Easter Sunday

                Easter Sunday

                 A cycle

 

 

The Church uses many different readings on Easter. The Vigil Mass has seven readings from the Old Testament: St. Paul's famous letter to the Romans--"Christ raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over Him;" and St. Mark's account of the empty tomb. In the afternoon Mass we will have the account of the risen Lord's appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

 

This morning's Mass, however, begins with a reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter is preaching. Remember how prominently Peter appeared in the readings during Holy Week. Last Sunday he told Jesus that he would follow Him to prison, even to death. But our Lord predicted that Peter would deny Him three times before the cock crows. Peter's subsequent denial is one of the few things reported in all four gospels. 

 

Today it's a different Peter. He gives as good an account of the life and work of Jesus as you will find anywhere. Then he bears witness to His Resurrection,

 

      This man God raised on the third day and granted 

      that He be visible...to us,...

      who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

 

Finally, he makes the claim "that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name." 

 

However, it's easy to imagine that Peter might have felt differently after the death of Jesus. He didn't know how the story was going to come out. What was there to believe? As St. John says in today's gospel, "they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead." Not only had his Lord been brutally tortured and killed, but Peter had also turned his back on Jesus. He especially could have no hope of a resurrection or new day.  Wouldn't Peter think that his own sin, his own lack of faith, could never be forgiven?

 

Then Mary Magdalene comes rushing in on the first Easter Sunday morning to tell them that the tomb is empty. Fearing that the Lord's body had been stolen Peter and John race to the tomb only to find the burial cloths neatly rolled up with no evidence of foul play. St. John tells us that "he saw and believed." St. Luke tells us that Peter was "amazed."  

 

 

Is this why we're all here today on this Easter Sunday morning? Are we all here today to peer inside the empty tomb? The empty tomb itself means nothing. As St. Mark said last night, "He has been raised; he is not here." It's His appearances that matter. Over the next fifty days we'll hear about all of His appearances. He'll appear to Mary Magdalene in the garden; to the disciples on the road to Emmaus; to the Apostles in the upper room; to doubting Thomas; to the fishermen in Galilee; and to countless other witnesses. Finally, His Holy Spirit will come upon them at Pentecost.. 

 

As we listen to these witnesses we'll have to examine our own belief. After all, St. Paul said that "if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain." In other words if Christ is not risen, there will be no resurrection for us. However, maybe some of us feel like we're in the same position as Peter. Maybe doubts have crept in, maybe we're too secure, or maybe something has caused us to deny our Lord and turn our backs on Him. 

 

The only way to rekindle our faith is to act differently. We have to realize that like the Apostles we are called to be witnesses of the Risen Christ. St. Paul calls us the "yeast" that leavens the dough. In our own little way each of us is called to bring Christ to each other. Last week during the reading of the Passion, our Lord said to Peter;

 

      Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded 

      to sift all of you like wheat,

      but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail;

      and once you have turned back,

      you must strengthen your brothers.

 

The Albanian nun who became Mother Teresa did not wait for someone else to pick up that little deserted child in the street and bathe his sores. She saw the Risen Christ in him and in all the others she helped. Did the young Polish priest who became John Paul II ever imagine when he took his first vows that he would bring the Risen Christ to more people than all the previous Popes put together? 

 

The word "Easter" comes from a Germanic goddess of spring. Latin peoples use the word pasqua from the Jewish pasch or Passover. When the Germanic peoples were converted the Church wisely associated the word for Springtime with the feast of the Risen Lord. All around us new life is springing from the dead of winter. And so, as St. Paul says,

 

      let us celebrate the feast,

      not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,

      but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

###

Reading 1.Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Reading II. Colossians 3: 1-4 or 

1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8

Gospel. John 20: 1-9 (Easter). 

Easter 2025

                                      Easter Sunday

                                            C cycle

 

The Church uses many different readings on Easter. The Vigil Mass has seven readings from the Old Testament; St. Paul's famous letter to the Romans--"Christ raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over Him:" and St. Luke's account of the empty tomb. "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised." In the afternoon Mass we will have the account of the risen Lord's appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

 

This morning's Mass, however, begins with a reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter is preaching. Remember how prominently Peter appeared in the readings during Holy Week. Last Sunday he told Jesus that he would follow Him to prison, even to death. But our Lord predicted that Peter would deny Him three times before the cock crows. Peter's subsequent denial is one of the few things reported in all four gospels. 

