Risen for New Life

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to ponder the hope that radiates from the Easter sunrise and this year from the latest view of earth from space, that God has the final Word of Love, awe, gratitude, and affirmation in our Creation.

He is Risen

The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents Peter’s Speech to the household of Cornelius.

* [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 theproclamationof 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 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 118 is a possible dialogue at the Temple gates between the priests and the psalmist.

* [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). (Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Colossians proclaims Jesus Mystical Death and Resurrection.

* [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 | USCCB, n.d.)

The second Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Corinthians exhorts us to throw out the old yeast of our past.

* [5:7–8] In the Jewish calendar, Passover was followed immediately by the festival of Unleavened Bread. In preparation for this feast all traces of old bread were removed from the house, and during the festival only unleavened bread was eaten. The sequence of these two feasts provides Paul with an image of Christian existence: Christ’s death (the true Passover celebration) is followed by the life of the Christian community, marked by newness, purity, and integrity (a perpetual feast of unleavened bread). Paul may have been writing around Passover time (cf. 1 Cor 16:5); this is a little Easter homily, the earliest in Christian literature. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of John presents Mary Magdalene, Peter and the Beloved Disciple finding the Empty Tomb.

* [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. (John, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ  comments that Easter fills us with the freedom to love as we have been loved.

With our minds and hearts filled with Easter freedom, we can better love as we have been loved. We can be a source of reconciliation where there is conflict and division. We can speak truth to power on behalf of those on the margins. The tomb is empty. Let us live our lives full of that freedom.

“Easter does not eliminate the cross, but defeats it in the miraculous duel that changed our human history. Even our time, marked by so many crosses, invokes the dawn of Paschal hope. Christ’s Resurrection is not an idea, a theory, but the Event that is the foundation of faith. He, the Risen One, through the Holy Spirit, continues to remind us of this, so that we can be His witnesses even where human history does not see light on the horizon. Paschal hope does not disappoint. To believe truly in the Pasch through our daily journey means revolutionizing our lives, being transformed in order to transform the world with the gentle and courageous power of Christian hope.”

- Pope Leo XIV, General Audience, Wednesday, 5 November 2025 (Alexander, n.d.)

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 today we celebrate the culmination of the longing of God’s people through the ages. In today’s Gospel, we hear that when John looked into the empty tomb, he “saw and believed” (John 20:8). His eyes were opened, and he was able to respond to what he saw with faith. As we consider the empty tomb today, let’s ask the Lord to open our eyes and give us the grace to respond with faith as well!

Today as you rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus, rejoice in all its effects—both in your own life and for everyone. He has conquered sin and death and the devil! All our hopes have been fulfilled in him!

“Jesus, I rejoice in your resurrection! Open my eyes to see and believe all that you have accomplished.” (Meditation on John 20:1-9, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler offers some comments that the passage from Acts presents Peter preaching to Corneilus and his household in a dream that resonated with Peter’s vision. What God has created is clean and Cornelius, a God fearer, was to be accepted into the Church. In the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians we are called to the new life and we need to rid ourselves of the yeast of our old life. In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb early in the morning. Mary goes alone representing the Church looking for her lover. When the Beloved Disciple is told of the empty tomb he runs and arrives first driven by love and waits and bows to authority represented by Peter who sees and and the Beloved sees and believes. Friar Jude notes that in the account in Matthew’s very Jewish Gospel two women give witness in a time when they could not give testimony. 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explains how the resurrection offers us hope, especially in challenging times. Fr. Richard believes the resurrection of Christ is saying that the final judgment has already happened. It’s nothing we need to fear. It’s nothing we need to avoid or deny. God’s final judgment is that God will have the last word! Easter reveals that there are no dead ends; ultimately, nothing is going to end in tragedy and crucifixion. Of course we look around us, at history and at life in its daily moments and it seems, “No, that isn’t true.” And yet, ever and again, here and there, more than we suspect, new life breaks through for those who are willing to see and to cooperate with this universal mystery of resurrection.

Easter is the feast of hope. This is the feast that says God will have the last word and that God’s final judgment is resurrection. God will turn all that we maim and destroy and hurt and punish into life and beauty. 

What the resurrection reveals more than anything else is that love is stronger than death. Jesus walks the way of death with love, and what it becomes is not death but life. Surprise of surprises! It doesn’t fit any logical explanation. Yet this is the mystery: that nothing dies forever, and that all that has died will be reborn in love.

(Rohr, n.d.)

  

So, to be a Christian is to be inevitably and forever a person of hope. God in Christ is saying this is what will last: My life and my love will always and forever have the final word.  

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/10?34 

Alexander, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/ 

Colossians, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/colossians/3?1 

John, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20?1 

Meditation on John 20:1-9. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/04/05/1535628/ 

1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/5?6 

Psalms, PSALM 118 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/118?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). The Hope of Resurrection. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). John Saw the Empty Tomb and Believed. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 5, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/ 

Foundation in Faith

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the gifts and promise of the Holy Spirit for fullness of life and our commitment to act in response.

Foundation of Faith

The reading from the Prophet Isaiah is Judah’s Song of Victory.

