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.

The readings for Palm, or Passion, Sunday are the most dramatic of the whole year. They recount the entire story of Christ’s death from Holy Thursday through Good Friday. One of the unusual aspects of this week’s Gospel reading is that it is the one time during the year when all of us take part in proclaiming the Word of God by participating in the Gospel reading.

Today’s reading from the Gospel of John tells of a woman who was caught in the sin of adultery, and then caught again--but this time in God’s mercy and love. The account provides not only a striking example of Jesus’ mercy, but also his call to conversion. He offers forgiveness and healing and a call to a new life as he tells her: “Go and sin no more.”

The story of the Prodigal Son is one of the most familiar of all of Jesus’ parables. However, when we look more closely at the historical setting for this story we see that, for Jesus’ original audience in the first century, it would have been a shocking story. Do you know why?

At this midway point in our Lenten journey, today’s readings show us the Exodus, the great journey of the Jewish people out of Egypt. What are we to think of this amazing drama as Moses defied the King of Egypt, risking everything to obey God and lead His people out of their slavery?

What an amazing experience it must have been for Peter, James and John to witness an event few humans can imagine – the glory of Jesus! And yet we experience a similar miracle at every Mass as the glory of Jesus is shown to us in the Eucharist. The three Apostles didn’t take their experience for granted. Why should we?

As we begin the season of Lent, we join Jesus in the desert where he is tempted by the devil in three ways, each representing the same three tactics he commonly uses for us today. Can you identify the three?

Imagine that you and Jesus are standing in today’s Gospel reading under a fruit tree, loaded with ripening fruit. Jesus points to the fruit and says, “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit . . .every tree is known by its fruit.” In prayer, ask Jesus to show you areas where you are not bearing good fruit—perhaps in your friendships or family life or in your moral life.

Take a moment now and close your eyes. Imagine that you are with the disciples as Jesus begins to talk. You hear him say, “To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” What is your immediate reaction to hearing these things? In what ways is this teaching challenging for you?

Imagine yourself sitting at the feet of Jesus when he gave the Beatitudes. Hear him say that the rich and satisfied will be unhappy. Hear him offer a path of true happiness through humble obedience and faith. Do you accept this humble path?

Simon Peter had been up all night fishing unsuccessfully, but Jesus tells him to go out and try one more time. It’s easy to imagine how a seasoned fisherman like Simon Peter might resist the suggestion. But, in the end, he agrees. Perhaps he didn’t expect to catch anything. So we can imagine his surprise when his obedience yields more than he could possibly imagine. In that, we have an important lesson.

Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth to give a homily in the synagogue. At first, everyone is impressed. But then Jesus takes on the tone of a prophet and his hometown friends take offense, even inhibiting the ability of Jesus to effectively minister there. What lesson might we learn from this event?

Luke’s Gospel recounts the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry as He returns “in the power of the Holy Spirit” to Nazareth and stands up in the synagogue to read from the prophet Isaiah. There Isaiah declares that the Spirit of the Lord has commissioned him to announce good news to the poor, news of release from captivity, recovery of sight for the blind, liberty to the oppressed—all in all, a year “of the Lord’s favor.” The Old Testament called this celebration the Year of Jubilee. Jesus applied that passage to himself as a new beginning for Israel. He is the one who launches the Jubilee Year for all who will hear Him.