Easter Sunday (Cycle A, Year I)
Community Word:
The glory of God shines to those who truly believe.
Theme:
The glory of God shines through us when we rejoice in Christ’s resurrection.
Promise:
“Everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43b)
Reflection:
The death of Jesus is the most salient part in his life because he showed that the Son of God is truly human. In order to redeem mankind, he needed to suppress his divinity while he finished the human part of his story. However, central to our belief as Christians is the fact that Jesus truly rose from the dead and is alive today, now and forever. This is the story of Easter. And our belief in Christ’s resurrection is the key to our Christian faith – to believe in the fulfillment of his promised salvation
In the gospel of John, Mary of Magdala saw the empty tomb with the folded burial clothes, and she exclaimed to the disciples, “They have taken the Lord and we don’t know where they put him.” Peter went into the tomb to check and also “saw the burial clothes there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.” Probably both Mary and Peter were convinced that Jesus’ body was removed. John, on the other hand, saw and believed that Jesus “had to rise from the dead,” (Jn 20:1 – 9). With such a strong display of faith, John was truly a disciple closest to the heart of Jesus, for as Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed,” (Jn 20:29).
Jesus, the only Begotten Son, rose from the dead and unlocked for us the path to eternity. We believe that he suffered and died to secure our own resurrection from death, both spiritually and physically in the last judgement. “For if we have grown into union with him through death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection,” (Rom 6:5). “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, he who also raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in us,” (Rom 6:11). If we died with Christ from our sin, we will also live with him: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live forever.”
As we continue with our faith journey being Christ’s disciples, we must keep the solemnity of the Lord’s resurrection through the renewal brought about the Holy Spirit and stay focused on the significance of the “empty tomb.” Today, even if many are still in doubt that the resurrection did happen, we are so blessed to “vividly see the keys of death hanging on the inside of Christ’s tomb,’ metaphorically speaking. From the outside, Christ could do many wonderful works, including raising a twelve year old girl and two men from the dead, only to die again. If anyone were to be raised from the dead never to die again, Christ would first have to die for them, enter the tomb, take the keys, and unlock the door of death from the inside. Then, in the grave, he had the right and power to take the keys of death and open the door for all who would come to him by faith.
If sin has been paid for, then righteousness is provided, justice is satisfied, and nothing can keep Christ or his people in the grave. The resurrection of Jesus is God’s gift and proof that his death was completely successful in blotting out the sins of his people and removing the wrath of God. The great work of salvation was finished in the death of Jesus when he cried: “It is finished.” In the same token, by means of Christ’s resurrection, God the Father replied: It is finished indeed!
Today, Pope Francis exhorts us to listen with our hearts to the message of Easter – “Let the Risen Jesus enter your life; welcome him as a friend, with trust. He is life! If up to now you have kept him at a distance, step forward. He will receive you with open arms. He is with you, and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do.”
Rejoice! And, as our theme for the week points out – The glory of God shines through us when we rejoice in Christ’s resurrection.’ Prayer:
O my Lord, I firmly believe that You are one God in three divine persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe that Your divine Son became man and died for our sins and rose from the dead, and that He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all truths that the holy Catholic Church teaches because You have revealed them by Your words and they are inspired by Your Spirit. O my God, relying on Your almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon for my sins, the help of Your grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
1.What efforts must I make to deepen my Christian faith and live and declare the works of the Lord?
2.As Christ’s disciple, what level of commitment do I have to be God’s true follower and bearer of light to witness and lead others to believe in Christ’s resurrection and mine at the end of times?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
April16, 2017 (Sun) – Acts 10:34, 37-43/Ps 118:1-2, 16, 17, 22, 23/Col 3:1-4/Jn 20:1-9
April 17, 2017(Mon)- Acts2:14, 22-33/Ps16:1, 2, and 5, 7-11/Mt 28:8-15
April 18, 2017(Tues)- Acts2:36-41Ps33:4, 5, 18-20, 22/Jn 20:11-18
April 19, 2017(Wed)- Acts3:1-10/Ps 105:1-4, 7-9/Lk 24:13-35
April 20, 2017 (Thur)-Acts3:11-26/Ps8:2, 5-9/Lk24:35-48
April 21, 2017 (Fri)- Acts 4:1-12/ps118:1, 2, 4, 22-27/Jn21:1-14
April 22, 2017 (Sat) – Acts 4:13-21/Ps 118:1, 14-21/Mk 16:9-15
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
