EASTER SUNDAY: THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD JESUS – CYCLE A – 2020

ALLELUIA! CHRIST OUR LOVE AND OUR HOPE IS RISEN!   

 FIRST READING  – Acts  10:34. 37-43

-        Peter is now at the house of the gentile Cornelius.    

-        In his dream, Peter heard a voice telling him to kill and eat from some of those animals who were considered impure by the tradition of Israel. Peter does not understand why he has to eat impure meat. He does not want to eat, he refuses for three times. Then somebody knocks at the door,  they are the people Cornelius has sent to ask Peter to come to his home.

-        Peter enters Cornelius home and answers to his questions about Jesus. Peter  had spoken about Jesus before  to a Jewish audience, but now it is to a  gentile audience. 

-        He explains all that had happened all over Judea about Jesus of Nazareth, beginning in Galilee.   Galilee is home for Jesus and for his disciples. It is the place where they first encounter the Lord and where the preaching about the Kingdom began. After his resurrection, he will summon them to Galilee. 

-        We too need to return to the place of our first encounter with the Lord, it is not a physical returning to a given place, but a spiritual returning where we feel at home with the Lord.  

-        He goes on telling them how Jesus went about doing good, how he had been anointed by the Spirit. 

-        He explains how Jesus was condemned to die on the cross, but God raised him on the third day. 

-        Peter tells Cornelius and his household that whoever believes in Jesus will be granted the forgiveness of sins. 

-        This is the reason for the Incarnation; to reconcile us with the Father forgiving our sins, which he takes on him. Jesus has come to give life to us revealing the Father, but sometimes we, human beings,  do not like that kind of God who is always loving, forgiving, welcoming; because he calls us to do the same. 

-        In this account about Cornelius we see the first fruits of the redemption among the gentiles.    

 Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

R. (24) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
 "The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD."
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
 The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

« This psalm sings the triumph of Jesus our God over death and sin.

« We thank him because he is good

« Because his right hand is powerful

« He is the cornerstone rejected by the builders

SEQUENCE

Christians, to the Paschal Victim Offer your thankful  praises!  A lamb the sheep redeems: Christ who only is sinless Reconcile sinners to the Father. Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous The Prince of life who died reigns immortal. Speak Mary declaring  what you saw wayfaring “The tomb of Christ, who is living. The glory of Jesus’ resurrection,

Bright angels attesting, the shroud and napkin resting Yes, Christ my hope is arisen! To Galilee he goes before you.” Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining  Have mercy, victor King ever reigning!   Amen, alleluia.

v In the great solemnities, the Church has a sequence, which is recited or sung before de reading of the Gospel. 

v They are masterpieces of poetry and music.

v This was composed on the XI century and three different authors are mentioned.   

v As we read this sequence of Easter, we realize that it tells us the mystery of our redemption.  

v Mary Magdalene is asked about what has she seen on the way 

v She confesses her faith in the resurrection “I have seen the Risen Lord” who invites his own to meet him in Galilee

v Galilee  

o   Concrete geographical place, but also a place in the geography of the spirit. 

o   Place of the first encounter.   

o   They have to go back there to encounter a new the enthusiasm, the joy, the energy and the strength to proclaim what eye has not seen and ear has not heard. 

o   Encounter that will  make them able to proclaim that our God has saved us, that he is in our midst, that he walks with each one of us and will be with us until the end of history. 

o   Galilee, place where Peter will be able to confess his love to his friend and Lord, after having experienced the depth of human misery denying to know the one he loved so much. 

v Yes, let us go back to our Galilee, each one knows what it is, and there we will meet the Risen Lord, our love and our hope.   

GOSPEL – John  20,1-9

-        Mary Magdalene is the first witness of the resurrection.

-        She finds out that the stone has been removed. John does not say that Mary enters into the tomb, but  that,  she ran to inform Peter and the other disciple … about the tomb. 

-        Her word is accepted and Peter with the other disciple start out their way to the tomb. 

-        The other disciple,  which the evangelist identifies as “the beloved disciple, or the disciple who was a dear friend of Jesus.” 

o    This disciple arrives to the tomb before Peter

o   But he does not enter, he waits for Peter who on arriving enters first.  

o   When the beloved disciple can enter, the author of the Gospel says, that he “saw and believed.”  

o   What did he see?  The empty tomb.   

o   What did he believe?  The resurrection    

§  Luis Alonso Schöekel, a Bible scholar, says that more than believe, what the Greek verb  says is that he began to believe. 

§  This belief is still very weak, it is the faith of a beginner, because it rests on the experience of empty tomb, not yet in the word of Jesus.  Our faith has also grown from a very small concrete fact,   later little by little this faith has become adult and strong, there is no more need for concrete material or spiritual experiences, but it is based on faith alone.