 

Today it's a different Peter. He gives as good an account of the life and work of Jesus as you will find anywhere. Then he bears witness to His Resurrection,

 

       This man God raised on the third day and granted 

       that He be visible...to us,...

       who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

 

Finally, he makes the claim "that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name." 

 

However, it's easy to imagine that Peter might have felt differently after the death of Jesus. He didn't know how the story was going to come out.What was there to believe? As St. John says in today's gospel, "they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead." Not only had his Lord been brutally tortured and killed, but Peter had also turned his back on Jesus. He especially could have no hope of a resurrection or new day.  Wouldn't Peter think that his own sin, his own lack of faith could never be forgiven?

 

Then Mary Magdalene comes rushing in on the first Easter Sunday morning to tell them that the tomb is empty. Fearing that the Lord's body had been stolen Peter and John race to the tomb only to find the burial cloths neatly rolled up with no evidence of foul play. St. John tells us that "he saw and believed." St. Luke tells us that Peter was "amazed."  

 

  

Is this why we're all here today on this Easter Sunday morning? Are we all here today to peer inside the empty tomb? The empty tomb itself means nothing. As St. Luke said last night we will not find our Lord among the dead. It's His appearances that matter. Over the next fifty days we'll hear about all of His appearances. He'll appear to Mary Magdalene in the garden; to the disciples on the road to Emmaus; to the Apostles in the upper room; to doubting Thomas; to the fishermen in Galilee; and to countless other witnesses. Finally, His Holy Spirit will come upon them at Pentecost.. 

 

As we listen to these witnesses we'll have to examine our own belief. After all, St. Paul said that "if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain." In other words if Christ is not risen, there will be no resurrection for us. However, maybe some of us feel like we're in the same position as Peter. Maybe doubts have crept in, maybe we're too secure, maybe something has caused us to deny our Lord and turn our backs on Him. 

 

The only way to rekindle our faith is to act differently. We have to realize that like the Apostles we are called to be witnesses of the Risen Christ. St. Paul calls us the "yeast" that leavens the dough. In our own little way each of us is called to bring Christ to each other. Last week during the reading of the Passion, our Lord said to Peter;

 

       Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded 

       to sift all of you like wheat,

       but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail;

       and once you have turned back,

       you must strengthen your brothers.

 

The little Albanian nun who became Mother Teresa did not wait for someone else to pick up that little deserted child in the street and bathe his sores. She saw the Risen Christ in him and in all the others she helped. Did the young Polish priest who became John Paul II ever imagine when he took his first vows that he would bring the Risen Christ to more people than all the previous Popes put together? 

 

The word "Easter" comes from a Germanic goddess of spring. Latin peoples use the word pasqua from the Jewish pasch or passover. When the Germanic peoples were converted the Church wisely associated the word for Springtime with the feast of the Risen Lord. All around us new life is springing from the dead of winter. And so, as St. Paul says,

 

       let us celebrate the feast,

       not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,

       but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

###

Reading 1. Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Reading II. Colossians 3: 1-4 or 

1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8

Gospel. John 20: 1-9 (Easter).

Easter 2023

                   Easter Sunday

                 A cycle

 

 

The Church uses many different readings on Easter. The Vigil Mass has seven readings from the Old Testament: St. Paul's famous letter to the Romans--"Christ raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over Him;" and St. Mark's account of the empty tomb. In the afternoon Mass we will have the account of the risen Lord's appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

 

This morning's Mass, however, begins with a reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter is preaching. Remember how prominently Peter appeared in the readings during Holy Week. Last Sunday he told Jesus that he would follow Him to prison, even to death. But our Lord predicted that Peter would deny Him three times before the cock crows. Peter's subsequent denial is one of the few things reported in all four gospels. 

 

Today it's a different Peter. He gives as good an account of the life and work of Jesus as you will find anywhere. Then he bears witness to His Resurrection,

 

      This man God raised on the third day and granted 

      that He be visible...to us,...

      who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

 

Finally, he makes the claim "that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name." 

 

However, it's easy to imagine that Peter might have felt differently after the death of Jesus. He didn't know how the story was going to come out. What was there to believe? As St. John says in today's gospel, "they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead." Not only had his Lord been brutally tortured and killed, but Peter had also turned his back on Jesus. He especially could have no hope of a resurrection or new day.  Wouldn't Peter think that his own sin, his own lack of faith, could never be forgiven?

