Another kind of emptiness

Today is the day in the liturgical cycle for which many reserve as a day to mark the resurrection of Jesus.  (Note that this year, 2010, there is a coinciding of Western, Eastern Orthodox, and Jewish Passover dates - and this is something of a slight difficulty for the Orthodox who prefer to observe Pascha after the Passover.  I choose to interpret this as an inevitable imperfection in man's attempt to reflect God's actions into his daily life.  But if you like puzzles that include astronomy, history, and theology, this is a good day for you.)  The Christian tradition in which I was raised, did not observe Easter as a day that occurred once a year, but marked it every Sunday (as in fact do many other Christians as well).

Yesterday I wrote about the "nothingness" of Holy Saturday.  Today we read about three women, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome who became early witnesses to another kind of emptiness.  The gospel writer Mark writes:

"...he is not here..." (Mark 16:6)

Blunt, factual and frightening.   Something has happened that is completely unexpected.  To three women already traumatized and frightened, perhaps also humiliated, this must have been a sharp and visceral shock.  The oldest versions of this gospel end with just this kind of fear.

My thought is this: this account is a model of hope, or maybe the prerequisites of hope.  Unless the emptiness of the tomb is confronted as real, and if real, so out of the realm of ordinary nature, a true hope cannot be obtained.

Happy Easter.