The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to courageously proclaim the Life we have in Christ and resist the temptation to accommodate the scepticism, cynicism and bias against belief that permeates our indifferent society.
Good News for all
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter addresses the crowd at Pentecost.
* [2:14–36] The first of six discourses in Acts (along with Acts 3:12–26; 4:8–12; 5:29–32; 10:34–43; 13:16–41) dealing with the resurrection of Jesus and its messianic import. Five of these are attributed to Peter, the final one to Paul. Modern scholars term these discourses in Acts the “kerygma,” the Greek word for proclamation (cf. 1 Cor 15:11).1
Psalm 16 is a song of trust and security in God.
* [Psalm 16] In the first section, the psalmist rejects the futile worship of false gods (Ps 16:2–5), preferring Israel’s God (Ps 16:1), the giver of the land (Ps 16:6). The second section reflects on the wise and life-giving presence of God (Ps 16:7–11).2
The Gospel of Matthew details the report of the Guard at Jesus’ Tomb.
* [28:9–10] Although these verses are peculiar to Matthew, there are similarities between them and John’s account of the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene (Jn 20:17). In both there is a touching of Jesus’ body, and a command of Jesus to bear a message to his disciples, designated as his brothers. Matthew may have drawn upon a tradition that appears in a different form in John. Jesus’ words to the women are mainly a repetition of those of the angel (Mt 28:5a, 7b). * [28:11–15] This account indicates that the dispute between Christians and Jews about the empty tomb was not whether the tomb was empty but why.3
Susan Naatz comments that this year, Easter and the days which follow will be different throughout the Christian world. It will be different because the world is different. We are forever changed. After a year of tremendous suffering, loss, fear and sorrow due to the pandemic, Jesus invites us to receive the gifts of his Resurrection in a new way. We are invited to take slow, courageous steps to emerge from our suffering and walk toward the light.
Easter and our slow emergence from the pandemic invite us to push away the stones that have blocked us in the past from fully hearing and embracing the Easter message or for fully living our lives. Jesus offers to help us roll away the stones in our hearts. Stones that have stopped us from extending forgiveness, mercy, compassion, and love. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary raced from the tomb where the angel had rolled away the stone. Both the angel and Jesus told them not to be afraid. As we push away the stones in our lives, may this message of Easter fill us with joy as we go forward without fear and become forever changed.4
Don Schwager quotes “The Easter Alleluia,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice for ever in the life to come; and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for it now. So we praise God during our earthly life, and at the same time we make our petitions to him. Our praise is expressed with joy, our petitions with yearning. We have been promised something we do not yet possess, and because the promise was made by one who keeps his word, we trust him and are glad; but insofar as possession is delayed, we can only long and yearn for it. It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised, and yearning is over; then praise alone will remain." (excerpt from commentary on Psalm 148, 1-2)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 2:14, 22-33 invites us to take a few moments to reflect on some of God’s other promises to us—promises that are also fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection.
God has promised to renew creation. As Jesus’ crucified body was resurrected and glorified, ours will be too. Disease, pain, and anxiety will be swallowed up. Jesus will make all things new, not just us (Revelation 21:5). He will restore all of creation. God has promised to reconcile his people. There will be no more war, injustice, or division. Jesus will gather his Church from across all time and space, and he will make us into one family of God. We’ll even be reunited with our loved ones in Christ who have passed away. God has promised to reward his servants. We can’t imagine the joy that awaits us in God’s presence—but it doesn’t hurt to try. Even now, he’s preparing to reward every sacrificial act of love, no matter how small.6
Friar Jude Winkler identifies the speech of Peter as the kerygma presented to people after Jesus' Resurrection. Luke, in Acts, portrays Christians as good Roman citizens and the Jewish authorities as lawless. Friar Jude notes the apologia of Luke contradicts the story of Jesus' body being stolen by His disciples.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares the work of his friend Matthew Fox who published a book during the COVID-19 pandemic about Julian of Norwich. Julian’s teachings focus on God’s infinite love, goodness, and mercy. Even during the Black Death (bubonic plague) in which perhaps a third of the world’s population died, even during her own near-death experience when she received visions of Jesus’ brutal crucifixion, Julian trusts that “all will be well.” Matthew Fox shows how Julian is a mystic for our own time.
Our sister and ancestor Julian is eager not only to speak to us today but to shout at us—albeit in a gentle way—to wake up and to go deep, to face the darkness and to dig down and find goodness, joy and awe. And to go to work to defend Mother Earth and all her creatures, stripping ourselves of racism, sexism, nationalisms, anthropocentrism, sectarianism—anything that interferes with our greatness as human beings. And to connect anew to the sacredness of life.7
In the Easter season, passages from the Acts of the Apostles will share the early growth of the Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and encourage us to bring the Good News to all people.
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