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“Resurrection”
by Luca Giordano, after 1665 |
Readings for the Mass of Easter Day [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Peter proceeded to speak and said:
"You know what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people
and testify that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him
will receive forgiveness of sins through his name."
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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.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
Alleluia.
"The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD."
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or: Alleluia.
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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
Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.
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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.
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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Or: 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8
Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast,
so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
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Commentary on 1 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
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don't know where they put him."
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
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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 did. 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.
CCC: Jn 20:1 2174; Jn 20:2 640; Jn 20:5-7 640; Jn 20:6 640; Jn 20:7 515; Jn 20:8 640
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Or:
From the Vigil Mass Mark 16:1-7
When the sabbath was over,
Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome
bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.
Very early when the sun had risen,
on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.
They were saying to one another, "Who will roll back the stone for us
from the entrance to the tomb?"
When they looked up,
they saw that the stone had been rolled back;
it was very large.
On entering the tomb they saw a young man
sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe,
and they were utterly amazed.
He said to them, "Do not be amazed!
You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified.
He has been raised; he is not here.
Behold the place where they laid him.
But go and tell his disciples and Peter,
'He is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him, as he told you.'"
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Commentary on Mk 16:1-7
This reading from St. Mark’s Gospel is called the shorter ending. “The purpose of this narrative is to show that the tomb is empty and that Jesus has been raised and is going before you to Galilee in fulfillment of Mark 14:28. The women find the tomb empty, and an angel stationed there announces to them what has happened. They are told to proclaim the news to Peter and the disciples in order to prepare them for a reunion with him.” [6]
"'He has risen': the glorious resurrection of Jesus is the central mystery of our faith. 'If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain' (1 Corinthians 15:14). It is also the basis of our hope: 'if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. . . . If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied' (1 Corinthians 15:17; 19). The Resurrection means that Jesus has overcome death, sin, pain and the power of the devil. The Redemption which our Lord carried out through his death and resurrection is applied to the believer by means of the sacraments, especially by baptism and the Eucharist: 'We were buried with him by baptism and death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we might walk in newness of life' (Romans 6:4). 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day' (John 6:54). The resurrection of Christ is also the role of our new life: 'If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth' Colossians 3:1-2). Rising with Christ through grace means that 'just as Jesus Christ through his resurrection began a new immortal and heavenly life, so we must begin a new life according to the Spirit, once and for all renouncing sin and everything that leads us to sin, loving only God and everything that leads to God (St Pius X, "Catechism", 77).'" [7]
CCC: Mk 16:1 641, 2174; Mk 16:2 2174; Mk 16:5-7 333; Mk 16:7 652
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Or:
At an afternoon or evening Mass: Luke 24:13-35
That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus' disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
"What are you discussing as you walk along?"
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?"
And he replied to them, "What sort of things?"
They said to him,
"The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see."
And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?"
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, "Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over."
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
"Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
"The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
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Commentary on Lk 24:13-35
This story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus is found only in Luke’s Gospel. It is the first appearance of the Lord following his resurrection in Luke. 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 seven and eighteen 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).
It appears these disciples thought the unknown stranger joining them was "ignorant of events." They begin to explain their understanding of events. Here one of the travelers is named "Clopas." This is likely to be Luke's source for the event and it was probably his wife who stood by the cross in St. John's Gospel. (John 19:25) [8] It is clear from the disciples' dialogue that they do not understand the true mission of the Lord, nor that he was the long-awaited Messiah whose mission is the redemption of mankind.
"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." [9]
Jesus interprets Scripture and then he is recognized in the breaking of the bread (the Eucharistic reference). Luke uses the exact phrase used at the feeding of the five thousand (Luke 9:12): "he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them." Their reaction in recognizing him mirrors St. Peter's reaction immediately following as he confesses the Lord to be "The Messiah of God." (Luke 9:20)
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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Reflection:
He is risen!
