The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to hear the Good News as experienced by the Apostles that “He is Risen”
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the Gentiles hear the Good News from Peter.
* [10:36–43] These words are more directed to Luke’s Christian readers than to the household of Cornelius, as indicated by the opening words, “You know.” They trace the continuity between the preaching and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and the proclamation of Jesus by the early community. The emphasis on this divinely ordained continuity (Acts 10:41) is meant to assure Luke’s readers of the fidelity of Christian tradition to the words and deeds of Jesus.
* [10:36] To the Israelites: Luke, in the words of Peter, speaks of the prominent position occupied by Israel in the history of salvation.
* [10:38] Jesus of Nazareth: God’s revelation of his plan for the destiny of humanity through Israel culminated in Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently, the ministry of Jesus is an integral part of God’s revelation. This viewpoint explains why the early Christian communities were interested in conserving the historical substance of the ministry of Jesus, a tradition leading to the production of the four gospels.
* [10:39] We are witnesses: the apostolic testimony was not restricted to the resurrection of Jesus but also included his historical ministry. This witness, however, was theological in character; the Twelve, divinely mandated as prophets, were empowered to interpret his sayings and deeds in the light of his redemptive death and resurrection. The meaning of these words and deeds was to be made clear to the developing Christian community as the bearer of the word of salvation (cf. Acts 1:21–26). Hanging him on a tree: see note on 5:30.
* [10:42] As judge of the living and the dead: the apostolic preaching to the Jews appealed to their messianic hope, while the preaching to Gentiles stressed the coming divine judgment; cf. 1 Thes 1:10. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 10, n.d.)
Psalm 118 is a Song of Victory.
* [Psalm 118] A thanksgiving liturgy accompanying a procession of the king and the people into the Temple precincts. After an invocation in the form of a litany (Ps 118:1–4), the psalmist (very likely speaking in the name of the community) describes how the people confidently implored God’s help (Ps 118:5–9) when hostile peoples threatened its life (Ps 118:10–14); vividly God’s rescue is recounted (Ps 118:15–18). Then follows a possible dialogue at the Temple gates between the priests and the psalmist as the latter enters to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice (Ps 118:19–25). Finally, the priests impart their blessing (Ps 118:26–27), and the psalmist sings in gratitude (Ps 118:28–29).
* [118:22] The stone the builders rejected: a proverb: what is insignificant to human beings has become great through divine election. The “stone” may originally have meant the foundation stone or capstone of the Temple. The New Testament interpreted the verse as referring to the death and resurrection of Christ (Mt 21:42; Acts 4:11; cf. Is 28:16 and Rom 9:33; 1 Pt 2:7). (Psalms, PSALM 118, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Colossians declares the New Life in Christ.
* [3:1–4] By retaining the message of the gospel that the risen, living Christ is the source of their salvation, the Colossians will be free from false religious evaluations of the things of the world (Col 3:1–2). They have died to these; but one day when Christ…appears, they will live with Christ in the presence of God (Col 3:3–4). (Colossians, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)
The Gospel of John presents the Resurrection of Jesus who appears to Mary Magdalene
* [20:1–31] The risen Jesus reveals his glory and confers the Spirit. This story fulfills the basic need for testimony to the resurrection. What we have here is not a record but a series of single stories.
* [20:1–10] The story of the empty tomb is found in both the Matthean and the Lucan traditions; John’s version seems to be a fusion of the two.
* [20:1] Still dark: according to Mark the sun had risen, Matthew describes it as “dawning,” and Luke refers to early dawn. Mary sees the stone removed, not the empty tomb.
* [20:2] Mary runs away, not directed by an angel/young man as in the synoptic accounts. The plural “we” in the second part of her statement might reflect a tradition of more women going to the tomb.
* [20:3–10] The basic narrative is told of Peter alone in Lk 24:12, a verse missing in important manuscripts and which may be borrowed from tradition similar to John. Cf. also Lk 24:24.
* [20:6–8] Some special feature about the state of the burial cloths caused the beloved disciple to believe. Perhaps the details emphasized that the grave had not been robbed.
* [20:9] Probably a general reference to the scriptures is intended, as in Lk 24:26 and 1 Cor 15:4. Some individual Old Testament passages suggested are Ps 16:10; Hos 6:2; Jon 2:1, 2, 10.
* [20:11–18] This appearance to Mary is found only in John, but cf. Mt 28:8–10 and Mk 16:9–11.
* [20:16] Rabbouni: Hebrew or Aramaic for “my master.”
* [20:17] Stop holding on to me: see Mt 28:9, where the women take hold of his feet. I have not yet ascended: for John and many of the New Testament writers, the ascension in the theological sense of going to the Father to be glorified took place with the resurrection as one action. This scene in John dramatizes such an understanding, for by Easter night Jesus is glorified and can give the Spirit. Therefore his ascension takes place immediately after he has talked to Mary. In such a view, the ascension after forty days described in Acts 1:1–11 would be simply a termination of earthly appearances or, perhaps better, an introduction to the conferral of the Spirit upon the early church, modeled on Elisha’s being able to have a (double) share in the spirit of Elijah if he saw him being taken up (same verb as ascending) into heaven (2 Kgs 2:9–12). To my Father and your Father, to my God and your God: this echoes Ru 1:16: “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” The Father of Jesus will now become the Father of the disciples because, once ascended, Jesus can give them the Spirit that comes from the Father and they can be reborn as God’s children (Jn 3:5). That is why he calls them my brothers. (John, CHAPTER 20, n.d.)
