Easter Sermon: “Going to Galilee”

Did you notice that in Mark’s telling of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, Jesus never appears? He is absent.

In Matthew’s Gospel, the Risen Lord greets Mary Magdalene and “the other” Mary.  In John’s Gospel, Jesus appears as a Gardener to Mary Magdalene. But in Mark and Luke’s Easter narratives, Jesus is absent. 

What are we to make of this? Seems kind of anti-climactic. Even shocking.  Where is Jesus?

Mark recounts that the young man dressed in white says, “Go, tell (Jesus’) disciples and Peter that he (Jesus) is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 

Why Galilee?  Why not Nazareth? Or Bethlehem? Why will Jesus be found in Galilee?

When a place is special to us – like where we had a magical first date or got married (maybe at this church!) or love to go on vacation – when we go back to those places, we are often trying to reignite the feeling, the energy, the meaning of what happened there.

Galilee is that kind of special place for Jesus and his disciples. It is where he first gathered them together. It’s where he began his mission of teaching and healing. 

Returning to Galilee, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome and the other disciples will remember the hope they felt when Jesus was first building their community.  They will remember what it felt like to be in his presence.  They will remember how the Spirit stirred within them as Jesus taught and healed them and others.  They will remember the excitement they felt as Jesus called them into a new way of life.

And, by returning to Galilee, the disciples who scattered apart in fear after Jesus’ death will be restored as a community and try to make sense of all that has happened. 

Though Jesus may be physically absent, in Galilee his disciples will discover him in crucial new ways – in each other, in community, and by carrying out his mission. 

We often think of Jesus’ resurrection as a discrete, isolated event. But, if we look closely at the Gospel of Mark, we see God’s resurrecting power throughout Jesus’ life and death. 

When Jesus is baptized,  Mark describes Jesus “coming up” out of the baptismal waters of the Jordan. 

When Jesus displays his first miracle, he takes Peter’s mother in law’s hand and lifts her up. 

In his final miracle, he raises Lazarus. 

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, again and again and again, Jesus raises up the downcast and the downtrodden. A pattern is revealed:  The resurrecting power of God is the spiritual essence of every encounter Jesus has with those he teaches, heals, and serves. 

Jesus’ resurrection from death is not merely a one time event or the summation of his life, it is the pattern of his life and ministry. The spirit of  resurrection is at the heart of who Jesus is and what he does. Jesus’ resurrection isn’t just for him or about him.  The resurrection of Jesus is meant to unleash the resurrecting power of God in the lives of his disciples, in us. 

To understand the resurrection, Jesus must be raised in us.

Have you ever noticed that the people who seem to be most Christlike  aren’t those who talk a lot about Jesus, who profess faith in Jesus—but those who do the work of Jesus?  

If we want to understand what the resurrection is all about, it’s not enough to contemplate scripture or even pray.  We will understand the resurrecting power of God as we ourselves engage in raising others up, in serving others with love. 

A few years ago, I had the privilege of sitting with Maureen Quine, a much beloved member of the village community who recently died.  As she shared her life story with me, it was clear that her faith came most alive through the work she did in prisons, helping to raise up people behind bars. 

Talk to Rev. ElizaBeth or MaryAnn Kiely or Susan Wisser or Mary Burrell or Nancy Henry about the ways they minister to the residents at SeaCoast Nursing Home and you will discover five women whose spirits are raised.  

Who are the people you know who are most Christlike? Those who raise others up. 

So, let’s raise each other up.  Lord knows, in 2026, we need it. 

In Mark’s story of the resurrection, Jesus is absent.  Why? Because the point of Christian life isn’t just to believe in Jesus, the point is to go to Galilee – to join his community of raising others through love. 

When we come together in community, when we continue the mission of Jesus, when we raise other people up, then with the disciples, we, too, will see Jesus  and God willing,  others will see him  in us. Amen.

Source: Commentary on Mark 16.1-8 by Phillip Ruge Jones, Working Preacher, 2018