Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for March 27, 2016
Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene. Pietro da Cortona, 1640-1650, oil on canvas. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Alleluia. Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia! It is Easter Sunday, we remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All our readings speak of the resurrection and our life. Our first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles, the evangelist Luke’s account of the life of the early church. In these verses, Peter teaches in the household of the centurion Cornelius, a Roman army officer. Peter tells them about the Christian way: Jesus was crucified but raised from the dead, and now God’s saving grace is given through Jesus to Jew and Gentile, to all the nations. Jesus is Lord of all!
In this ancient hymn we remember Israel’s joyful thanks to God for its return from exile. While the prophetic words, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” spoke of the new temple, Christians may read this verse as a metaphor for Jesus. The words shout out the hope of an Easter people: “I shall not die, but I shall live … The Lord … did not give me over to death. … you have answered me and have become my salvation.”
Second Reading: I Corinthians 15:19-26
In his pastoral words to the early Christians of Corinth, who were puzzled and possibly arguing over the theology of resurrection, Paul tries to put the resurrection and its significance into simple terms. Remembering Adam’s fall and the ancient tradition of offering the first fruits of the harvest to God, Paul reminds the Corinthians that Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection changes everything. The resurrection promises the arrival of God’s kingdom on earth and of eternal life.
Gospel: John 20:1-18
Have you ever noticed that each of the four Gospel accounts of the resurrection is slightly different? In John we walk this road with Mary Magdalene, seeing her in tender verses as the only one who stayed behind at the empty tomb after the others had left. John portrays her as the first person to meet and speak with the risen Christ, and the one sent to proclaim the good news of his resurrection to the others. As in many other Gospel accounts of the risen Christ encountering his friends in unexpected ways, Mary did not recognize Jesus at first. But when he calls her name, you can feel the joy in her delighted response, “Rabbouni!”
Alternate Gospel: Luke 24:1-12
Have you ever noticed that all four Gospel accounts of the resurrection are slightly different? Eyewitness accounts often differ on details, and the Gospels are no exception. Only Luke, for example, names all the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee as the first to learn that Jesus was risen. They ran back to tell the rest. Does it surprise us that the men didn’t believe them until they went to see for themselves?