This joyful Eastertide, away with sin and sorrow! My love, the crucified, has sprung to life this morrow! Would Christ that once was slain, ne'er burst his three day prison, our hope had been in vain, but now has Christ arisen!
1st
Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9
Most people in the ancient Near East would have eaten sparingly and
with little dietary variation. A great and lavish feast was an obvious symbol
of God’s restoration of shalom on earth, a symbol that
carries into the New Testament. This
vision is also important because of its inclusion of “all nations.” Israel and
its rival neighbors will live in peace.
It is such a joyous and monumental vision, that even death is overcome.
25:6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with
marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 7 And
he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the
sheet that is spread over all nations; 8 he
will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God
will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will
take away from all the earth, for the Lord
has spoken. 9 It will be said on
that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save
us. This is the Lord for whom we
have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
OR THIS
1st
Reading: Acts of the Apostles 10:34-43
This short passage is part of a long story (Acts 10:1—11:18) about how
the Gentiles came to be understood as having the same relationship with Jesus
as his fellow Jews. The apostle Peter and the gentile Cornelius have both had
visions causing them to seek each other out. When Peter meets Cornelius in the
latter’s own house (a line observant Jews were not to cross), he experiences
the Pentecostal Spirit at work among them just as he and his fellow disciples
had experienced it. This leads to the following declaration. It is a testimony
to the power of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.
10:34 Peter began to speak to
Cornelius and the other Gentiles: “I truly understand that God shows no
partiality, 35 but in every nation
anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people
of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 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. 39 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; 40 but God
raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 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. 42 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. 43 All
the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1
Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good; *
his
mercy endures for ever.
2
Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His
mercy endures for ever.”
14
The Lord is my strength and
my song, *
and
he has become my salvation.
15
There is a sound of exultation and victory *
in
the tents of the righteous:
16
“The right hand of the Lord
has triumphed! *
the
right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the
right hand of the Lord has
triumphed!”
17
I shall not die, but live, *
and
declare the works of the Lord.
18
The Lord has punished me
sorely, *
but
he did not hand me over to death.
19
Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I
will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord.
20
“This is the gate of the Lord;
*
he
who is righteous may enter.”
21
I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and
have become my salvation.
22
The same stone which the builders rejected *
has
become the chief cornerstone.
23
This is the Lord’s doing, *
and
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24
On this day the Lord has
acted; *
we
will rejoice and be glad in it.
2nd
Reading: Acts of the Apostles 10:34-43
See
above
OR
THIS
2nd
Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
In these verses, Paul rehearses the tradition of the resurrection that
has been handed down to him. It includes, in verses 3b-5, the beginnings of a
Christian creed. Paul also cites historical evidence of which he is aware: the
appearance to Peter (Cephas), to the twelve, to a large number of believers (a
story that has been lost), and then to Paul himself on the road to Damascus. He
doesn’t know the tradition of women being the first witnesses or chooses to
ignore it.
15:1 Now 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, 2 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. 3 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, 4 and
that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with
the scriptures, 5 and that he
appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then
he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of
whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then
he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8
Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to
be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 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. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we
proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Gospel
Reading: Mark 16:1-8
Mark’s account of the resurrection
is, like his Gospel, short. It does, however, pack in many details. The women
who come to the tomb are the same as those mentioned in the previous chapter as
having witnessed Jesus’ death. The young man in the tomb neatly summarizes what
the Gospel is as Mark understands it.
Jesus is the forever crucified and risen One. The women are sent forth (as apostles?). They are ecstatic (a better translation than
“amazement” and filled with “awe” (a reasonable alternative translation to
“afraid.”). Most scholars believe Mark
originally ended his Gospel here.
16:1 When the sabbath was over, Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they
might go and anoint him. 2 And very
early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the
tomb. 3 They had been saying to one
another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone,
which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young
man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
6 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. 7 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.”
8 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.
OR THIS
Gospel
Reading: John 20:1-18
The Gospel-writer John’s witness
to the empty tomb and the initial experiences of the risen Jesus centers on
Mary Magdalene, who, on account of this story in particular, is sometimes known
as “the Apostle of the Resurrection.” Mary is the first to tell the other
disciples, who themselves come to the tomb, but do not remain. Mary, in her
grief, does not leave and so has the first encounter with the risen Jesus. Why
she does not recognize him is a matter of much speculation, as well as Jesus’
admonition to her not to hold on to him. Whatever the meaning, Mary again
becomes the first witness, “I have seen the Lord.”
20:1 Early on the first day of the
week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the
stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So
she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus
loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do
not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then
Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other
disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5
He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there,
but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon
Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings
lying there, 7 and the cloth that
had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a
place by itself. 8 Then the other
disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the
scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then
the disciples returned to their homes. 11 But
Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into
the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels
in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and
the other at the feet. 13 They said
to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away
my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around
and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you
weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said
to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him,
and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus
said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which
means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to
her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But
go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your
Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary
Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she
told them that he had said these things to her.
The
Scripture quotations (except for the psalm) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.
All rights reserved. The Psalm
translation is from The Book of Common
Prayer. Commentaries are copyright ©
2018, Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.epiphanyesources.com. All
rights reserved. Permission is granted
to copy for congregational use, including the copyright statement.
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