Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for April 19, 2020

First Reading: Acts 2:14a,22-32


Happy Easter! Alleluia! Christ is risen, and we move forward with joy into the 50 days of Eastertide, a liturgical season that continues through Pentecost Sunday.

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (c.1600), oil painting on canvas by Michele Angelo Merigi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). Sanssouci Picture Gallery, Potsdam, Germany. (Click image to enlarge.)

In the readings for the season we will hear about the apostles in the early church following Jesus’ way; mysterious appearances of the resurrected Christ, and Jesus’ words about God’s promise of eternal life. Today’s readings offer us insights into the meaning of resurrection in our lives. Throughout the Easter season, we replace our usual Old Testament reading with selections from Acts, the apostle Luke’s stories of the early church and how it grew. In Sunday’s first reading, Peter, touched by the Holy Spirit, addresses the amazed crowd with a fluent sermon declaring the resurrected Christ as Messiah, fulfilling the prophecy attributed to King David in Psalm 16, and assuring us of our hope for eternal life through Jesus.

Psalm: Psalm 16

Here is the full Psalm from which Peter quoted four verses in the first reading. If you’re paying close attention, you will notice that the words are similar but different here. That’s because Peter was using the Greek bible (called the Septuagint) that was standard in his time; today’s Psalm is translated from the older Hebrew bible. It can be fascinating to explore the similarities and differences, but both versions, of course, convey the same promise: God teaches us, God watches over us; God protects us, and God gives us joy and “pleasures for evermore.”

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9


Our second readings through Eastertide will draw from the First Book of Peter, the first of two letters written in Peter’s name to the church in Asia Minor. Appropriately for the season, this short letter shows us the evolving theology of resurrection and salvation in the early church around the end of the first century. Observing that the people are suffering “various trials” – perhaps persecution for their faith – the author assures them that even amid trials, God offers the faithful the joy of a lasting inheritance of salvation through Christ’s resurrection and life.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

The apostles knew that Jesus had risen, but this wonderful news was apparently not enough to keep them from being afraid of the Temple leaders who had worked with the Romans to arrest and execute Jesus. They’re hiding in a locked room, yet suddenly Jesus appears among them, twice telling them, “Peace be with you.” Jesus bears the visible scars of his crucifixion but is very much alive. He sends his friends, no longer fearful, out into the world in peace, empowered with the Holy Spirit through Jesus’ breath. A week later, Thomas, who had missed this first meeting, wins his reputation as “Doubting Thomas” by refusing to believe that Jesus had truly risen unless he could touch the wounds. Jesus invites Thomas to touch his wounds, and then he blesses all who believe through faith alone.