Do Not Be Afraid

As I grow older, my understanding of the Easter story becomes more nuanced. I used to think that Good Friday was the day for grief and Easter Sunday constituted unbridled celebration. However, the resurrection narratives are also marked by confusion and uncertainty. Mark’s gospel tells us that when Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome encounter Christ’s tomb and witness a young man in white robes, they are “alarmed” or “afraid” (16:5) and “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” (16:8).

Their first, and entirely natural, response to Jesus’s resurrection is fear and confusion, as they experience a profound rupture which challenges everything they thought they knew and understood. The theologian Graham Ward explores this interpretation of Mark’s Gospel with his postmodern approach to the text, focusing on how the story ends ambiguously, with the gaping hole of the empty tomb and the two discordant endings. Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Christ in John’s gospel is intensely emotional, subverting aspects of ancient romantic writing, but the risen Christ also initially fails to fulfil her immediate, instinctive desire and expectation, since he refuses to allow her to “hold on” to him (20:17).

Living, as we do, at a time of instant access to information and a tendency towards over-simplification and superficiality in public discourse, we can feel an expectation to skip over the complexity of the resurrection narratives and perhaps even force unequivocal happiness. Certainly, Easter is a time of great joy and celebrations for Christians, with its destiny-altering, epoch-shifting consequences thanks to the great saving work of Christ. But if your heart is wrestling with the complexity of the story, or you are unsettled and find yourself confronting doubts and questions, do not be afraid. The resurrection narratives are complex and multifaceted enough to hold a range of human responses. We still have plenty of time to celebrate Easter.