Getting the Easter Story Straight

Reader Joe loaned me his copy of Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life. A long title for a short book, don't you think. As mentioned before, Darwin and Lincoln were born on the same day, on opposite sides of the Atlantic ocean, and both were world-changers.

I was fascinated to read about Abraham Lincoln's untimely death and that those present had such varying views of what was said by his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, or if he said anything at all as he fired the fatal shot. Lincoln did not die immediately and there is also uncertainty about the chain of events leading up to his last breath and what was said by those who surrounded his death bed.

I find this rather comforting as we come to the day of resurrection, which began with the discovery of an empty tomb. We will read from Mark's gospel today, even though my usual choice and by far the most popular is John. John tells of the encounter between the grief-stricken Mary Magdalene and the Risen Christ. Mark puts a different group at the tomb, at a different time, and doesn't offer that Jesus was seen at all. The story ends with them running away in fear -- hardly a great start.

I think we might be a little suspicious if all four gospels were in total agreement on what happened, which they aren't. It would seem too much like "getting the story straight" the way we sometimes figure is happening with co-accused at a trial, or the police for that matter.

The four gospels all agree that the tomb was empty and that Jesus had risen from the dead. The apostle Paul, who wrote his letters before the gospels, agreed with this. It's up to us to decide what we agree with as followers of Christ.

To offer my opinion, Christ is Risen!