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| “Noli Me Tangere” by Hans the Younger Holbein, 1524 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 2:36-41
On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the
Jewish people,
"Let the whole house
of Israel know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified."
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the
heart,
and they asked Peter and the other Apostles,
"What are we to do, my brothers?"
Peter said to them,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness
of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your
children
and to all those far off,
whomever the Lord our God will call."
He testified with many other arguments, and was
exhorting them,
"Save yourselves from this corrupt
generation."
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand persons were added that
day.
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Commentary on Acts
2:36-41
The selection from Acts continues
the First Discourse by Peter concerning the Messiah. In this section he
introduces Baptism in the name of Jesus. This is in accord with the
instructions of all four Gospels found here for the first time. Peter’s
arguments are compelling and we are told that three thousand people accepted
the call.
We note here also that Peter called
for “repentance” in addition to the call to Baptism. While Baptism
washes away past sins, repentance is a call to ongoing conversion of heart. The
indelible change in character is a consequence of the gift of the Holy Spirit
also given in Baptism.
CCC: Acts 2:34-36 447,
449; Acts 2:36-38 1433; Acts
2:36 440,
597, 695, 731, 746; Acts 2:38 1226,
1262, 1287, 1427; Acts 2:41 363,
1226
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20 and
22
R. (5b) The earth is full of the
goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the
Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear
him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the
Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the
Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps
33:4-5, 18-19, 20 and 22
Psalm
33 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. In this selection the emphasis
is on faithfulness to God who has saving power combined with hope, a central
component of faith in God. The sense of God’s adoption of his chosen ones is
expressed as the singer rejoices in the interdependence of the people and God’s
love.
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Gospel: John 20:11-18
Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, "Woman, why are you
weeping?"
She said to them, "They have taken my Lord,
and I don't know where they laid him."
When she had said this, she turned around and
saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you
weeping?
Whom are you looking for?"
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
"Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
"Rabbouni,"
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
'I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.'"
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
"I have seen the Lord,"
and then reported what he had told her.
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Commentary on Jn
20:11-18
Today we are given St. John’s
account of the first meeting between Mary Magdalene and Jesus following the
Lord’s crucifixion. It is likely, given her past relationship with Jesus, that
Mary throws herself at the Lord, embracing either his knees or feet. The
Lord’s response, “stop holding,” or in other translations “stop
touching me” (Noli Me Tangere), may indicate that relationships have
changed, that Christ must now let go of earthly ties to assume his
Godhead. In this account, we get a distinct picture that the
ascension had not been completed, but the Lord is waiting to deliver his final
instructions.
There is debate about when the Lord
ascended to the Father. Clearly, his last earthly appearance was fifty days
following the resurrection. Most scholars believe Jesus ascended immediately
following his meeting with Mary depicted here. His return, and his actions from
this point to the Ascension (Acts 1:1-11), were to
reassure the disciples and to bestow the gift of the Holy Spirit he had
promised.
CCC: Jn 20:11-18 641; Jn
20:13 640; Jn
20:14-15 645,
659; Jn 20:14 645; Jn
20:16 645; Jn
20:17 443,
645, 654, 660, 2795
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Reflection:
It is surprising, while we are still in the
Octave of Easter, that the message conveyed by scripture is not simply one of
rejoicing. It has a very practical message. Mary Magdalene is
weeping at the tomb, capturing the sense of loss initially felt before
realization dawned on the disciples about Jesus’ resurrection. Yet in a
temporal shift, we would hear St. Peter exhorting the Jews to repentance.
Yes, he is making his point, primarily about faith in Jesus and the need to
accept the cleansing bath of Baptism, but beyond that he is exhorting the need
for repentance – a change in how they act going forward.
Repentance is more than simply saying we are
sorry. True repentance is a fundamental change in how we act, and even
think about the world and those around us. It is conforming ourselves to
Christ’s mind in such a way that we react to people with what we will call the
“Christ Reflex.”
Anyone who has trained for a sport knows that
there is something called muscle memory. That means, when an athlete
trains long enough under strict supervision, their muscles automatically
perform without conscious thought. They reflexively act as they were
trained. Repentance means we train ourselves to have the “spiritual
memory” of how Christ would react. Through repetition and coaching we
train ourselves to think and act as if Christ were whispering in our ear in
real-time.
We are an Easter people. We believe that
our Savior came to the world so that we might take his message of love to
heart, and to understand that it is God’s will that we apply his example in our
lives. The only way we can do that is to develop the “Christ
Reflex.” When we see the poor, the infirm, or the marginalized, our
reflex should be love, not fear or revulsion. When we are wronged,
mentally or physically, our reaction must be compassion and forgiveness, not
hatred or the desire for vengeance. It is difficult, this Christ
Reflex. And it will not come overnight. Further we cannot do it in
a vacuum. We need a coach. Getting a spiritual director is advisable,
and having a training partner is also recommended to keep each other
honest and on track. And, of course we need the whole team to cheer us on
(that would be our faith community).
Our Easter joy is somewhat tempered by the
knowledge of how far we must grow to become the disciples the Lord
expects. Now while the echo of the Gloria bells still reverberates, let
us make a pledge to work toward that Christ Reflex and to accept his challenge
and example.
Pax
[1]
The picture
use is “Noli Me Tangere” by Hans the Younger Holbein, 1524
[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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