* [26:1–19] This text is a mixture of praise for the salvation that will take place, a confession of Judah’s inability to achieve deliverance on its own, and earnest prayer that God may quickly bring about the longed-for salvation. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 26, 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). (Psalms, PSALM 118, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus exhorts us to live our faith.

* [7:24–27] The conclusion of the discourse (cf. Lk 6:47–49). Here the relation is not between saying and doing as in Mt 7:15–23 but between hearing and doing, and the words of Jesus are applied to every Christian (everyone who listens). (Matthew, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)

Suzanne Braddock comments that our commission to do the Father’s will seems difficult – how do we know what that is and how do we go about finding out?

For me, I like to boil things down to their least complex form, the simplest. In this matter of doing the Father’s will I turn in trust to Jesus, the very enfleshment of the Father’s will. His word builds the firm foundation of our lives.

Hopefully our actions flow from a frequent reading and pondering of his word, such that even without thinking, we express his love and mercy in all we do and say. I’m still working on it. Compassion is never wrong, even for ourselves.

And now, for me, the really good news in these readings: As we do the will of the Father we are already in heaven.  In my thinking, heaven can begin here and now, as we manifest the goodness of the Lord. (Braddock, 2022)

Don Schwager quotes “Turn your vision to the Savior,” by Verecundus (died 552 AD).

"When Hezekiah, the king of Judah and son of Ahaz, was gravely ill and had learned of his coming death by the prophecy of Isaiah, he turned his face to the wall and wept bitterly (2 Kings 20:1-3). Immediately the Lord in his mercy not only averted the destruction of imminent death but also added fifteen years to the man's life. Then, at last, Hezekiah sang this song (Isaiah 38:10-20). Hezekiah, a holy man who reigned at that time over all of Israel, displayed the Lord's form: clearly he had every movement of body, soul and mind in subjection to himself, and he accepted the consequences of his infirmity and weakness. He knew without doubt through the prophetic message that the end of his life was approaching. For the longer we seem to live, the more indubitably is our future death foreknown to us. And if we turn our face to the wall when struck by the fear of death, that is, if we direct the vision of our hearts to the Savior, who is here represented by the wall because he is elsewhere called 'a wall,' we will be saved, inasmuch as he saves the faithful who dwell within him from a great many attacks. 'In the city of our strength,' says Isaiah, 'is the Savior established as a wall and a fortress' (Isaiah 26:1). Behold, the Savior is said to be a wall." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON THE CANTICLE OF EZEKIEL 5.1-2) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 7:21, 24-27 comments that you would think that building our house on the solid rock of Jesus’ word would be easy. But we know that’s not always true. Temptation is never far away, and we sometimes give in. When this happens, our spiritual house can become weakened or fall into disrepair. If it happens too often, we risk seeing our house collapse altogether.

What a good thing, then, that Jesus has also given us the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which can help repair our spiritual foundation. Confession can be a wonderfully freeing experience! As you lay your sins at the foot of the cross, you can find yourself refreshed and renewed. As you listen to the words of forgiveness and consolation from the priest, you can find the strength and encouragement to get back to building your life on the most reliable and trustworthy foundation ever: Jesus himself. So try to get to Confession before Christmas, and see what God does in your heart as a result.

“Jesus, give me the courage to make a good confession this Advent.” (Meditation on Matthew 7:21, 24-27, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler compares the hymn of trust and humbling of the mighty and lifting of the downtrodden to the Magnificat hymn of Mary. Proclaiming “Lord, Lord” is superficial. We have to live it. Friar Jude suggests that in the times when our faith is shaken, our expression of desire to trust by wishing to have faith may be enough for God when it is the best we can do.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Historian and writer Diana Butler Bass who reflects on a church on Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay, and the implications of its future in this time of climate crisis. Theologian Sallie McFague (1933–2019) was inspired by Isaiah’s prophetic vision of new heavens and earth—and what it requires of us.

To me, the question about the future of Christianity has become: “What must Christians do to serve all creation when the island itself is in danger of sinking?” [1]

Isaiah’s hymn to a new creation and Jesus’ parables of the reign of God touch this deepest desire in each of us for a different, better world. It would be a world in which human dignity and the integrity of creation are central, a world in which the intrinsic value of all human beings and of the creation itself is recognized and appreciated. . . . Do we have any hope for a different, better world? Given the situation we face at the beginning of the twenty-first century of war, violence, AIDS, capitalist greed, and now the specter of global warming, it seems absurd to even bother with such a question. And yet we read in the Isaiah passage [65:17–25] that in the midst of painting this wonderful picture of life beyond our wildest dreams, God says, “Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.” “While they are yet speaking”—we have only to ask for God to answer! But we must ask with our whole being; a better world must become our deepest desire. And this means, of course, we must work at it; we must give our whole selves to it. [2] (Rohr, 2022)

The love and compassion that Jesus leads us to live is to be extended by our action to all people and the Creation around us.

References

Braddock, S. (2022, December 1). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/120122.html 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 26. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/26?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7?21 

Meditation on Matthew 7:21, 24-27. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/12/01/546647/ 

Psalms, PSALM 118. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/118?1 

Rohr, R. (2022, December 1). A Healthy Church Needs a Healthy Planet — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-healthy-church-needs-a-healthy-planet-2022-12-01/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=dec1