Hope For All Creation

Scripture Passages

Mark 16:1–15; Psalm 96:1-2, 11-13 (NLT)

1 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” 8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened. Then they briefly reported all this to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life. Amen. 9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. 11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her. 12 Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. 13 They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them. 14 Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead. 15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.

Psalm 96:1-2, 11–13 (NLT)

1 Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! 2 Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves…

11 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! 12 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for he is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.

Focus Statement

In resurrecting, Jesus gives us hope for new life.

This hope is life and joy for all creation!

Point of Relation

In 2004, in Highland Lakes, NJ, surrounded by the tranquil beauty of a rural lake community,

I found myself grappling with a pivotal moment in my life.

As a young child, I had felt a clear calling to become a pastor—

a calling that had never left me, despite my eventual pursuit of a career in software engineering.

When the company I worked for, Xplore Solutions,

unexpectedly went under, leaving me jobless with mounting financial obligations, I felt utterly lost.

Despite my efforts to navigate the uncertainty by starting my own web development business,

nothing seemed to pan out, and I found myself sinking deeper into despair.

It was during this tumultuous time that I invited my mom to see a movie together—

a seemingly inconsequential event that would change everything.

As we watched "The Passion of the Christ" unfold on the screen, I was profoundly moved by the depiction of Christ's sacrifice and the message of redemption it conveyed.

In that darkened theater, surrounded by the flickering images of Christ's journey to the cross, something within me stirred.

It was as if a veil had been lifted,

and I was suddenly confronted with the truth of my calling

and the depth of my faith.

In the aftermath of that experience,

I found a renewed sense of purpose and clarity.

The burdens that had weighed me down were replaced by a profound sense of peace,

and I knew with unwavering certainty that I was being called back to my true path—

to serve as a pastor and to live out my faith in a way that honored the calling I had felt since childhood.

Things to Consider

We have all faced setbacks in our life and felt lost, disillusioned, or helpless.

Sometimes, even when we see God at work,

we still struggle to grab ahold of the hope offered to us.

We are stuck in our old ways.

Yet, in the Easter story according to Mark’s Gospel,

we are told of how Jesus relentlessly shows up with the promise of hope and new life

and persistently calls us to respond, not only for our own sake but for the sake of all creation.

What Scripture Says

In Mark 16:1-3, Mary Magdalene and the other women are off to anoint the body of Jesus.

We can all imagine what they were feeling.

Despair.

Grief.

Fear.

Uncertainty.

LOSS

Verse 3 tells us they have no idea who will roll away the stone.

We can guess they might be feeling helpless or worried.

Nevertheless, they still go.

One way to move away from hopelessness

is to simply move from where we are stuck to another place physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

This action can open us up to new insights from God.

The women are certainly surprised as they arrive at the tomb,

first to find the stone has already been rolled back

and then in their meeting with the young man and the news he shares (verses 4-7).

After the encounter of verses 5-7, including the instruction to,

“go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you,” (v. 7),

the women leave frightened and unable to do as they’ve been commanded, even though what they’ve been told is good news – the best news!

We are in the midst of a time of fear right now.

And fear can cause us to lose focus…to look wayward instead of upward…

and it can cause us to make rash decisions for the sake of trying to “have” control over a desperate situation.

Friends, we need to be diligent in such a time as this to make sure that we lean inward and look upward toward Jesus.

We need to avoid the temptation to seek our way over God’s way…

and to avoid going wayward.

Now, on Easter, you’ll remember I said that the Scripture ends at verse 8, but here you will see that the passage continues on past verse 8.

Why is that?

Well, the oldest manuscripts we have of Mark stop at verse 8, with the women leaving afraid and saying nothing.

From there we find some newer manuscripts that have an alternate endings…a shorter ending that ends with “Amen.”

And then a longer ending includes the great commission to “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”

The word is “everyone” is actually translated to “the whole creation” in the New Revised Standard Version…

because the Greek word Pas means every or all.

The KJV translates it to every creature…

So there is a sense of the Gospel affecting more than just people…but that we are to proclaim it to all CREATION…

So, Jesus gives the instruction to “Go into all the world and proclaim good news to the whole creation.”

We often hear such words as a call to evangelism (or sharing the gospel with other people) and it is certainly that.

But “the whole creation” is broader than the human species and is all interconnected.

The news of resurrection and new, changed life is, indeed, for the whole creation.

The verses from Psalm 96 are among many in scripture that describe non-human creation praising God for God’s mighty works.

What This Means for You

Let me ask you these questions:

How have you encountered the risen Christ?

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How has that encounter changed you?

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What are you doing to invite other people into this same encounter for themselves?

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What’s more, how do we sometimes neglect the broader creation-wide vision of God’s redeeming work

and what practical steps can we take to proclaim, in word and action, the good news in, to, and with all creation?

As human beings, we have a reciprocal relationship with (the rest of) nature.

How can we, on the one hand, learn what it means to praise from the roaring sea and the exulting field (Psalm 96:11-12),

and on the other hand, care for sea and field that they might continue to praise God?

I want to remind you all of Jesus’ persistence in showing up to the disciples.

Even if/when we feel scared, doubtful and discouraged,

Jesus keeps showing up in persistent ways – big and small –

to call us to new life.

That new life isn’t merely an internal spiritual life to be kept a secret, but one that is in relationship with all of God’s creation

Spiritually, emotionally and physically.

So, we often think of spreading the good news through words to other people…

But we need to shift to see the bigger picture.

Our life in Jesus Christ is one that flips things of this world on their head…

Instead of shunning people, Christ calls us to embrace and love them…even enemies.

Instead of hoarding our resources for ourselves, Christ calls us to share them in common for the common good of all.

Instead of seeing creation as a means to human ends, Christ is calling us to treat all of creation as sacred…divinely created…loved by God.

Remember, God looked upon all that God created and called it good…

And God put humans in charge of caring for the earth as we see in Genesis 1:28

Friends, the resurrection can be something hard to wrap our heads around….

But it is the power of God to bring life to the dead that gives us our greatest hope…

That in Christ, death has been conquered and abundant life and love reign supreme.

So, I am inviting you to see signs of the resurrection all around:

trees blooming after winter,

recovery from illness,

healing from a painful past.

God has given us these small forms of resurrection that we might take the leap and believe in

THE resurrection and the promise it offers us of new life.

What This Means for Us

Sisters and brothers, as a church, we need to recognize our responsibility to live out the story of hope for a new life with Christ.

What are our responsibilities not only to each other but also to the world, creation, itself?

Don’t we have the responsibility to be the good, caring stewards of each other, of the world, of creation itself:

Can we even consider ourselves followers of the risen Christ

if we tend only our relationships with each other but not our relationship with all of creation as well?

Did Christ not tell us to proclaim the good news to the whole creation?

Friends, let us bear witness to the hope that exists for all creation in Jesus Christ.

Let us be known as the community that all around cares…and tends well to the resources

(personal, financial and natural alike)

we have been given. Amen? Amen.