 

Then Mary Magdalene comes rushing in on the first Easter Sunday morning to tell them that the tomb is empty. Fearing that the Lord's body had been stolen Peter and John race to the tomb only to find the burial cloths neatly rolled up with no evidence of foul play. St. John tells us that "he saw and believed." St. Luke tells us that Peter was "amazed."  

 

 

Is this why we're all here today on this Easter Sunday morning? Are we all here today to peer inside the empty tomb? The empty tomb itself means nothing. As St. Mark said last night, "He has been raised; he is not here." It's His appearances that matter. Over the next fifty days we'll hear about all of His appearances. He'll appear to Mary Magdalene in the garden; to the disciples on the road to Emmaus; to the Apostles in the upper room; to doubting Thomas; to the fishermen in Galilee; and to countless other witnesses. Finally, His Holy Spirit will come upon them at Pentecost.. 

 

As we listen to these witnesses we'll have to examine our own belief. After all, St. Paul said that "if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain." In other words if Christ is not risen, there will be no resurrection for us. However, maybe some of us feel like we're in the same position as Peter. Maybe doubts have crept in, maybe we're too secure, or maybe something has caused us to deny our Lord and turn our backs on Him. 

 

The only way to rekindle our faith is to act differently. We have to realize that like the Apostles we are called to be witnesses of the Risen Christ. St. Paul calls us the "yeast" that leavens the dough. In our own little way each of us is called to bring Christ to each other. Last week during the reading of the Passion, our Lord said to Peter;

 

      Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded 

      to sift all of you like wheat,

      but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail;

      and once you have turned back,

      you must strengthen your brothers.

 

The Albanian nun who became Mother Teresa did not wait for someone else to pick up that little deserted child in the street and bathe his sores. She saw the Risen Christ in him and in all the others she helped. Did the young Polish priest who became John Paul II ever imagine when he took his first vows that he would bring the Risen Christ to more people than all the previous Popes put together? 

 

The word "Easter" comes from a Germanic goddess of spring. Latin peoples use the word pasqua from the Jewish pasch or Passover. When the Germanic peoples were converted the Church wisely associated the word for Springtime with the feast of the Risen Lord. All around us new life is springing from the dead of winter. And so, as St. Paul says,

 

      let us celebrate the feast,

      not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,

      but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

###

Reading 1.Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Reading II. Colossians 3: 1-4 or 

1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8

Gospel. John 20: 1-9 (Easter).

Raising of Lazarus

 

                      5th Sunday of Lent

                      A cycle

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s first reading is from the book of the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel is an unusual prophet because his words are spoken in a land far away from Jerusalem or Judea. He along with the remains of the Jewish nation had been taken captive and enslaved after their homeland had been conquered and destroyed by foreigners. In a way Ezekiel and his fellow captives were the lucky ones since many of their people had died in the invasion.

 

Today’s reading is part of one of the most famous passages in the Hebrew Scriptures. The prophet has a vision of a vast, dry, desert valley filled with bones. Suddenly at the word of the Lord the bones arise and are covered with flesh, and the Spirit of the Lord breathes life into them. Scholars tell us that Ezekiel is speaking of a future time when his people as a nation will rise and return to their homeland. The Lord says, “I will put my spirit in you that you may live.’

 

Is it any wonder that the Church uses this prophecy to introduce today’s gospel account of the raising of Lazarus from the dead? The gospel of St. John is filled with signs. Last week we saw that our Lord gave sight to the beggar, blind from birth, to indicate that He was the Light of the world. We saw how as a result of this great miracle, the leaders of the people began to plot against Jesus. He was forced to leave Jerusalem.

 

Nevertheless, when Jesus hears that his dear friend, Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, is ill, He decides to return to Judea. On the way He realizes that Lazarus has died, but resolves to perform the greatest of His signs.

 

He said this, and then told them,

“Our friend Lazarus is asleep,

but I am going to awaken him.”

 

As they say, the rest of the story is history. Not only did Jesus come to bring ‘light’ to the world, the raising of Lazarus was a sign that He came to bring ‘life’ to the world.

 

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.

