Third Sunday of Easter

April 6, 2008

Readings

“Way to Emmaus”
(Robert Zund 1827 –1909)

Commentaries

Second Sunday of Easter – Year A

The Presence that Brings Peace

The disciples hide behind closed doors “for fear of the Jews.” This happens, as the Gospel writer makes it a point to tell us, “on the evening of that[1] first day of the week” (20:19). That was the same day on which Mary of Magdala had gone to the tomb, seen the Risen Lord and returned to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” (In fact, that event is recorded just a verse earlier in the same chapter). That was the same day on which Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved had gone to the tomb. Moreover, we are told that the other disciple “saw and believed” (20:8). And yet, they have now locked themselves up in fear.

The locked doors could not prevent Jesus from entering (“an indication of his victory over the limitations that human circumstances would impose”).[2] To the fearful disciples, the Risen Lord comes and assures them, “Peace be with you.” His presence and his words bring them joy and peace. He then breaths on them the Spirit and they now can be sent forth to proclaim the news of the Resurrection. The fearful disciples are transformed simply by the visit of the Risen Christ.

The Risen Christ still visits us in the same manners, in his words and his Presence. And the peace that his presence brings transforms us.

The experience of Thomas shows us another place where the Risen Lord is present. For Thomas, leaving the community of the disciples may have been his way of coping with the grief caused by the death of Jesus.[3] While he is away, the Lord comes to the community of disciples. When Thomas returns from his absence, his sorrows have not lessened; and worse, he has missed the encounter with the Risen Lord. “Things can happen to us within the fellowship of Christ’s Church which will not happen when we are alone.”[4] It is in the midst of the community that Thomas later meets the Risen Lord, and his faith so strengthened that he can profess, “My Lord and my God” (20:28).

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[1] Stress is mine.

[2] Moloney, Francis, S.D.B. The Gospel of John. Sacra Pagina series. Liturgical Press, 1998, p. 531.

[3] Barclay, William. The Gospel of John, Vol. 2. The Daily Study Bible Series. Westminster Press, 1975. p. 275.

[4] Ibid., 276.

Second Sunday of Easter

Divine Mercy Sunday

Readings

Commentaries

Easter Sunday

Growing in Faith

Mary of Magdala came to the tomb “while it was still dark” (20:1). The physical darkness indicates the early hour of the day, which illustrates Mary’s eagerness to go to the tomb. However, it can also symbolize the darkness of her emotions and of her faith.[1] In the moment of darkness, she runs away from the tomb, the place of God’s action and Jesus’ glory. She also appears to think that others share her darkness of faith. She has gone to the tomb by herself, yet when she reports to Peter and the Beloved Disciple of what she has seen, she includes them, “We do not know where they have laid him” (20:2).[2]

As we read on, we would know of Mary’s growth in her faith, from the moment of darkness here, to recognizing the Lord (20:16), to becoming a witness of His Resurrection and a messenger of his words (20:18).

Peter and the Beloved Disciple, unlike Mary, run toward the tomb, the place of God’s action and Jesus’ glory. They see the empty tomb, with the evidence that death has been defeated (more on this below) and believe (20:8). They have moved from no faith to faith.[3] Yet, the passage ends with them returning to their home (20:9).

On the signs of death being conquered:

“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” (20: 6-7)

This detail show the contrast between Jesus’ resurrection and the raising of Lazarus. When Lazarus came out of the tomb at Jesus’ command, his hands and feet were tied with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth (11:44). The Risen Lord is not restrained by such signs of death. He has conquered death. His victory is complete.

Fr. Francis Moloney, SDB, reads the use of the passive voice of the verbs in verse 1 (the stone “removed”) and here in 20:7 (“the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place”) as “[reinforcing] the impression that God has entered the story.”[4]

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[1] Moloney, Francis, S.D.B., The Gospel of John. Sacra Pagina series. Liturgical Press, 1998, p. 518.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 520.

[4] Ibid.

Easter Sunday

Readings for
Easter Sunday

(Artwork by http://www.1066alive.co.uk/index.html)

Commentaries on John 18:28 – 19:16a

The Trial – Jesus, Pilate, the Jewish Leaders, and Me

“What is truth?”

