Catechism Links[1]
CCC 638-655, 989, 1001-1002: the Resurrection of Christ and our resurrection
CCC 647, 1167-1170, 1243, 1287: Easter, the Lord’s Day
CCC 1212: the Sacraments of Initiation
CCC 1214-1222, 1226-1228, 1234-1245, 1254: Baptism
CCC 1286-1289: Confirmation
CCC 1322-1323: Eucharist
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| “Resurrection of Christ” by Gerard Seghers, c. 1620 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Commentary on Acts 10:34a, 37-43
This is part of Peter’s speech to 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.
He goes further, explaining that his Apostles are also called to spread that word through preaching: to take what they have been given, the Good News of Christ and him crucified, into the world. This call, St. Peter explains, is so all peoples might come to know and understand that God has fulfilled the promise he made through the prophets by providing a sacrifice of atonement, his Only Begotten Son Jesus, and that belief in him will lead to reconciliation to the Father through the forgiveness of sins.
CCC: Acts 10:38 438, 453, 486, 1289; Acts 10:39 597; Acts 10:41 659, 995; Acts 10:42 679
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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:
Alleluia.
Commentary on Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Psalm 118 is in regular use during the Easter season. It is a liturgical song of praise and victory. The messianic imagery is so strong that it has been used for the past three days, reflecting the joy of the Church in the Eastertide. This litany of thanksgiving features the cornerstone image that, in addition to Acts 10:34a, 37-43 (Easter Sunday), was also used in the Gospel of St. Mark (Mark 12:10) and the first epistle of St. Peter (1 Peter 2:7) (there are 9 other scripture references not listed here).
CCC: Ps 118:22 587, 756
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Reading II: Colossians 3:1-4
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, telling them that if eternal life with Christ is what they desire, they should focus their thoughts on the Lord not on things of the earth.
CCC: Col 3-4 1971; Col 3:1-3 655; Col 3:1 1002; Col 3:3 665, 1003, 1420, 2796; Col 3:4 1003, 2772
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Commentary on I Cor 5:6b-8
Paul calls the Corinthians to conversion with a metaphor. He uses the dual meaning or implication of leaven in 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 and the unleavened bread of the Eucharist is their meal.
CCC: 1 Cor 5:6-8 129; 1 Cor 5:7 608, 610, 613
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Gospel: John 20:1-9
Commentary on John 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 (Luke 24:1-12), this story furnishes the testimony that confirms Christ’s resurrection. The story of the discovery of the empty tomb describes St. John (the disciple whom Jesus loved). “From these details concerning the empty tomb one deduces that Jesus' body must have risen in a heavenly manner, that is, in a way which transcended the laws of nature. It was not only a matter of the body being reanimated as happened, for example, in the case of Lazarus, who had to be unbound before he could walk (cf. John 11:44)”[5] It is interesting that St. John arrives first but recognizes St. Peter’s primacy, waiting for him to enter the tomb first. Note also that when St. John entered the tomb, he immediately understood what happened and “believed.”
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Or: Luke 24:1-12 (From the Vigil Mass, this option may be used for Mass during Easter Day.)
Commentary on Lk 24:1-12
This is the first of five parts of the resurrection story taking place nearly simultaneously in St. Luke’s Gospel. Joanna, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James arrive at the tomb to find it empty and encounter two angels. The announcement of the resurrection comes in the form of a question: “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised.” The great promise has been fulfilled. Luke says that, when these holy women related the events, there was disbelief. Only Peter believed them and ran to the tomb. We are not told that he understood (as John's Gospel relates about the Evangelist, himself cf John 20:1-8), rather that Peter was amazed at what had happened.
This is the first of five parts of the resurrection story taking place nearly simultaneously in St. Luke’s Gospel. Joanna, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James arrive at the tomb to find it empty and encounter two angels. The announcement of the resurrection comes in the form of a question: “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised.” The great promise has been fulfilled. Luke says that, when these holy women related the events, there was disbelief. Only Peter believed them and ran to the tomb. We are not told that he understood (as John's Gospel relates about the Evangelist, himself cf John 20:1-8), rather that Peter was amazed at what had happened.
