrong kinds of questions to this writing. 

The writers and editors (yes there were multiple people over many centuries involved with the oral recitation, writing, compiling, and editing process of Genesis-Deuteronomy {if not also 1 Samuel - 2 Kings & ff}) of these compelling narratives were completely unaware of modern notions of science.  Therefore, it is anachronistic to approach these texts as works of science.  And even the ancient notion of history differed from our own modern notion of the "art" of historical writing.  These old stories were not meant to be understood as historical, in the modern sense of the word, as that discipline had not yet been developed.  

So, what kind of literature are we engaging with in Genesis 1-11?  We have established that it is not scientific literature.  We have also established that it is not historical literature (Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, and Noah were not historical figures...sorry!).  In short, Genesis 1-11 is mythic literature, but not mythic as many imagine.  Every people, tribe. language, and nation are founded upon myths.  Myths are the most true things that describe a people - their origin, their "history", and their significance.  Myths may not give us scientific or (modern) historical descriptions, but they give us the truest form of reckoning with who we are, where we have come from, and where we might go in the future.  They are deeper stories than the shallow descriptions that both modern science and modern history tell. 

Over the next few weeks, I plan to explore the primeval narratives (Genesis 1-11) from their cultural, literary, and theological context.  They are the foundation for the greatest story ever told (Genesis chapter 1 through Revelation chapter 22).  And I believe that they are the foundation for who we are, where we come from, and where we are going.  I hope you'll join me for this epic ride! - Shay

The Tomb is Empty: Fear vs. Faith

 

Mark 16:1-8 (NRSV) says this: "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.  And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.  They had been saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?'  When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, 'Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has been raised; he is not here.  Look, there is the place they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.'  So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid."

We're told that just after the sun had risen, the women went to the tomb.  At this point, they had no idea that it wasn't just the sun which had peaked above the horizon, but the true son, the Son of God had risen from the dead.  And it wasn't just the first day of the week, it was the first day of a brand new age - the new creation had begun!  The most important part of God's rescue operation had been completed with the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah - Jesus the Son of the living God.  These women had not only followed Jesus all the way to his death on the cross, they had followed him all the way to the grave as he was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.  And now they had come to complete his burial; to wrap his body with aromatic perfumes and spices.  They, far more than Jesus' male companions, had been loyal to the end.  Yet, they must have by this point realized that Jesus' messianic movement had ended in failure - a crucified messiah being an oxymoron for a Jew of the first century.     

But, if somehow, as the empty tomb and the man in white claimed, God had raised him from the dead, then that would have been the sign of God's vindication.  He was in fact who he had claimed to be. In fact, he was even greater than anyone could have imagined him to be.  He wasn't just the Messiah, he was the risen Lord, the Savior of the world!

It's interesting that it was a group of women who were the first to arrive at the tomb.  Women weren't considered to be credible witnesses in the ancient world.  If someone was going to make this story up, they wouldn't have chosen a bunch of ladies for this important role.  But, here again, we're reminded that God's ways are not our ways.

Verse 6 tells us that the women had come to the tomb looking for Jesus.  But they came looking in the wrong place.  Death could not keep him - death could not defeat him.  The tomb was empty.  The tomb is empty.  Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified has been raised from the dead!  Some stories are too good to be true.  This story, and the difference that it makes for the whole world, is too good not to be true.

But where does Mark's gospel end?  Have a look in your Bible and you'll see a footnote telling you that the oldest Greek manuscripts end at verse 8.  It's safe to say that verses 9-20 were not original to Mark.  They seem to be a summary of the resurrection narratives from the other gospels.  They must have been added onto what we call verse 8 by a later scribe who couldn't figure out why Mark's gospel would end so abruptly.  That leaves us with two options regarding the ending of Mark.  Either, Mark's original ending was somehow lost.  Or, Mark intentionally ended his gospel at verse 8.  I personally believe the latter; that Mark ends his story of Jesus with the women fleeing the tomb in fear.  Why?

Fear is a major theme in the gospel of Mark.  In fact, fear, not doubt is the enemy of faith according to Mark.  After stilling the storm, Jesus in Mark 4:40 said, "Why are you afraid?  Have you still no faith?"  In the next chapter, after he had exorcised the demoniac's demons, the local townspeople asked Jesus to depart from their region because they were afraid.  Later in the same chapter, a woman suffering from a bleeding condition touched Jesus' cloak and was healed.  Jesus, realizing that power had gone forth from him, asked, "Who touched my clothes?"  The woman came and fell at Jesus' feet in fear and trembling.  His response to her was, "Daughter, your faith has made you well."  Jesus was on the way to attend to the sick daughter of a man named Jairus.  Right after healing the bleeding woman, some people arrived and informed Jairus that his daughter had died.  Jesus said to Jairus, "Do not fear, only believe."  Jesus then proceeded to raise Jairus' daughter from the dead.  Later in the gospel, as Jesus walked on the water, we're told that his disciples were terrified.  Peter, James, and John were also terrified on the Mountain of Transfiguration.  Later, when Jesus spoke of his impending death and resurrection, his disciples did not understand what he was talking about, but were too afraid to ask him what he meant.  And when they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, his disciples followed him, but they were afraid.  The disciples must have been afraid when they abandoned Jesus at his arrest.  It must have been his fear that led Peter to deny Jesus three times. 

And so Mark's gospel ends at chapter 16 verse 8 with the women fleeing the tomb, "for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid."  The reader is left to wonder - will the women through faith overcome their fear?  Will they obey the command to go and tell the disciples that Jesus has been raised?  It's obvious that the women, through faith, must have overcome their fears.  Mark's gospel and the rest of the New Testament testify to this fact.  But the question remains for Mark's original audience and the question remains for us.  Do we have faith that the tomb is empty?  Is Jesus really risen from the dead?  And if we do believe, is our faith greater than our fear?  Will we go and tell?  Will we live our lives as if the tomb stands empty?  Will we, through our lives of  faith proclaim to the world that sin and death have been defeated, that Jesus has been raised from the dead, and that eternal life is found in him?  And as we are reminded each Christmas, as the world celebrates the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, let's make sure we remind our world that though Jesus was born to die, he didn't stay dead.  The tomb is empty! - Shay