Easter Sunday

The Resurrection of the Lord

“The Resurrection” by Vecellio Tizano, 1542-44

The Mass of Easter Day

Readings for Easter Sunday

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary: [3]

Reading 1 Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Peter proceeded to speak and said:

“You know what has happened all over Judea,

beginning in Galilee after the baptism

that John preached,

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth

with the Holy Spirit and power.

He went about doing good

and healing all those oppressed by the devil,

for God was with him.

We are witnesses of all that he did

both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.

This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,

not to all the people, but to us,

the witnesses chosen by God in advance,

who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

He commissioned us to preach to the people

and testify that he is the one appointed by God

as judge of the living and the dead.

To him all the prophets bear witness,

that everyone who believes in him

will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

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Commentary on Acts 10:34a, 37-43

This is part of Peter’s speech to the Cornelius and his family (Gentiles). Peter (according to St. Luke) assumes the people know what has happened – namely that Jesus who was thought to be the Messiah, had proven that fact in the resurrection. Now he reminds them, before the creed was written that Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

R. (24) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his mercy endures forever.

Let the house of Israel say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.

“The right hand of the Lord has struck with power;

the right hand of the Lord is exalted.

I shall not die, but live,

and declare the works of the Lord.”

R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.

The stone which the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

By the Lord has this been done;

it is wonderful in our eyes.

R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.

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Commentary on Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

Psalm 118 is a song of thanksgiving emphasizing the fidelity of God. The final strophe gives a reminder that God’s only Son was rejected and, in the resurrection, revealed to all the word that he is the cornerstone of all creation.

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Reading II Colossians 3:1-4

Brothers and sisters:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,

where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ your life appears,

then you too will appear with him in glory.

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Commentary on Col 3:1-4

Paul gives assurance to the Colossians that they too have a home with Christ who now is seated at the right hand of the Father. In saying this, he points their aspirations to the things of heaven.

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Or: I Corinthians 5:6b-8

Brothers and sisters:

Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?

Clear out the old yeast,

so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,

inasmuch as you are unleavened.

For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.

Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,

not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,

but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

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Commentary on I Cor 5:6b-8

Paul calls the Corinthians to conversion with a metaphor. He uses the duel meaning or implication of leaven bread and the feast of the Passover to symbolize the new covenant. The traditional Passover meal or Seder is lamb and unleavened bread. Christ, the Lamb of God in the unleavened bread of the Eucharist is their meal.

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Gospel: John 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,

Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,

while it was still dark,

and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter

and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,

and we don’t know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter

and arrived at the tomb first;

he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

When Simon Peter arrived after him,

he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,

and the cloth that had covered his head,

not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.

Then the other disciple also went in,

the one who had arrived at the tomb first,

and he saw and believed.

For they did not yet understand the Scripture

that he had to rise from the dead.

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Commentary on Jn 20:1-9

In St. John’s account of the discovery of the “Empty Tomb” we hear how the disciple whom Jesus loved understood what had come to pass before Peter. Found also in Luke, this story furnishes the testimony that confirms Christ’s resurrection.

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OR
Gospel: Matthew 28:1-10

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

And behold, there was a great earthquake;

for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven,

approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.

His appearance was like lightning

and his clothing was white as snow.

The guards were shaken with fear of him

and became like dead men.

Then the angel said to the women in reply,

“Do not be afraid!

I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.

He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.

Come and see the place where he lay.

Then go quickly and tell his disciples,

‘He has been raised from the dead,

and he is going before you to Galilee;

there you will see him.’

Behold, I have told you.”

Then they went away quickly from the tomb,

fearful yet overjoyed,

and ran to announce this to his disciples.

And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.

They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.

Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,

and there they will see me.”

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Commentary on Mt 28:1-10

St. Matthew’s account of the empty tomb has much in common with Mark and Luke. Unique in this account is the dramatic action which rolls the stone away from the tomb and the proactive angelic presence announcing the resurrection. In none of the Gospel accounts do we actually see Christ rising from the dead. The empty tomb and the reminder that Jesus told his disciples that he would rise after three days is the evidence of the great salvific event.

The two women’s encounter with Christ as the ran to tell the disciples is unique in the synoptic Gospels but is similar to the account from St. John. They embraced him- a physical form, raised from the dead.

