The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We noticed earlier that the closing scene of Mark’s Gospel brings us back to the beginning: the young man in white instructs the women to tell the disciples that he is going ahead of them to Galilee, just as he told them....

Dear Lord, Come to us behind our locked doors, that you may unbind whatever holds us back and send us forth in mission. Come to us in our fear, that you may release us from all that terrifies us and send us forth in good courage. Come to us in our doubts, that you may create in us faith and...

Easter is the heart of the faith. Christmas, Good Friday, Pentecost, these all matter of course, and the faith can’t stand apart from any of them. Yet Easter – celebrating God’s act to raise Jesus from the dead and create a new possibility and new future – is where it...

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. So let’s assume this is really where Mark wanted to end his account. The obvious question is why? Well, consider: the failure of these women is nothing...

I can’t honestly say why I like New Zealand poet Mary Ursula Bethell’s poem “Response” so much. I think it just feels like a post-Easter, spring-is-in-the air kind of poem. Except it’s more than that, too. Because it’s not just that spring is in the air...

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 mentioned yesterday how unsatisfying Mark’s ending is. After all, the women at the tomb received a) a clear “good news signal” and b) were given...

I’m beginning work on a book on stewardship. Except I don’t want to call what I’m writing about “stewardship” for two reasons: 1) Stewardship means a lot more than money, but I really want to talk about money and don’t want to shortchange stewardship of gifts, the...

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. Fair warning: I don’t think we can give this verse the attention it deserves in one reflection, so I plan on spending a couple of days on this particular...

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...