Above: The Angel at the Tomb of Jesus
Image in the Public Domain
Doing What Love Requires
APRIL 3, 2024
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Almighty God, you give us the joy of celebrating our Lord’s resurrection.
Give us also the joys of life in your service,
and bring us at last to the full joy of life eternal,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 32
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Song of Solomon 3:1-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Mark 16:1-8
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I will give thanks to you, for you answered me
and have become my salvation.
The same stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the LORD’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
On this day the LORD has acted;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
–Psalm 118:21-24, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Today we have an interesting juxtaposition of texts. In the Song of Songs a woman seeks her lover and speaks of a royal wedding procession. Meanwhile, in Mark 16:1-8, women arrive at Christ’s tomb to anoint his corpse properly. They find an empty tomb and a messenger in a white robe. He informs them of Christ’s resurrection. The women flee the scene in fear, terror, and amazement. Thus the Gospel of Mark came to end, until people started tacking endings (at least three of them) onto it.
In one pericope we have an orderly, stately, and joyous procession, in the other, a fear-inspired recession. In both pericopes the female(s) act(s) out of devotion. And in neither pericope does the central man appear. These readings inspire us to use our imaginations. What is Jesus doing at that moment? Where is the monarch?
Jesus is a powerful and mysterious figure in the Gospel of Mark. There he remains mysterious until the original ending and powerful through the tacked-on conclusions. There is also a sense of the danger he was in throughout the Gospel of Mark, just as the two lovers in the Song of Songs are in danger. It is sad that such a beautiful thing as devotion to another (as in romance or friendship) or to a larger group puts one in danger from fearful people sometimes. Yet this is an accurate summary of reality, is it not? But pure love–as Christ embodied it in the flesh–proves more powerful and enduring than fear hostility, hatred, and violence.
May we focus on that which builds up others and ourselves, for what we do to others, we do to ourselves. May we affirm the sacred worth of people–including those quite different from us–by words and deeds. And, if love–regardless of the form of it of which one speaks and thinks–requires sacrifice and entails risk, may we do what love requires.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 17, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF MARIA STEWART, EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB, FOUNDER OF SAVE THE CHILDREN
THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER
THE FEAST OF SAINT OLYMPIAS, ORTHODOX DEACONESS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/doing-what-love-requires/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS 
Pingback: Doing What Love Requires | BLOGA THEOLOGICA