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| “Noli Me Tangere” by Marco Pino, 1550s |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
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, hear
these words.
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 (“kerygma” or proclamations) in Acts about the resurrection set
immediately following the Pentecost event. In this proclamation, Peter,
speaking to the Jews in Jerusalem (many of whom would have been in the crowd
that saw Jesus crucified), first tells them: “This man (Jesus)”
demonstrated, through “signs and wonders,” that he was the Christ. He
then makes the accusation: “you killed,” and concludes with, “but God
raised him up.” He reminds them that David had been promised an eternal
dynasty (quoting Psalm
16:8-11), and that promise had been fulfilled in the resurrected
Messiah, Jesus.
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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
in Christ. It is a hymn 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 didn’t
fully understand what had 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 understood, better than Jesus’ friends, what had
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, accepting only 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. The resurrection changes the meaning of life! If life were 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 plane.
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]
The picture
today is “Noli Me Tangere” by Marco Pino, 1550s.
[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 republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
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