 

He went to the tomb and cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” St. John tells us that after this incredible sign many came to believe but when Jesus gave new life to Lazarus, he sealed His own death warrant. He came to give life but now those who cannot believe plot to kill Him. Next week on Palm Sunday we will hear the story of His Passion and Death.

 

In this last week of Lent it might be good for us to consider the words of St. Paul in today’s second reading. He says, “Those who are “in the flesh cannot please God.” By “in the flesh,” St. Paul means living in a kind of captivity such as experienced by those Israelites who had been enslaved along with Ezekiel. In another place Paul describes the works of the flesh as ‘immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.”

 

Paul contrasts those works with the fruits of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Isn’t it obvious that any of us who could be freed from the captivity of the “flesh” and who could enter into the life of the Spirit would have been raised from the dead?

 

But if Christ is in you,

Although the body is dead because of sin,

The spirit is alive because of righteousness.

 

###

Reading 1. Ezekiel 37: 12-14

Reading II. Romans 8: 8-11

Gospel. John 11: 1-45 (raising of Lazarus).     

Death and Resurrection

 

 

                  32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  C cycle

 

The month of November is sometimes called the month of the dead. As we look around we see the leaves falling from the trees, the sun riding lower in the sky and setting earlier and earlier. Animals are preparing for the long cold winter. The Church year also follows the cycle of nature. We began this month with the great feast of All Saints, and then remembered all the departed on All Souls day. Throughout the month we will remember our beloved departed, and at the end of the month we will celebrate the feast of Christ the King where we will come face to face with the end of the world and the Last Judgment.

 

But today rather than dwelling on death the Church presents us with the theme of resurrection from the dead. In the first reading from the Book of Maccabees, we have the terrible story of the cruel torture of the seven brothers, a story which reminds us of some of the atrocities we see in our headlines today. Despite their suffering, the brothers remain true not only to their faith but also to their belief in another better life. One says to his torturer,

 

      You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life,

      but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.

 

The themes of persecution, death, and resurrection in this account of the seven brothers are repeated in today’s gospel account of the hypothetical case of the woman with seven husbands. It is a good idea to put St. Luke’s account in context. In the preceding chapter of his Gospel, he told of the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. Jesus went to Jerusalem not only to endure persecution and death, but also to triumph over sin and death by his own resurrection.

 

Now in chapter 20 the persecution begins. At first the Scribes and Pharisees question His authority. When that didn’t work, Luke tells us that they sent forth spies, “who should pretend to be just men” to question Jesus and trap him into making claims that would enable the authorities to arrest him. 

 

First, they ask Him whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. After his masterful answer puts them off, another group enters the picture. This time it’s the Sadducees, a group of wealthy priests who controlled the Jerusalem temple. They were a political and economic elite who were generally despised by the Jews because of their cooperation with the Roman rulers; their watering down of Judaism to conform with new and foreign ideas; and the resultant laxity of their own morals. 

 

Unlike the heroic Maccabees, the Sadducees resembled most of our own political, economic, intellectual, and cultural leaders. The lived for the here and now and did not believe in the immortality of the soul, or the resurrection from the dead.

 

So their ridiculous question about the woman and her seven husbands is just a way to make Jesus play the fool. In much the same way modern atheists try to play the same tricks on believers. I recently heard of a teacher who advised one of his students that he would have to give up his belief in Jesus in order to study science.  How unscientific is that advice? Why would belief in Jesus inhibit anyone from studying botany or chemistry? 

 

In today’s reading from the second letter to the Thessalonians St. Paul prayed for his friends. He prayed that God would give them “good hope through his grace,” but asked that they be “delivered from perverse and wicked people.”

 

I recall a public debate where a well-known atheist asked the audience to question everything; everything, that is, except his own infallible pronouncements. He offered no evidence to back up his criticisms of religion. It was only his ardent belief that God, even though He didn’t exist, was responsible for all that had gone wrong with the World, and for all the suffering that still continues today. Like the Sadducees he could not believe in the immortality of the soul or the resurrection of the dead. He was full of anger and bitterness. The poor man has since died of cancer. I don’t believe that his illness was a punishment from God. Anyone can get cancer. But I feel sorry for anyone who has turned his back on Jesus and has to face death without any hope.

