“When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But 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.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” (Mark 16:1-8)  You have to say this for Mark; he is consistent.  Just as he began his Gospel with the terse introduction, “the beginning of the Gospel…” he ends it just as quickly with the women fleeing from the tomb.  Again, he is consistent.  The disciples always seem to struggle according to Mark and here, even the faithful women disciples who at least come to the tomb, do not follow the “young man’s” instructions but hightail it out of there!  And the story ends.  But of course, it does not really end here.  But what I think Mark highlights for us is the sheer and absolute gift of Easter.  You see, the Resurrection does not come because of our efforts, but in spite of them.  Eventually the women will tell the others and eventually the others will see the risen Lord and then they will tell others and so on and so forth.  Finally, here we are, Easter 2021.  For most of us, Easter 2020 may have been the strangest one of our lives.  Like those first Easter disciples, we too were scattered and afraid.  We too were not gathering with the other followers.  But now this Sunday, less scattered and less afraid.  However, like 2020 and all the Easters that came before it, we are invited to see that the Lord is not among the dead but he is going ahead of us.  Jesus is inviting you and me like all the other followers, the famous and unnamed, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak.  He is inviting us all to join him in Galilee and wherever you are called into mission.  He says, “don’t worry about the past but come and follow me.”  Our Lord is risen indeed!  May the joy of that message so overwhelm you that you are in your own way just going to have to tell someone else!  Have a blessed Easter.