Terrified and Amazed
Scripture lesson: Mark 16.1-8
“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.”
Mark 16.1-8 New Revised Standard Version
When I was a senior in high school, I joined my friends one afternoon for a game of basketball in a neighbor’s driveway. At some point the sky darkened, and great raindrops began to fall around us. As we scattered to drier places, I ran along the edge of a golf course on my way home. Suddenly a bolt of lightning tore through the skies and struck a tree on the course. At that terrifying moment I felt a perfect mixture of fear and amazement. Not since that time have I moved so quickly to escape the rain!
The gospel of Mark says that the friends of Jesus experienced his resurrection with a mixture of terror and amazement; and indeed, they were rendered speechless. And it is probably true that many of our most vivid experiences of life usher us precisely into the place where we may feel most overwhelmed or stunned with the unsettling power of God. The birth of a child, falling in love, the energy of a bold idea, the rising of hope in the midst of despair: such experiences evoke amazement and awe. We sense that we are in the presence of mighty forces, and the hairs on the backs of our necks stand up as a sign of our sheer aliveness.
In the words of the English poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, may Christ ‘easter in us,’ so that the power of God will not only amaze or terrify us, but liberate and inspire us to walk in the ways of peace, hope and compassion.
Prayer: O God of resurrection power, startle us with your surprising grace and energy. Enter into our lives where we have crowded out miracles and imagination, and strengthen us to be witnesses and ambassadors of your boundless love; in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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