The scene of Jesus before Pilate can be divided into seven scenes, each marked with a “verb of motion to show that Pilate and/or Jesus comes in or goes out” of the praetorium. Each scene is a dialogue (between Pilate and Jesus or Pilate and the leaders). There is one exception in 19:1-3 when the soldiers, at Pilate’s order, scourge and abuse Jesus. (“There is no verb of motion and no dialogue.”)[1]

The trial begins “as the first light of day breaks”[2] (“It was early” – 18:28).

Jesus, the Light of the world, for the most part, remains inside of the praetorium where it is not yet as bright as the outside.

Jesus’ opponents, the leaders of the people, stay in the physical lights, but remain in darkness. “They have made up their minds that Jesus is an evil doer (18: 30) and must die (19: 6).”[3] As a result, they do not see.

They decide to remain outside of the truth when they choose a robber over an innocent man (18: 40). They even go further into darkness when, in order to accomplish their goal of having Jesus killed, they reject God and declare, “We have no king but Caesar” (19:15). By pledging allegiance to an earthly king, they reject God, and so they reject themselves as belonging to God’s chosen people. (This rejection should be read against the background of the God made with their ancestors. Ref: Deuteronomy 7:6 “You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own” and Jeremiah 31:33 “This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people;” also Ezekiel 37:23)

Pilate moves back and forth between physical light and darkness, and he could not make up his mind. Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?” and yet he goes outside again. He does not appear to stay and wait for the answer (“After he had said this, he went out…”). His question and his leaving is his response to Jesus’ “offer” that “everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (v. 38). He constantly moves from the Light - Jesus, to the darkness outside and back. His bodily movements symbolize his inner turmoil of indecisiveness. He declares Jesus innocent (“I find no crime in him” 19:6), yet he would not free Jesus. He becomes fearful (19:8). He resorts to his earthly power (19:10), and in the end, he caves in to pressure.

It is the trial of Jesus, but he is not on trial. Rather, it is Pilate and the leaders who are on trial against the truth.

Where do I stand in this trial?

Where I stand makes a difference. We know what happened to Jesus when neither Pilate nor the leaders stood for the truth.

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[1] Moloney, Francis, S.D.B., The Gospel of John. Sacra Pagina series. Liturgical Press, 1998, p. 493.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Good Friday

Readings for Good Friday - Liturgy of the Lord's Passion

Holy Thursday

Reading for Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper

Commentaries

Palm Sunday – Year A

Being Deliberate

The verbs used in Matthew’s story of the Passion of Jesus indicate that Judas is deliberate in his decision and action of betrayal. It is Judas who takes the initiative to “[go] to the chief priests and [say], “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you.” Once he has received the money, “he looked for an opportunity to hand him over” (26:14, 16). Later on, as the events unfold, we again find Judas doing every thing with a plan. Before he leads the crowd to the garden, he has “arranged a sign with them” to betray Jesus (26:48). Then, he carries his plan to have Jesus arrested.

Peter and the other disciples are no less guilty than Judas.[1] At the supper, “Peter said to Jesus, ‘Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.’ And all the disciples spoke likewise” (26:35). Yet, when Jesus was arrested, they “all left him and fled” (26:56). (And none of the Synoptic Gospels – that is Matthew, Mark, and Luke) has any of the disciples return to the crucified Jesus). Worse, as we know, Peter would deny Jesus three times, and with each time, his denial becomes more fiery[2]. The first time, “he denied it in front of everyone, saying, ‘I do not know what[3] you are talking about” (26:70). The second time, “he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man”’ (26:72). The third time, he again denied knowing “the man,” but this time with “curse and swear” (26:74).

How Peter and Judas reacted is well-known. Yet, it is worth noting that their actions are described with very active verbs. Peter “went out and began to weep bitterly” (26:75). And Judas, after “flinging the money into the temple, departed and went off and hanged himself” (27:5). (Surprisingly, the end of Judas is only found in Matthew). The two choices here are either repentance or despair.[4] We all sin, but we can choose what to do with our sins.

Jesus is even more deliberate in his fulfilling of the Father’s plan for our salvation. The reading for this Palm Sunday begins with verse 14 of chapter 26 in Matthew. The chapter, however, opens with the indication that “all the teaching of Jesus is finished[5] (“When Jesus finished all these words”). He now tells the disciples that he would be handed over. He is about to fulfill the Father’s plan.

