The Resurrection of our Lord, Easter Day - 8 April 2012
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
I Corinthians 15:1-11
St. Mark 16:1-8
Background: The Acts of the Apostles
During the Sundays of Easter, the first readings are found in the Acts of the Apostles, and comprise a sort of running history of the early Church, and the continuation of the Acts of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit. The book seems to be the second half of a work that includes the Gospel according to St. Luke, although scholars are evenly divided on that supposition. The book begins reciting the work of Jesus, largely through a sermon preached by Peter. The author places Peter, and then Paul in situations, which are reflective of the work of Jesus, so that first Peter, and then Paul are seen as fulfilling and then advancing the work of Jesus. Luke is seen as being a companion of Paul, and a great deal of the material is a narrative of the Pauline missions. What is interesting, however, is that it appears that the author had no access to or knowledge of the letters of Paul. Acts shares with the Gospel of Luke a focused attention on the poor, the oppressed, and the persecuted. Indeed, the role of women in the Acts of the Apostles is elevated above the roles described in other works. Some scholars date the book around the mid-sixties of the first century.
Acts 10:34-43
Peter began to speak to the gentiles: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
This reading represents on of several discourses given by Peter. It is really more an example of what Christian preaching ought to be and is divided into three sections: 1) An introduction, which appeals to a quotation from Leviticus 19:15 (for Yahweh your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, triumphant and terrible, free of favoritism, never to be bribed.); 2) An example of early Christian proclamation, rather like a series of creedal statements about Jesus; and finally 3) An appeal to the prophetic scriptures. The advantage in reading this lesson is to see the language used to express the early faith about Jesus, what it was that compelled Peter and the apostles to continue the work begun in Galilee. For us who celebrate this day, Peter’s discourse serves as a prompt to put in our own language what we believe about the Risen One.
Breaking open Acts
- How would you summarize the life of Jesus?
- How does Peter?
- What is his most powerful point to you?
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Confitemini Domino
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.
Let Israel now proclaim, *
"His mercy endures for ever."
The LORD is my strength and my song, *
and he has become my salvation.
There is a sound of exultation and victory *
in the tents of the righteous:
"The right hand of the LORD has triumphed! *
the right hand of the LORD is exalted!
the right hand of the LORD has triumphed!"
I shall not die, but live, *
and declare the works of the LORD.
The LORD has punished me sorely, *
but he did not hand me over to death.
Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the LORD.
"This is the gate of the LORD; *
he who is righteous may enter."
I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.
The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the LORD'S doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
On this day the LORD has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
We last sang this psalm as a processional psalm at the 8:00 service on Passion Sunday during the Liturgy of the Palms. Today’s parsing of the text serves a different purpose, and the punch of the text is reserved to the final verses of the pericope. God’s act and the day of remarkable deeds are to the Christian eye the act of resurrection and the day of resurrection. The preceding verses, however, remind both Jew and Christian of the salvation that is wrought by God and granted to all who desire it.
Breaking open Psalm 118
- How has the Lord acted in your life?
- What emotions do you have on Easter Day?
- What memories come with them?
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you--unless you have come to believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them--though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
In this reading Paul reminds us of the teaching that he received, and with it delivers the first Easter announcement written in the New Testament collection. The remembrance is almost creedal in it construct. He may also be preserving two traditions about the appearances of Jesus, the first led by Peter and then the Twelve, and a large community of witnesses. The second is led by James and then the apostles. Finally he includes his own appearance on the road to Damascus. Of interest is the lack of women who witnessed the appearance of Jesus. One commentator opines that Paul limited his list to witnesses allowed under the Law, but it is the evangelists who will complete the list with stories of the Magdalene and the other Mary\ies.
Breaking open I Corinthians
- How has the Risen Christ appeared to you?
- Why has Paul ranked these appearances?
- What does Paul mean by the term “one untimely born”?
Mark 16:1-8
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
When finished with a book, we often grieve its parting, hoping for a continued story and a renewed experience with the characters. Mark affords us no such pleasures. In his stark text he makes his point succinctly and just as bluntly records the reaction of the women to the news. At its leanest there is the empty tomb, and the stunned silence of the women. All the other elements are added to reinforce the central message, He is not here, go to Galilee. The additions of spices and anointing, going to the tomb, the problem of the stone reinforce the message that Jesus truly died. The rolled-back stone, the young man in white and his message give voice to the hopes and faith of the women. The dismissal of the command to “tell the disciples” and their terror and astonishment at the meaning speak eloquently of the profundity of this non-appearance appearance. It is, for me, the most devout and dumbfounding confession of the radical nature of the Easter faith.
Breaking open the Gospel:
- How do you compare the ending of Mark with the other Gospel?
- Is something missing here for you, or is it sufficient?
- What might your emotions have been?
After breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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