He had to rise from the dead

He had to rise from the dead

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of The Lord

Collect

O God, who on this day, through your Only Begotten Son, have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity, grant, we pray, that we who keep the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit, rise up in the light of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First Reading
Acts 10:34a, 37-43

We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Peter proceeded to speak and said:
“You know what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
   both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
   not to all the people, but to us,
   the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
   who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people
   and testify that he is the one appointed by God
   as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
   that everyone who believes in him
   will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

The word of the Lord.

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.
or:
℟. Alleluia.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
   for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
   “His mercy endures forever.”

℟. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
℟. Alleluia.

“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.”

℟. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
℟. Alleluia.

The stone which the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
   it is wonderful in our eyes.

℟. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
℟. Alleluia.

Second Reading
Col 3:1-4 or I Cor 5:6b-8

Seek what is above, where Christ is.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians

Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
   where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
   then you too will appear with him in glory.

The word of the Lord.

Or:

Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough.

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast,
   so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
   inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, 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.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
cf 1 Cor 5:7b-82

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed;
let us then feast with joy in the Lord.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 20:1-9

He had to rise from the dead.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
   while it was still dark,
   and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
   and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
   “They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
   and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
   and arrived at the tomb first;
   he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
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.
Then the other disciple also went in,
   the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
   and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
   that he had to rise from the dead.

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection

“For as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (v. 9), the Evangelist tells us. The Resurrection of Christ from the dead is the foundation of the Christian faith and life, and so today we rejoice because Christ has conquered sin and death.

The Passion and Death of the Lord Jesus on the Cross cast the disciples into darkness, their hearts filled with sorrow. Mary Magdalene remained with Jesus beneath the Cross until the very end, until everything was accomplished. She was still in the darkness of loss when, moved by her love for the Lord, she went alone to the tomb where he had been laid and saw what she did not expect: “the stone taken away from the tomb” (v. 1). The first thought that came to her mind was that they had taken the body of Jesus from the tomb, and now they did not know where it was. One can only imagine how much she wished she had kept watch at the tomb. One crisis upon another. It is no wonder that she ran off, her heart distressed and heavy, to bring the news to Peter and the beloved disciple, who, at Mary’s words, also ran together to the tomb. Their love for the Lord Jesus stirred in them a sense of urgency to leave where they were and go themselves to the place where he had been buried.

They found the tomb empty except for the linen cloths and the napkin, which testified that no one had entered the tomb to steal the body of Jesus. The Evangelist tells us that, when the beloved disciple entered the tomb, “he saw and believed” (v. After the darkness of death, the light of the Resurrection dawned. The empty tomb kindled the disciple’s heart with love and led him to see with the eyes of faith and to believe in the Resurrection of the Lord from the dead. Perhaps it is easier for us to relate the Cross of Christ to God’s love for us than his Resurrection from the dead. What value does the Resurrection of Christ have in our lives? Are we aware that all who receive the Sacrament of Baptism die with Christ so as to share with him in his Resurrection to life?

Prayer
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever! Psalm 118:28–29

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