As he institutes the Eucharist, he tells the disciples that it is “for the forgiveness of sins” (26:28). While he is in agony in the garden, he prays that the Father’s will be done (26:42). Afterwards, he alerts the disciples, "Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over," and so he takes charge, "Let us go" (26:45). Then, he allows himself to be arrested so that “the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled” (26:56). His faithfulness to the Father’s loving plan reaches its climax when he “gave up his spirit” (27:50). At that moment, the gentile centurion and “the men with him” recognize, “Truly, this was the Son of God” (27:54). He is the Son of God who died “for the forgiveness of sins.”

We sin, deliberately. Yet, God is even more deliberate in saving us.

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[1] In Matthew, Judas is explicitly referred to as “one of the Twelve.” Francis J. Moloney (see Footnote #2)

[2] Moloney, Francis J. The Gospel of the Lord: Reflections on the Gospel Readings Year A. p. 97

[3] Stress is mine.

[4] Moloney, 100.

[5] Ibid., 96.

Palm Sunday - Year A

Reading for Palm Sunday - Year A

Sharing

Please share your reflections here, using the comments.

Commentaries

5^th Sunday – Lent – Year A

Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45)

The writer of John’s Gospel uses the word “sign” in place of “miracle” used in the other Gospels. The raising of Lazarus is the 7th and the greatest of the signs. In the text there are a few details emphasizing how great a sign the raising of Lazarus is. One of them is the intentional delay of Jesus in verse 6, which on surface sounds very strange (“So when he heard that [Lazarus] was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.”). Mind you, Jesus loves Lazarus and his sisters (v.5). As a result of this delay, “when Jesus arrived… Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.” (v. 17). The writer seems to stress this point again in v. 39 when Martha reminds Jesus of this fact. We could understand the writer’s intention here because there was a “popular Jewish belief” indicating that “a person’s soul lingers in the vicinity of the body for three days” after death. So, we see that “St. John wanted his readers to know that Lazarus was as dead as dead could be.”[1]

Jesus does everything according to a plan, the plan of God. As a result, when the disciples think that he should hurry, he waits. When it’s time to go, he makes the call, “Let us go.” (v. 7). At this time, the disciples want to change his mind by reminding him that his opponents are seeking to stone him (v. 8), but that does not stop him. And the best illustration of Jesus’ intention comes in the form of the prayer he offers in verses 41 and 42, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you hear me always, but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”

So in this greatest of the signs, we can see a summary of Jesus’ mission. He came to fulfill the Father’s plan, which is to glorify the Father, and to save us from sin and death. In the raising of Lazarus, the Life-giver shows us his power, so that we may believe (v.15).

In the context of the last Sunday of Lent, it is also worth noting that this final sign leads directly to the decision of the Jewish leaders to kill Jesus[2]. Yet, two other details in the story should strengthen our faith. First, in the case of Lazarus, the stone has to be removed at Jesus’ order. Second, the dead man Lazarus appears from the tomb “tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth.” He needs to be untied and let go (v. 44). As Christians, we should naturally see the differences between these details of the raising of Lazarus and Jesus’ resurrection. When Mary of Magdala came to the tomb that early morning of the first day of the week, “she saw the stone [already] removed from the tomb” (John 20:1). And “when Simon Peter arrived,… he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered (Jesus’) head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place” (John 20:6-7). Then, there should be no doubt who the victor over death is, and his victory was complete.

Moreover, when Martha professes her faith that “[her brother] will rise, in the resurrection on the last day, Jesus answers her, not in the future, but in the present,[3] “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (vs. 24, 25). Yes, the divine life has already been given to us. Though we experience illness and physical death, darkness and sins, but even NOW, we are living the life of Jesus. He is alive.

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[1] Little Black Book, Lent 2008.

[2] Footnote in The Catholic Study Bible.

[3] Winstanley, Michael, SDB, Symbols and Spirituality, Reflecting on John's Gospel, 103

5th Sunday of Lent

The raising of Lazarus


Readings for 5th Sunday of Lent - Year A