We rejoice today because the Lord Jesus whom we thought to have been executed on Friday, through the mercy of God, has been raised from the dead! He has defeated death and opened the gates of the heavenly kingdom slammed shut all those millenniums ago when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were cast out. Today we celebrate because we have been saved, our lives have been reconciled once more and we share God’s grace.
We hear the familiar account (note, I do not call it a story lest it be confused with fiction) of the discovery of the empty tomb. We recall the passion of Jesus where he was tortured and crucified, killed by experts at killing, Roman soldiers. We recall how Joseph of Arimathea claimed the body of Jesus and had him hurriedly laid in his own tomb and had that tomb sealed with a large stone.
Today, on the Easter of our joy, we recount how the same tomb was discovered empty, well almost empty, because those wonderful women who had come to make sure that the body of their Lord was appropriately prepared for burial, discovered that huge stone had been moved and the tomb stood open. The mourning disciples were told of the open tomb and they all supposed, as the Romans no doubt did, that someone had stollen the body of Jesus.
We hear that there was a foot race which was won by the Gospel author, St. John who discovered the burial wrappings outside the tomb. And how Peter entered that almost empty tomb to find the body missing. St. John we are told, understood, but Peter and the other disciples would only come to realize what had happened later (in the locked room).
In recalling these events, and celebrating what we know to be true, we must ask a question. What if Jesus had not risen from the dead? What would have happened if, as the Sanhedrin intended, the disciples were scattered and the Son of God was forgotten as yet one more messiah myth? Think of what the world would have been had the New Fire never been lit and had darkness remained.
There would never have been a St. Paul to spread the word of Christ’s death and resurrection throughout the Roman Empire. There would never have been a St. Peter to establish the Church of Rome as the Holy See. There would never have been a Charlemagne to establish the Christian faith and give it sanction, allowing it to spread.
When Rome collapsed, there would have been no Church to keep the vestiges of culture, education, and literacy alive through the monastic orders she established and maintained. The middle ages would have seen a darkness that would never have lifted and pagan cultures that grew up in various places would never have been challenged; their often brutal and degrading practices would never have been abolished. In short, the world would have been a darker place under the sway of the Evil One had the Christ not brought his light to our world.
Having considered what would have happened historically if there had been no Risen Christ to bring light into the world, let us consider our current circumstances where we watch as those who hate the light try to extinguish it (cancel it). There is a great passage in the Book of Wisdom, commonly used in funeral Masses that captures the essence of what we now face.
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction. (Wisdom 3:1-3)
This is the attitude, this lack of hope for the future, that colors the thinking of those who wish to redefine morality for us. They tell us that we are foolish to believe in Jesus whom they claim to be at best a mere man and at worst simply an invented myth. They cannot believe that there is a God who so loves his creation, each and every one of us, that he would send his Son into the world to be a sacrifice that would open the doors of a heavenly kingdom where there is eternal life. How can they have hope? They believe there is no loving God, no eternal peace. They would have us believe also there are no consequences for amoral behavior.
For those of us who have the strength and courage to combat this secular push to disavow Christ, we must live as the early Christians depicted in the Acts of the Apostles, Colossians, and 1 Corinthians with belief that God raised up our Savior so that we could find forgiveness and rejoice in the love, so powerful that it created all that is to give us a home.
Today we recall this miraculous gift. Christ was raised from the dead, the firstborn of all the dead. He brought with him all those who had died before him without hope. He comes to us now in his glorified body, he reassures us of the promise he made – He is going before us to prepare a place in his heavenly kingdom, and he has left us the Holy Spirit, his divine presence, in-dwelling, to guide and sustain us until we return to him.
For today, we remember with great joy the peace he left us in this life and the promise of life in the next. We remember the joy of the first disciples at learning this wondrous news and share in their rejoicing as we recall all that Jesus Christ has done for us.
He is Risen!
[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.
[2] The picture used today is “Resurrection” by Luca Giordano, after 1665.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] 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.[5] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 699.
[6] NAB footnote on Mk 16:1-8.
[7] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp.321-22.
[8] The Gospel of Luke by Pablo T. Gadenz © 2018, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids MI, p.395.[9] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 513.