Steve Scholer comments that if ever there were a time to use the word “transcendent,” Easter Sunday is it.
May the glory and the promise of this joyous time of year bring peace and happiness to you and those you hold most dear. And may Christ, Our Risen Savior, always be there by your side to bless you most abundantly and be your loving guide.— Author Unknown (Scholer, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “The Womb of the Earth Gives Birth,” by Hesychius of Jerusalem, who died around 450 A.D.
"Hidden first in a womb of flesh, he sanctified human birth by his own birth. Hidden afterward in the womb of the earth, he gave life to the dead by his resurrection. Suffering, pain and sighs have now fled away. For who has known the mind of God, or who has been his counselor if not the Word made flesh who was nailed to the cross, who rose from the dead and who was taken up into heaven? This day brings a message of joy: it is the day of the Lord's resurrection when, with himself, he raised up the race of Adam. Born for the sake of human beings, he rose from the dead with them. On this day paradise is opened by the risen one, Adam is restored to life and Eve is consoled. On this day the divine call is heard, the kingdom is prepared, we are saved and Christ is adored. On this day, when he had trampled death under foot, made the tyrant a prisoner and despoiled the underworld, Christ ascended into heaven as a king in victory, as a ruler in glory, as an invincible charioteer. He said to the Father, 'Here am I, O God, with the children you have given me.' And he heard the Father's reply, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool' (Psalm 110:1)." To him be glory, now and for ever, through endless ages. Amen. [excerpt from EASTER HOMILY 5-6]
Hesychius of Jerusalem was a priest and a Scripture scholar who worked with Jerome and Cyril of Jerusalem. He wrote a commentary on the whole Bible.He died around 450 AD. (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 20:1-9 comments that by rising from the dead, Jesus proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that he has power over sin and death. Everything he said about himself is true. He is more than the victim of an unjust condemnation. He is more than an inspiring teacher or a philosopher or the founder of a new movement. He is more, even, than a healer and wonder-worker. He is the Son of God, the One whom death could not hold in its grasp (Romans 1:4).
It’s easy to understand why Jesus’ resurrection was always front and center when the apostles proclaimed the good news. You can see it in Peter’s sermon from today’s first reading. And you’ll see it throughout the Book of Acts this Easter season. The apostles’ preaching hinged on the resurrection of Jesus. Because the resurrection changes everything!
“Jesus, risen Lord, I rejoice in you!” (Meditation on John 20:1-9, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the first preaching, or kerygma, of Peter, to the Gentiles about giving witness to the resurrection of Christ. Mary Magdalene, at the tomb, in the Gospel of John represents the Church looking for her lover. The love of the beloved disciples propels them faster to the tomb than the authority of Peter, who in John’s Gospel, is often given less importance. Friar Jude notes that the Apostles remain confused until the encounter with the risen Jesus in the Upper Room.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, teaches on the Universal Christ, which reconnects Christ to his cosmic origin. Understanding the Universal or Cosmic Christ can change the way we relate to creation, to other religions, to other people, to ourselves, and to God. Knowing and experiencing this Christ can bring about a major shift in consciousness. Like Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9), we won’t be the same after encountering the Risen Christ.
Jesus’ historical transformation (“resurrected flesh”) and our understanding of the Spirit he gives us (see John 16:7–15; Acts 1:8) allow us to more easily experience the Presence that has always been available since the beginning of time, a Presence unlimited by space or time, the promise and guarantee of our own transformation (see 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Ephesians 1:13–14).
In the historical Jesus, this eternal omnipresence had a precise, concrete, and personal referent. God’s presence became more obvious and believable in the world. The formless took on form in someone we could “hear, see, and touch” (1 John 1:1), making God easier to love.
But it seems we so fell in love with this personal interface in Jesus that we forgot about the Eternal Christ, the Body of God, which is all of creation, which is really the First Incarnation. Jesus and Christ are not exactly the same. In the early Christian era, a few Eastern Fathers (such as Origen of Alexandria and Maximus the Confessor) noticed that the Christ was clearly older, larger, and different than Jesus himself. They mystically saw that Jesus is the union of human and divine in space and time; and Christ is the eternal union of matter and Spirit from the beginning of time.
Jesus willingly died—and Christ arose—yes, still Jesus, but now including and revealing everything else in its full purpose and glory. (Read Colossians 1:15–20, so you know this is not just my idea.)
When we believe in Jesus Christ, we’re believing in something much bigger than the historical incarnation that we call Jesus. Jesus is the visible map. The entire sweep of the meaning of the Anointed One, the Christ, includes us and all of creation since the beginning of time (see Romans 1:20). (Rohr, 2023)
Like Paul, our experience of Christ is of the Risen One, and of the intersection of the Spirit of love, truth, compassion, and mercy with our lives. We celebrate this today.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 10. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/10?34
Colossians, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/colossians/3?1
John, CHAPTER 20. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20?1
Meditation on John 20:1-9. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/04/09/652449/
Psalms, PSALM 118. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/118?1
Rohr, R. (2023, April 9). Christ Is Risen — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/christ-is-risen-2023-04-09/
Scholer, S. (2023, April 9). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040923.html
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=apr9a
No comments:
Post a Comment