The previous studies would have formed a lovely three point sermon: beginning, middle, and end, but Mark provides an unsettling denouement that demands extension into the world outside the narrative and mimics the continuing nature of real life. Peter’s denial and the women’s silence provide both commiseration for our own failures and also foils to the kind of faith we should have. Ultimately, though, these texts point to the powerful change wrought by the Spirit after the cross and resurrection of Christ that sustains us in a life on mission.