 

The Book of Maccabees was written less than two hundred years before the birth of Christ. It indicates that even at that time the idea of resurrection from the dead was taking root among the Jewish people. This idea of resurrection was competing with an earlier concept which supposed that all the dead--both good and bad--went to Sheol, a place of shadow and nothingness from which they would never emerge. By the time of Christ the new concept of a life after death was competing vigorously with the old traditional one. Jesus, however, brought the debate to a new level.

 

He answered the Sadducees by reminding them that God was the God of the living, and that all whom God loved would live forever. This was not mere theorizing. He backed up his words with His own Resurrection from the dead. Not just the Apostles but also hundreds of others saw Him after the Resurrection. Not only did they see Him, but most willingly gave up their own lives to cruel persecutors who insisted that they give up their belief. As St. Paul said before he was cruelly executed, ‘if Christ is not risen, then our faith is in vain.”

 

###

 

Reading 1. 2 Maccabees 7: 1-2, 9-14

Reading II. 2 Thessalonians 2: 16--3:5

Gospel. Luke 20: 27-38 (seven brothers). 

God of the Living

                                    32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                  

The month of November is sometimes called the month of the dead. As we look around we see the leaves falling from the trees, the sun riding lower in the sky and setting earlier and earlier. Animals are preparing for the long cold winter. The Church year also follows the cycle of nature. We began this month with the great feast of All Saints, and then remembered all the departed on All Souls day. Throughout the month we will remember our beloved departed and at the end of the month we will celebrate the feast of Christ the King where we will come face to face with the end of the world and the Last Judgment.

But today rather than dwelling on death the Church presents us with the theme of resurrection from the dead. In the first reading from the Book of Maccabees, we have the terrible story of the cruel torture of the seven brothers, a story which reminds us of some of the atrocities we see in our headlines today. Despite their suffering the brothers remain true not only to their faith but also to their belief in another better life. One says to his torturer,

            You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life,

            but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.

The themes of persecution, death, and resurrection in this account of the seven brothers are repeated in today’s gospel account of the hypothetical case of the woman with seven husbands. It is a good idea to put St. Luke’s account in context. In the preceding chapter of his Gospel, he told of the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. Jesus went to Jerusalem not only to endure persecution and death, but also to triumph over sin and death by his own resurrection.

Now in chapter 20 the persecution begins. At first the Scribes and Pharisees question His authority. When that didn’t work Luke tells us that they sent forth spies, “who should pretend to be just men” to question Jesus and trap him into making claims that would enable the authorities to arrest him. 

First, they ask Him whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. After his masterful answer puts them off, another group enters the picture. This time it’s the Sadducees, a group of wealthy priests who controlled the Jerusalem temple. They were a political and economic elite who were generally despised by the Jews because of their cooperation with the Roman rulers; their watering down of Judaism to conform with new and foreign ideas; and the resultant laxity of their own morals. 

Unlike the heroic Maccabees, the Sadducees resembled most of our own political, economic, intellectual, and cultural leaders. The lived for the here and now and did not believe in the immortality of the soul, or the resurrection from the dead.

So their ridiculous question about the woman and her seven husbands is just a way to make Jesus play the fool. In much the same way modern atheists try to play the same tricks on believers. I recently heard of a teacher who advised one of his students that he would have to give up his belief in Jesus in order to study science.  How unscientific is that advice? Why would belief in Jesus inhibit anyone from studying botany or chemistry? 

In today’s reading from the second letter to the Thessalonians St. Paul prayed for his friends. He prayed that God would give them “good hope through his grace,” but asked that they be “delivered from perverse and wicked people.”

I recall a public debate where a well-known atheist asked the audience to question everything; everything, that is, except his own infallible pronouncements. He offered no evidence to back up his criticisms of religion. It was only his ardent belief that God, even though He didn’t exist, was responsible for all that had gone wrong with the World, and for all the suffering that still continues today. Like the Sadducees he could not believe in the immortality of the soul or the resurrection of the dead. He was full of anger and bitterness. The poor man has since died of cancer. I don’t believe that his illness was a punishment from God. Anyone can get cancer. But I feel sorry for anyone who has turned his back on Jesus and has to face death without any hope.

The Book of Maccabees was written less than two hundred years before the birth of Christ. It indicates that even at that time the idea of resurrection from the dead was taking root among the Jewish people. This idea of resurrection was competing with an earlier concept which supposed that all the dead--both good and bad--went to Sheol, a place of shadow and nothingness from which they would never emerge. By the time of Christ the new concept of a life after death was competing vigorously with the old traditional one. Jesus, however, brought the debate to a new level.

