Mark 16:1-8

Has the world turned upside-down, or has it always been this way?

Consider this story adapted from one by Roald Dahl.

It is a story not of people, but mice. These mice lived with an older man. He didn’t much mind the mice. Over time though they multiplied to the point where his home was overrun with them. 

One day he had enough. He purchased mousetraps, peanut butter and, glue. At home, he carefully put the peanut butter on the traps, set the traps, put a dap of glue on the bottom of the traps, and then glued the traps to the ceiling. There were hundreds of traps on the ceiling. 

That night the mice came out of hiding, looked up, and began to laugh. They laughed and laughed at the ridiculousness of the traps on the ceiling. 

The next morning the man came out, looked up and saw that he didn’t catch a single mouse. So, what did he do? He got out his glue and glued the dining room chairs, the table, and the rug to the ceiling. He glued the plates and silverware to the table; the pillows to chair; he glued everything to the ceiling. 

The next night the mice came out. They began to laugh again, but then one of them said, “I’m getting dizzy.” Soon another got dizzy, and then another and another. Why? Because their world was upside-down! 

Then one of them did a handstand. He told the rest that he felt much better. Soon all the mice were doing handstands. They all said, “Yes, we feel much better”. 

Over time blood rushed to their heads and they died. 

The next morning the man woke up, came into the room, got out his broom and pan, swept them all up, and threw them away. 

An Upside-Down World 

These last few months, as we live in middle of our global COVID-19 pandemic, it certainly seems like we are living in an upside-down world. 

But maybe, just maybe, our world, when we separate it from God, is always upside-down.

You might disagree, “No the world isn’t always upside-down, it’s the pandemic that has made it that way.” 

But let’s consider just a few facts and ask, “Does a world that is right-side-up have 40 million people in slavery, and almost 1 billion people living in hunger? 

If we step back and look at our world, I want to suggest, when it, when we, are separated from God, we turn it upside-down. The pandemic has simply magnified the situation—now all of us are much more acutely affected. 

We are coming to the end of Mark’s Gospel. We have been walking with Jesus. I want to ask you a question.

Did Jesus live life right-side-up, or was he upside-down?

Jesus’ actions at time confused us. Yet, as he walked the earth, as he went to the Cross without argument, living on this planet, lived the right-way up!

His Resurrection is his victory over all the powers of this world that have us, like our friends the mice, standing on our hands.

Today, in chapter 16 of Mark, we realize, we are the ones who had it the wrong-way-around. In fact, we had it upside-down.

Jesus, his life-death-resurrection-ascension restore us to right-way up living.

Jesus doesn’t just give us knowledge. His very life, death, resurrection and ascension; makes it possible for Him to put us right-side up! 

How are you thinking about Jesus and our world today? Are you willing to turn to him?