Easter

Jan 14 2025

Scripture Study for

According to Acts of the Apostles, Jesus remained on earth for forty days after his resurrection, appearing to his apostles and speaking about the reign of God. The activity of the Spirit is a characteristic of the new age, the time between the Resurrection and the time of complete fulfillment. The apostles’ misunderstanding of this presented an opportunity for Jesus to instruct them. He tells them to concern themselves with being his witnesses, and not to worry about the limited restoration of one nation. Furthermore, it is not for them to know when the end will occur. He assures them that they will have the power of the Spirit to guide them for whatever length of time God desires.

The second reading consists of a series of prayers. The first is a prayer for a spirit of wisdom and revelation so believers might possess insight and understanding. Another is for a threefold spiritual enlightenment that includes hope in the calling they have received from God, the riches of God’s inheritance, and the surpassing greatness of God’s power. The depiction of Christ is quite exalted. Having been raised from the dead, Christ now sits at God’s right hand, high above all other heavenly creatures. His rule is universal in scope and duration. Exalted by God, Christ is made the head of the church, which is his body.

The disciples see Jesus on the mountain and they worship him, reminiscent of his earlier transfiguration. Jesus declares that all power in heaven and on earth has been given to him, a reference to the Son of Man who was exalted by God and granted eschatological authority. Employing that power, he commissions them. The great missionary commission is straightforward and all-encompassing.

The disciples are told to go out and make disciples of all nations. Jesus inaugurates the reign of God, at the heart of which is a radically different way of life. This reign is to be the essence of the teaching of the disciples.

Jan 14 2025

Living into the Mystery

The Easter season keeps offering us pictures of what happens when the power of resurrected life, given by Jesus to his disciples, enters the world. Sometimes it led to a recognition that one group should not be favored over another, whether they were widows or Samaritans. All were to be served; all were to receive the gospel.

When the deacon Philip began to preach Jesus as the Messiah, the people of Samaria listened. They not only heard Philip’s message but also saw the power of God’s salvation at work as he cast out demons and cured people who were crippled and paralyzed. With the new birth of faith came baptism and a reception of the Holy Spirit, when Peter and John laid hands on them.

The Holy Spirit continues to bring the truth of who God is and the strength to help us live in that truth, fully revealed in Jesus. Because of the Spirit, we dwell with the Father and the Son. Jesus’ promises come to fulfillment in us; we are not orphans but beloved sons and daughters, the divine life of the Trinity flowing in us. In the Eucharist Jesus comes to be with us, and brings the Father, for he is in the Father and we are in him and he in us.

Resurrection life commits us to living out the command “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15). The Spirit brings hope and, as Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his encyclical “Saved in Hope” (Spe Salvi), “The one who has hope lives differently.”

Consider/Discuss

What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit with you as an “Advocate,” that is, a “counselor” or “protector”?
Jesus says the world cannot accept the Spirit of truth “because it neither sees nor knows him.” Does this mean the world is beyond hope?

Responding to the Word

We ask the Holy Spirit to be with us always, so we may live more fully in an awareness of the truth that is Jesus Christ, beloved Son, who came to teach us what it means to be children of God. Pray to be more aware of your intimate com munion with the Father and the Son.

Jan 14 2025

Scripture Study for

Philip, one of the seven men appointed by the Jerusalem community to attend to the needs of the Hellenistic widows, travels north to Samaria. Though Jews and Samaritans pursued different paths, they both lived in expectation of a messiah. This shared hope explains their openness to Philip’s preaching, which is supported by exorcisms and healings. By their baptism, the Samaritans were incorporated into the community. Whether the Spirit was conferred on them when they were baptized or when the apostles laid hands on them is a lesser matter. What is important is the reconciliation in Christ between the Jews and the Samaritans.

The First Letter of Peter tells the Christians that they must respond to the suffering they will endure for their faith in a way that will enhance the spread of the gospel. Peter offers the sufferings of Christ as an example to follow. He places their sufferings within the context of the holiness of Christ, which gives them both strength and courage. He explains how the suffering of Christ was a vicarious sacrifice that effected redemption for all. The reading ends with a traditional formula of Christian faith in the Resurrection, built on the classical contrast between flesh and spirit. Though he died in the flesh, Christ is alive in the Spirit. Following his example, even though they die in the flesh, they can hope to live in the Spirit.

Jesus calls for self-sacrifice, as was his own love. He insists that if the disciples truly love him, they will keep his commandments. Though his departure might leave them feeling abandoned, he reassures them that he will return. The real marvel of this passage is found in the description of mutual indwelling. Jesus is in the Father; Jesus is in the disciples and they are in him; both the Spirit and Jesus will remain in the disciples. This is the manifestation of the love that begins and ends this reading.

Jan 14 2025

A House of Living Stones

Over the years several television shows have focused on rebuilding and reshaping houses. For over thirty years PBS’s This Old House has offered tips on repairing homes. More recently, Extreme Makeover takes a team into someone’s home and transforms it to meet the serious needs of its occupants, often dealing with health or disability issues or trying to serve the larger community in some way.

From the beginning the church has been imagined as a house of living stones, built on Jesus Christ, a dwelling place where people come for shelter and sustenance, where they can set down their burdens and find comfort and consolation before being sent back out in the world to make it a better place to live.

The risen Christ is truly one who offers an “extreme makeover.” He can be trusted to shape us into a dwelling place where the Spirit of the Lord takes up permanent residence, bringing gifts to benefit the world. From the beginning there have been challenges for those who form the church, and an ongoing need for renovation to meet the needs of the time.

Our efforts to make the church a home where love, mercy, justice, and peace will be found should lead us to build more firmly on Jesus our cornerstone. When the time comes, the home he promised to prepare for us and take us to should be easily recognizable. It should not be that much different from the church we have been living in all our lives.

Consider/Discuss

What does it mean to be a community of “living stones”?
What are the “works” that Jesus empowers us to do, perhaps even greater than what he did?

Responding to the Word

We pray the Lord to give us confidence to trust in his word that he has gone to prepare a permanent dwelling place for us, where we will be with him and all those who have gone ahead of us. We pray that this assurance may strengthen us to live as if we were already there.

Jan 14 2025

Scripture Study for

Today’s scriptures observe tension within the early Christian community. Both the Greek-speakers and Hebrew-speakers were probably Jewish-Christians, separated by language rather than by religious background. At issue is some practical matter, not a point of doctrine. Peter does not stand as sole leader. Rather, the entire group of apostles, known as the Twelve, addresses the problem. Besides this collegiality, the community practiced subsidiarity, for the community select ed men to exercise the ministry. The diversity that accompanied the growth of the community both enriched it and was the cause of the tension described here.

The second reading characterizes Christ as a living stone and describes Christians as living stones as well. The stone is living because of who Christ is and not because of what he does. When “living” describes Christians, it refers to the life that is theirs because of their relationship with Christ. As cornerstone, Christ is the underpinning of the building, the church. This stone is sometimes considered the capstone, the stone that holds the two pillars of an arch together. This passage clearly related the way they understand Christ and how they understand the church.

Jesus seeks to strengthen his followers who are troubled at the thought of his departure. He urges them to trust. He does not focus on the end of his life, only on the joyful events that will follow it. He leaves to prepare a place for the others with God. The passage is open to both an apocalyptic and a mystical interpretation. In the first, he is referring to his return at the end of time; in the second, he is alluding to the indwelling of his spirit enjoyed in this life by those united with him. Neither Thomas nor Philip fully understands what he means. Jesus ends his discourse with a promise that those who believe in him will be able to perform deeds that are even more wondrous than those he has performed.