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| “Noli Me Tangere” by Franciabigio, 1520-25 |
Reading 1: Acts
2:14, 22-33
On the day of Pentecost,
Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and
proclaimed:
"You who are Jews,
indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.
Let this be known to you, and
listen to my words.
"You who are children of
Israel
Jesus the Nazorean was a man
commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders,
and signs,
which God worked through him
in your midst, as you yourselves know.
This man, delivered up by the
set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men
to crucify him.
But God raised him up,
releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for
him to be held by it.
For David says of him:
I saw the Lord ever before me,
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has
exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the nether
world,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.
My brothers, one can
confidently say to you
about the patriarch David
that he died and was buried,
and his tomb is in our midst
to this day.
But since he was a prophet
and knew that God had sworn an oath to him
that he would set one of his
descendants upon his throne,
he foresaw and spoke of the
resurrection of the Christ,
that neither was he abandoned
to the netherworld
nor did his flesh see
corruption.
God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of
God,
he poured forth the promise
of the Holy Spirit
that he received from the
Father, as you both see and hear."
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Commentary on Acts 2:14, 22-33
This is the first
of the six professions (“kerugma” or proclamations) in Acts about the resurrection
set immediately following the Pentecost event.
In this proclamation, Peter, speaking to the Jews in Jerusalem
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I
take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My
Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion
and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my
lot.
R. Keep me safe, O God;
you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels
me;
even in the night my heart
exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before
me;
with him at my right hand I
shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God;
you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad
and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in
confidence;
Because you will not abandon
my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your
faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God;
you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to
life,
fullness of joys in your
presence,
the delights at your right
hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God;
you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Psalm 16 is a
song of thanksgiving that has become prophetic; it speaks clearly of the
resurrection accomplished now in Christ. It is one of trust in God. Each
strophe ends with an affirmation of faithfulness. Key in the context of the
Easter season is the idea of trust in God who has conquered death and offers
the same gift ("Because you will not
abandon my soul to the nether world, nor will you suffer your faithful one to
undergo corruption".). The psalmist prays that God will shield the
faithful from harm and expresses confidence in the Lord’s salvation; closing
the passage with praise for God’s loving mercy.
CCC: Ps
16:9-10 627
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Gospel: Matthew
28:8-15
Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce the news
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."
While they were going, some
of the guard went into the city
and told the chief priests
all that had happened.
The chief priests assembled
with the elders and took counsel;
then they gave a large sum of
money to the soldiers,
telling them, "You are
to say,
'His disciples came by night
and stole him while we were asleep.'
And if this gets to the ears
of the governor,
we will satisfy him and keep
you out of trouble."
The soldiers took the money
and did as they were instructed.
And this story has circulated
among the Jews to the present day.
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Commentary on Mt 28:8-15
From Matthew’s
Gospel we are told of Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Christ as she
returned from the empty tomb. In this
account, Mary is described as actually touching him. This differs from the description in the
Gospel of St. John (John
20:17). where Jesus asks Mary not to hold on to
him because he has not yet ascended to the Father. This scripture also tells us
something we would expect of those who did not want to believe, that is the
rumor that it was the disciples of Jesus who took the body rather than letting
the truth get out. What was not disputed
was that the tomb was empty.
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Reflection:
The Gospel story is dripping
with irony. At the time the events of
this story take place, the Disciples probably don’t fully understand what has
happened. Certainly those who first
discover the empty tomb are likely to be thinking it was the Romans that came
to take the body of Jesus away or perhaps someone hired by the Sanhedrin. Here St.
Matthew describes the reaction of the Jewish leadership to the empty tomb. It appears they understand, better than
Jesus’ friends what has taken place in the Resurrection.
The reaction of the Jews is
one of dismay. All of the Law and the
Prophets is predicated upon the one who comes from God to establish His kingdom
and now they find that they were the instruments of his death. Is it any wonder they initiate the biggest
cover-up in the history of the world?
But it is not God’s will. That is
where they have gone wrong from the beginning.
They have been trying to have God behave as they wanted instead of
trying to understand what God was telling them through His Son.
Our faith in the truth of the
Empty Tomb must caution us not fall into the same trap; only accepting our
limited view of what God wants us to do and be.
The resurrection of Christ changes everything. It changes the meaning of victory, if victory
for the Christian was expressed in human terms; our crucified Savior would seem
a defeat. It changes the meaning of
life! If life was defined simply in
physical terms, Christians would be nothing but the dust of death. Yet Christ shows us His risen body and life
with him moves to the eternal plain.
We see the irony of St.
Matthew and, like all great truths, the logic fits impeccably. But the Sanhedrin is too late, as the old
saying goes, “the cat is out of the bag”.
The Lord has risen as he promised and with that promise fulfilled, we
rejoice in the knowledge that all we have come to know about Him is true as
well.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture today is “Noli Me Tangere” by Franciabigio, 1520-25
[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.
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