Easter Sunday
Sunday liturgy (Cycle C) — White
1st Reading
Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Lectio (Reading)
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.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Lectio (Reading)
R. (24) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. 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:
R. 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:
R. 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:
R. Alleluia.
2nd Reading
Colossians 3:1-4
Lectio (Reading)
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.
Gospel Reading
John 20:1-9
Lectio (Reading)
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.
Meditatio (Reflecting)
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
Oratio (Responding)
The story being told here, is more than just an amusing story about a young man outrunning an older one, it is instead a metaphor for a deep theological truth. Peter Kreeft in his commentary on this gospel calls this “the story of the mystic and the magisterium.” Meaning that John (the mystic), almost always understood what was being said and taught by Jesus very quickly. John was very aware, and very perceptive, and very quick to get it. Peter (the magisterium), on the other hand, was much slower to understand and took his time, he made mistakes, but eventually got there.
John in this story is telling us something very important about the church and how Jesus founded it with Peter at the head of it. In the 2000 year history of the church many mystics, and “seers” have arisen and brought us stories of incredible encounters with Jesus, Mary and the Saints. These personal revelations are quick to move the people and even create mass movements. These revelations often have immediate effects on people and can even cause cultural change. Apparitions like Fatima, and Medjugorje are miraculous stories, and have moved the people, and many conversions, and reversions have happened as a result. But the church often takes a long time to catch up. It took the vatican 13 years to declare that Fatima was worthy of belief despite the 70,000 people that witnessed it, and filmed it, and Medjugorje apparitions happened in 1981 and is still waiting for that designation.
This principle of thorough investigation, and prayerful discernment is something we should all take very seriously. The world is quick to follow the zietghiest, and move with the ebbs and flows of cultural change, but the church is not and should not. This caution, and deliberateness, should be a model for our own lives. In jumping to conclusions, reacting instead of responding, we all could learn a lesson from the church, by waiting, and seeing how things work out…, and often do, work themselves out. Our current church craziness is no different. Some day there will be a new pope, and new bishops, and we will have to deal with new issues. Let us just hope that the church will withstand all of this current cultural pressure, like it has withstood the 2000 years of “new” ideas that have come before. Amen.
Contemplatio (Contemplating)
Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.
Resolutio (Resolving)
Oh. lord, help me today to respond, with thoughtful reflection, to the things that happen to me today and not react hastily and abruptly. Amen.