He answered the Sadducees by reminding them that God was the God of the living, and that all whom God loved would live forever. This was not mere theorizing. He backed up his words with His own Resurrection from the dead. Not just the Apostles but also hundreds of others saw Him after the Resurrection. Not only did they see Him, but most willingly gave up their own lives to cruel persecutors who insisted that they give up their belief. As St. Paul said, years before his won execution, "if Christ is not risen, then our faith is in vain.”

###

Reading 1. 2 Maccabees 7: 1-2, 9-14

Reading II. 2 Thessalonians 2: 16--3:5

Gospel. Luke 20: 27-38 (seven brothers).

Resurrection

                                    Easter Sunday

                                    

The Church uses many different readings on Easter. The Vigil Mass has seven readings from the Old Testament: St. Paul's famous letter to the Romans--"Christ raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over Him;" and St. Mark's account of the empty tomb. In the afternoon Mass we will have the account of the risen Lord's appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

This morning's Mass, however, begins with a reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter is preaching. Remember how prominently Peter appeared in the readings during Holy Week. Last Sunday he told Jesus that he would follow Him to prison, even to death. But our Lord predicted that Peter would deny Him three times before the cock crows. Peter's subsequent denial is one of the few things reported in all four gospels.

Today it's a different Peter. He gives as good an account of the life and work of Jesus as you will find anywhere. Then he bears witness to His Resurrection,

            This man God raised on the third day and granted

            that He be visible...to us,...

            who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

Finally, he makes the claim "that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name."

However, it's easy to imagine that Peter might have felt differently after the death of Jesus. He didn't know how the story was going to come out. What was there to believe? As St. John says in today's gospel, "they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead." Not only had his Lord been brutally tortured and killed, but Peter had also turned his back on Jesus. He especially could have no hope of a resurrection or new day.  Wouldn't Peter think that his own sin, his own lack of faith, could never be forgiven?

Then Mary Magdalene comes rushing in on the first Easter Sunday morning to tell them that the tomb is empty. Fearing that the Lord's body had been stolen Peter and John race to the tomb only to find the burial cloths neatly rolled up with no evidence of foul play. St. John tells us that "he saw and believed." St. Luke tells us that Peter was "amazed." 

  

Is this why we're all here today on this Easter Sunday morning? Are we all here today to peer inside the empty tomb? The empty tomb itself means nothing. As St. Mark said last night, "He has been raised; he is not here." It's His appearances that matter. Over the next fifty days we'll hear about all of His appearances. He'll appear to Mary Magdalene in the garden; to the disciples on the road to Emmaus; to the Apostles in the upper room; to doubting Thomas; to the fishermen in Galilee; and to countless other witnesses. Finally, His Holy Spirit will come upon them at Pentecost..

As we listen to these witnesses we'll have to examine our own belief. After all, St. Paul said that "if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain." In other words if Christ is not risen, there will be no resurrection for us. However, maybe some of us feel like we're in the same position as Peter. Maybe doubts have crept in, maybe we're too secure, or maybe something has caused us to deny our Lord and turn our backs on Him.

The only way to rekindle our faith is to act differently. We have to realize that like the Apostles we are called to be witnesses of the Risen Christ. St. Paul calls us the "yeast" that leavens the dough. In our own little way each of us is called to bring Christ to each other. Last week during the reading of the Passion, our Lord said to Peter;

            Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded

            to sift all of you like wheat,

            but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail;

            and once you have turned back,

            you must strengthen your brothers.

The Albanian nun who became Mother Teresa did not wait for someone else to pick up that little deserted child in the street and bathe his sores. She saw the Risen Christ in him and in all the others she helped. Did the young Polish priest who became John Paul II ever imagine when he took his first vows that he would bring the Risen Christ to more people than all the previous Popes put together?

The word "Easter" comes from a Germanic goddess of spring. Latin peoples use the word pasqua from the Jewish pasch or Passover. When the Germanic peoples were converted the Church wisely associated the word for Springtime with the feast of the Risen Lord. All around us new life is springing from the dead of winter. And so, as St. Paul says,

            let us celebrate the feast,

            not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,

            but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

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Reading 1.Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Reading II. Colossians 3: 1-4 or 

1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8

Gospel. John 20: 1-9 (Easter).