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Or, at an afternoon or evening Mass: Luke 24:13-35

That very day, the first day of the week,

two of Jesus' disciples were going

to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,

and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.

And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,

Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,

but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

He asked them,

"What are you discussing as you walk along?"

They stopped, looking downcast.

One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,

"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem

who does not know of the things

that have taken place there in these days?"

And he replied to them, "What sort of things?"

They said to him,

"The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,

who was a prophet mighty in deed and word

before God and all the people,

how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over

to a sentence of death and crucified him.

But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;

and besides all this,

it is now the third day since this took place.

Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:

they were at the tomb early in the morning

and did not find his body;

they came back and reported

that they had indeed seen a vision of angels

who announced that he was alive.

Then some of those with us went to the tomb

and found things just as the women had described,

but him they did not see."

And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!

How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things

and enter into his glory?"

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,

he interpreted to them what referred to him

in all the Scriptures.

As they approached the village to which they were going,

he gave the impression that he was going on farther.

But they urged him, "Stay with us,

for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over."

So he went in to stay with them.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table,

he took bread, said the blessing,

broke it, and gave it to them.

With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,

but he vanished from their sight.

Then they said to each other,

"Were not our hearts burning within us

while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"

So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem

where they found gathered together

the eleven and those with them who were saying,

"The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"

Then the two recounted

what had taken place on the way

and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

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Commentary on Lk 24:13-35

This story of the disciples of the road to Emmaus is only found in Luke’s Gospel. There is a mention in Mark (Mark 16;12) that is vague but probably refers to this event. The actual location of Emmaus is not known but it is estimated that it was between 7 and 18 miles from Jerusalem. The focus of the story is the unrecognized Jesus (similarly in John 20:11-18 Mary Magdalene thought he was a gardener) interprets scripture and then his recognition in the breaking of the bread (the Eucharistic reference).

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Reflection:

He is Risen!

The forty days of preparation have ended and we celebrate the greatest feast of the Church. Jesus Christ The Gospel of St. John tells the story of the foot race between St. Peter and another (much younger) disciple, probably St. John himself. They rush to the grave because Mary Magdala has told them something astonishing. She has been to the Tomb and it was empty!

They had to see for themselves. It had been three days and they could not have gone earlier because they were forbidden to make that journey on the Sabbath. What did they think as they ran? Were they fighting with their faith? Did they believe that what Jesus had been telling them all along had come to pass or could have been the Romans or even the Temple guards that took the body, still not prepared for proper burial to some other place, further humiliating the Lord after his death.

The truth of that event has come to be known. Centuries past and the debate raged. The Lord came to reveal the truth; that God loves us, created in His image, an impulse of his love. And when he saw that we did not understand, he sent his Son that we might come to see that he was not simply a parent who punished his children when they were in error. He was not simply, as the Jews had come to believe, a strict disciplinarian, rather he was a loving Father who cared deeply for his children and wanted to be with them always.

His Son came to us knowing that many would not accept the Love of the Father; knowing that they would reject him so violently that it would result in humiliation and horrible, painful death. Molding flesh in the Virgin Mary’s womb, Christ came to us with all of the frailties that make up a true man. What good would God’s sacrifice have seemed if his unending Godhead descended? He showed us with his actions the life God wanted for us; a life without contest, in harmony with one another and all creation. He gathered all Sacred Scripture to himself and showed us how it fit together – he was the Epiphany.

In the end, when he had shown us all the love he could, he took the path preordained. It was a path the man Jesus did not want. It was the path the God, Jesus, knew was necessary. It fulfilled the new covenant. The sacrifice was God himself, the seal of that covenant was his blood. And now, so we might not be like those who live in darkness and have no hope, He has Risen!

What do we believe and what does that mean for us? If we believe that Christ has risen as he told us repeatedly that he would, then we understand him the be the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God who as Paul and Luke both tell us, now sits at the right had of the Father in the seat of Justice. If that is our belief, first we celebrate that event joyfully today. Not just because our long fast has ended, but once more the Church proclaims throughout the world that salvation is there for the asking. The great “Alleluia” has sounded and we are called to echo that joyous sound that the world will know and come to believe, “For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.”

Pax

Please Remember Esther Ruth Miles (September 18,1925-April 18, 2008)

[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture today is “The Resurrection” by Vecellio Tizano, 1542-44
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.