Break Open the Word

The Readings for the Second Sunday of Easter Acts 5:27-32 Psalm 150 Revelation 1:4-8 Saint John 20:19-31 BACKGROUND We enter into a “week of Sundays” as the Easter feast continues.  Of special note in the lectionary is the first reading (normally from the Hebrew Scriptures) from the Acts of the Apostles.  In these readings we get a view of the ministry of Peter and then of Paul to the gentiles.  In these observations, we see the church emerge from the Easter faith.  Also of interest are the readings from Revelation, in which we see the Church reacting to the Roman world in which it finds itself.  It is important to remember that prophecy is not “future telling”, but rather God’s word for the here and now.  The author of Revelation has a lot to say about how to act in the realities of Roman domination and oppression – Good lessons for being an Easter Christian in this day and age. Acts 5:27-32 When the temple police had brought the a...

The Readings for Easter Day Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 I Corinthians 15:19-26 Saint John 20:1-18 BACKGROUND Welcome to the Queen of Feasts – The Resurrection of Our Lord.  This is a day of both promise and hope.  The promise is that we will no longer need to fear death, and the hope is that this promise will be realized in our lives.  Hope is the stuff of faith, and it is that which allows us to live each day.  One Christian writer described the act of getting up each morning as a baptismal exercise, in which we arise as a new man or a new woman each morning.  It is Easter that gives such sentiments their power and appeal, for they are immediately applicable in our lives. The other aspect of Easter is that the story of the resurrection is one that needs to be applied to all of life, and not only on this day.  What would it mean to us if we actually believed that institutions, families, relationships, and human beings could ris...

The Readings for Good Friday Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 Psalm 22 Hebrews 10:16-25 Saint John 18:1-19:42 BACKGROUND The Triduum, or the Great Three Days constitute a Liturgy that is celebrated over the period of three days; Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Day.   With the reforms of the liturgy in the 50s and 60s, the Triduum, as a liturgical period distinct from Holy Week, has become more and more a given.   Each liturgy has its distinct acts.   Maundy Thursday concentrates on the Mandatum Novum   (“I give you a new commandment , that you love one another), the Washing of Feet, and a solemn celebration of the Holy Eucharist.   The day commemorates Christ’s institution of the Eucharist.   The color for the day may be white or scarlet.   The last act of the evening is the Stripping of the Altar and the setting aside of the Reserve Sacrament on an Altar of Repose.   Good Friday is noted for the simplicity of its liturgy, duri...