Today we celebrate the greatest of all Christian feasts: Easter Sunday.

We come together rejoicing in the goodness of God, knowing that Christ’s resurrection from the dead gives us the hope that we too will rise someday with him.

And yet, this one Sunday of the year should not be our only day of rejoicing in our risen Lord. We take on the identity of an “Easter people” because we believe that each Sunday echoes the greatest of all Christian feasts. Each Sunday we celebrate “mini-Easters,” remembering in a special way the day the Lord rose so that we might have life.

Just like the early Christians, we have the hope that the God who made us is waiting to remake us through the incredible transforming love of Jesus. This love, which culminated in his Passion and Resurrection, can and should convert our hearts to joyful praise. Just as Mary Magdalene’s heart changed from sorrow to joy when she encountered her risen Lord, so are we called to enter into that same joyful spirit as we approach Christ risen this Easter— the spirit of a new creation.

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(Next Sunday, April 28 @ 12:00 noon in the Hall)

1st Reading Reflection

Acts 10:34a, 37-43

This reading from Acts is part of the sermon Peter preached to the house of Cornelius. God had given Peter a vision instructing him to include the Gentiles in his evangelizing. Cornelius and his house are all Gentiles and are the first Gentiles to be baptized, according to Acts. Peter’s homily could be broken down into five points that show how God the Father has acted through Christ.

First, Peter says that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit at his baptism. Second, Peter states that God was with Jesus. When the Old Testament said that God was with someone it always meant an active presence. Jesus is crucified and God acts for the third time, raising Jesus from the dead. The fourth action of God is to commission the apostles to preach the Gospel. The fifth action Peter proclaims is that God the Father has made Jesus the judge of the living and the dead. Jesus can forgive because he’s judge.

Peter’s homily to the house of Cornelius begins with Jesus’ baptism and the descent of the Holy Spirit on him and ends with Jesus’ power to forgive sins as judge of all. It’s interesting that after Peter preached, he baptized the house of Cornelius and they received both the Holy Spirit and forgiveness of their sins.

2nd Reading Reflection

Colossians 3:1-4

This reading from St. Paul features one of his favorite themes, that the life of the Christian is a recapitulation of the life of Jesus. “Recapitulation” simply means a repetition.

Since the life of each Christian is a repetition of the life of Christ, St. Paul reminds the people of the church at Colossae that they’re dead, buried, risen, hidden in heaven, and destined to be revealed in glory with Christ, and that they ought to act as such. We’re dead to sin and selfishness in Christ, buried in the waters of Baptism, risen to dominion over our lower natures and over the spiritual powers of evil; our virtues are hidden in humility with Christ in heaven and will be revealed only at the final judgment. In this sense, each moment of Christian life is an Easter moment, capable of disclosing the whole of the mystery of Christ.

Because Christ now reigns in glory, we’re encouraged by St. Paul to do something that’s often foreign to modern minds: to “seek what is above” rather than the things of earth. Moderns don’t believe that heaven exists. We do believe in heaven, however, and it’s wise to keep one’s eyes on one’s intended destination. Christianity is, as a consequence, end-oriented. We look to heaven to keep our bearings straight.

Gospel Reflection

John 20:1-9

St. John’s Gospel recounts the first discovery of the empty tomb. John dutifully waits for Peter to arrive before he goes into the tomb. The next bit is a little confusing. We’re told that both saw the wrappings that had covered Jesus and that “the disciple,” that is, John, “saw and believed.”

Why does the text say that John “saw and believed,” and then, “For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead”? What did John see in that tomb that caused him to believe, even though he was unaware that the Scriptures had foretold the bodily resurrection of the Messiah?

Italian priest Don Antonio Persili, by his precise rendering of the Greek, suggests burial cloths that appear as though the body formerly covered by them had disappeared from within them—without disturbing them! Persili’s translation answers two questions. First, why the text suggests that there’s something odd about the fact that John believed without the prompting of scriptural support. Second, why what John saw prompted him to believe that Jesus had risen rather than simply having been removed from the tomb by someone else. The evidence at the tomb suggested to him that only by a mysterious act of power could Jesus have left the tomb.

DISCUSSION:

In his discussion of the Lord’s Day, the presenter refers to the New Creation described at the beginning of the Gospel of John.

• How does this prologue of the Gospel of John connect to the story of creation from Genesis?
• Why does John make this connection?

Christians gather on the Lord’s Day to celebrate the greatest of God’s saving works.

• Why do Christians gather on Sunday for worship when the Sabbath for the Jews was on Saturday?
• How is this gathering meant to remind us of God’s work in our own lives?

PRAY & MEDIATE:

RESOLUTION: As you imagine being present at the joy of the Resurrection, ask Jesus what he would have you do with your life from this point on. Think of one “dark” or difficult area of your life, and ask him how you can replace that area of darkness with the light of the Resurrection or transform an area of sorrow into joy.

Reflections reprinted with permission from  Opening the Word at Formed.org .
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