Easter Sunday
24 April 2011
First reading Acts 10:34,37-43
Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘The truth I have now come to realise’ he said ‘is that God does not have favourites, You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. Now I, and those with me, can witness to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and also to the fact that they killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses – we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead – and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.’
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 117:1-2,16-17,22-23
Second reading Colossians 3:1-4
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
Gospel John 20:1-9
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
Reflection
By Jeanne Therese Hilario-Andres
How unique Christian belief is. If you compare the world’s major religions, you will see the many different convictions humans have believed in throughout history. Yet what is distinctive about our Christian faith? What sets us apart?
Being Christian means believing in Jesus, yes. But just WHAT about Jesus do Christians believe in? Some other religions believe in Jesus, too. They acknowledge that He was a historical figure, and that He was a gifted prophet. Does believing that Jesus existed and that He was a good man make them Christian, too? What sets Christianity apart from all other world beliefs?
Simply put, Christians believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead. The very core of our faith is rooted in this. Jesus, in order to save us from the consequences of sin, had to rise from the dead, and this He did. One cannot call oneself a Christian and not believe this.
Jesus had to rise from the dead: Even for those who lived and followed Jesus during His ministry, I can imagine this must have been pretty hard to take!
As a child growing up on a steady reading diet of Uncle Arthur’s Bible Stories, I couldn’t figure out why the disciples couldn’t catch on to what Jesus was trying to tell them about how He would die and, after three days, rise from the dead. Being young and impatient, I felt frustrated whenever they would scold Jesus or ask dumb questions as He described in plain words how He was to suffer death, but how the Father will raise Him up soon after. It seemed as though they thought He was using figures of speech and didn’t really pay attention to what He was saying. I remember wanting to stamp my foot and tell them not to be so thick! Jesus was warning them about the future beforehand! Could these grown men really have been that dense? Peter even once rebuked Jesus for talking about His death (in Mark 8:32), and got soundly rebuked back.
But now, many decades of reflection later, I finally realize why the disciples found it so hard to accept Jesus’ teachings about His impending death and resurrection. Like anyone of us who may have just heard that their loved one was about to die, they were in denial. They did not want Jesus to die. They did not want to lose Him. They did not want to be separated from Him. And they thought that “rising from the dead” was just a figure of speech, for surely, wasn’t that impossible?
Good Friday came, with blood, grief and tears, and for all their denial, all the disciples’ worst fears had come true. Jesus had died. Then came Easter Sunday. The empty tomb. The discarded burial cloths. The missing body. Still, they could not yet fully grasp the truth. They thought someone had stolen His body.
And then Jesus came and showed Himself to them, not just once but many times, even eating and drinking with them! He really was alive! His rising from the dead had not been a figure of speech at all, but a real, tangible truth. Finally, gradually, the disciples got the idea! And when they finally got hold of this enormous truth, that Jesus died and literally rose again to save us, they professed it even unto death, even at the cost of their own lives.
What makes you a Christian? Is it your good works? Your going to Mass each Sunday? Your participation in liturgical celebrations and observances? Your charitable outreach projects? Your upbringing? Your prayers? Your actions? Your music choices? Your values? Is being a good, God-fearing person enough reason for one to be called a Christian?
Surely, certainly, these are all parts of how we may live out and express the fullness of our Christian faith. But at the very core, the very essence of our being Christian, lies our unshakeable belief in the death and resurrection of the Lord.
Yet Jesus’ resurrection is not just historical and theological— most importantly, it was personal, too. Intensely personal. Yes, Jesus died for you, but have you ever reflected on how He ROSE for you, as well? He meant for each one of us to personally experience the benefits of His rising.
He had chosen the disciples in advance (as we read in today’s first reading) to eat and drink with Him after His resurrection, just as He has now, in the same way, chosen us to eat and drink with Him at each Eucharistic celebration.
The disciples were chosen to discover with elation the miracle of the empty tomb, just as we have been chosen to experience the joy and wonder of new life in Him.
The disciples were chosen to proclaim the Good News, just as we are now called to tell others of Jesus’ rising.
Jesus was born, suffered death, and rose again— for you. You were chosen.
Even before you were born, even before you were formed in your mother’s womb, He had chosen you in advance. Think about it today: Jesus rose for all the world, but He also rose especially for you, that YOU may not die, but have life that lasts forever.
Will you accept His personal invitation today to live daily in the power of His resurrection?
Alleluia, my Lord Jesus! Thank you for dying and for rising for me. Deepen my faith in the truth and certainty of Your resurrection. Open my mind to receive fully the mystery of Your rising. Thank You, Lord, for choosing me. Give me grace to choose You and love You, and to live everyday in the power by which You rose from death. Amen.
Discipleship 101
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