CCC: Lk 24:1 641, 2174; Lk 24:3 640; Lk 24:5-6 626, 640; Lk 24:6-7 652; Lk 24:9-10 641; Lk 24:11 643; Lk 24:12 640
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Or, at an afternoon or evening Mass: Luke 24:13-35
Commentary on Lk 24:13-35
This story of the disciples on 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 (similar: in John 20:11-18, Mary Magdalene thought he was a gardener). Jesus interprets scripture and then he is recognized in the breaking of the bread (the Eucharistic reference).
"In the course of their conversation with Jesus, the disciples' mood changes from sadness to joy; they begin to hope again, and feel the need to share their joy with others, thus becoming heralds and witnesses of the risen Christ."[6]
CCC: Lk 24:13-49 1094; Lk 24:13-35 1329, 1347; Lk 24:15 645, 659; Lk 24:17 643; Lk 24:21 439; Lk 24:22-23 640; Lk 24:25-27 112, 601; Lk 24:26-27 572, 652; Lk 24:26 555, 710; Lk 24:27 555, 2625; Lk 24:30 645, 1166; Lk 24:31 659; Lk 24:34 552, 641
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Homily:
What would you do if, a day after you buried your best friend, someone ran up to you and told you they had just gone out to put flowers on the grave and found it empty? In this day and age you might think perhaps the cemetery workers had needed to exhume the casket, perhaps a mistake had been made. You might think that grave robbers had done something heinous. It is highly unlikely, no matter how spirit-filled your best friend may have been, that you would think, “Oh, they must have risen from the dead.” Whatever your thoughts might be, we can bet you would have them while rushing to the graveside.
That is essentially the picture painted by St. John
And when they arrived and saw the tomb empty, we can only imagine the heart stopping shock they felt. It was as Mary had said and things were even stranger than that. They feared; that the Temple Guards
To understand how confounding this event must have been, we need to understand what these disciples of Jesus believed about him and about death. First, and we must be clear about this, they absolutely knew Jesus was dead. They saw him die and they saw the guard shove a lance into his chest to make sure. The Romans were experts at killing, there was no question, Jesus was dead.
Jews of Jesus' day were divided about what happened after death. The Sadducees and most conservative Jews believed that when you died – that was it – you ended completely. We find this expressed in the Psalms where we hear the psalmist pleading with God to continue his physical life because once he has returned to dust he can no longer praise God. Others believed in some murky existence in a place called Sheol. A place of the dead, not quite hell as we know it, but an unhappy place. Still others at the time of Christ, notably some of the Pharisees, believed in the resurrection of the just (those who had been faithful to God during their lives) at the end of the age – the end times.
The disciples of Jesus were likely believers in this final view, that at the end of time, Jesus would be raised up with the rest of the just. In their wildest dreams they did not suspect that what they found at the tomb pointed to Jesus’ resurrection. The Gospel even says so. We hear at the end of St. John’s
In this Easter therefore, the disciples would have been facing a huge mystery. It would not be until later that they understood; when Jesus actually appeared to them and invited them to inspect his wounds to let them know he was not a ghost. It was only then that the magnitude of what had taken place would strike them. This revelation would send them scattering across the known world proclaiming the Good News. That is the Easter Proclamation: Jesus has risen from the dead and that was done for us.
The question we must ask ourselves as we rejoice once more in this knowledge is what does this event mean for us? In what way does it affect us and the way we live our lives? To answer those questions we must answer this one: Why did Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God, come to earth as man and endure suffering and death at the hands of a people he came to save? It is a question that we each must answer for ourselves, because it is only then that the answer will affect the way we live and our ultimate disposition at the end of time. If we believe that he did this so that each of us might enjoy the rewards of the peace and love of God in this life and in the next, then it should be the most important thing in our life. If we have not yet come to the conclusion that Jesus’ sacrifice is supremely important in our lives, that decision will show as well, and the benefits of faith will also be less evident.
Today we cry out rejoicing – He is Risen! From this hour forward his gift is once more in our hands; it is up to us what we do with it.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014
[3] The picture used today is “Resurrection of Christ” by Gerard Seghers, c. 1620
[5] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 699
[6] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 513
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