14 Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. 16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Reflection
All the eggs are dyed.
The flowers are planted.
Far too many jellybeans have been eaten.
Now what? Back to business as usual? Back to living as we did before we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ? It just doesn’t seem right: to work ourselves up to a celebration and then just leave it. Yes, yesterday morning we exclaimed, “Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Hallelujah!” But guess what, that is still the same today, and will be tomorrow.
Today’s text comes from the longer ending to Mark that was mentioned in yesterday’s devotional. Here, the risen Christ has been making some visits and has reached the disciples. The first two that Jesus ran into didn’t believe it was him. Now, Jesus is at the table where the eleven of them are sitting down to eat and gives them a piece of His mind as to why they did not have enough faith to believe that He had risen. Then, He puts them back to work, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” Now that Easter Sunday is over, it’s now time to live out our faith in the world.
Yes, Easter Sunday has come and gone but what we have seen, what we have experienced through the risen Christ lives on and now we are called the share in that Easter celebration with others today, tomorrow, the next day, and so on.
By Rachel Callender
For Pondering & Prayer
Have you ever thought about bringing Easter into more of your days? What can that look like? What would it mean to be Easter people after Easter?
Prayer: Risen Savior, you’re resurrection isn’t an ending but a beginning. Move your Holy Spirit through us to inspire us to share your loving sacrifice and gift of eternal life with the world. Amen.
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