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EASTER SUNDAY
The proclaimer can relish fabulous engagement with all three of
these lessons, mixing, comparing, moving back and forth and even projecting into the
future as she/he prepares the Easter sermon. The common denominator, of course, is the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, but these lessons offer more than just The Resurrection. The
passages invite us to explore the impact of the Christ Event with our own mortal events.
The texts also invite us to reflect on the boundaries of God’s message that the
Church has often placed as well as to join the women with all of their mixed emotions as
they come to "see the tomb."
Psalm 118:1-2; 14-24
This psalm will typically combine with choirs, antiphonal calls and
response, processions, and great hymns like, All Glory, Laud, and Honor. On
this day, Psalm 118 is majestic, festive even as it foreshadows the gospel.
Acts 10:34-43-Good News to the Second Power
Doubly good news! Not only does the gospel impact the religious group from
which it sprang, but the gospel now spills over into gentile territory. Peter’s
discovery ("I truly understand that God shows no partiality" v. 34), frees
God’s message of salvation to be heard and benefit every culture and ethnic group. In
this brief lesson, listeners will hear the kergyma-the distillation of the essential
elements that forms Christian belief and values. An excellent passage for this Sunday:
Easter is for everyone.
Colossians 3:1-4-Partnership in Three Acts
The epistle lesson contains a very short piece of Christian teaching that directs
the focus of Christ’s resurrection to its impact in our own lives. Not only did
Christ die, Paul teaches us, but in God’s larger purpose and vision, so did we die,
that is, those who have come to faith in Jesus. Christ has died (and so have we), Christ
is risen (and so are we), Christ will come again (and so will we: "you also will be
revealed with him in glory," v. 4). Question: if we have experienced a personal
co-resurrection with Christ, how does that change the way we look at our lives? Chapter 3
provides the answer to that question.
Matthew 28:1-10
Today’s gospel contains one of the eleven post-resurrection stories of Jesus
found in the gospels and Acts. Here Matthew follows the basic story line of Mark, but with
notable differences of details: While Mark’s story centers around the problem of who
will roll away the stone, Matthew packs the story with women, soldiers, an angel, and
Jesus along with such details as an earthquake, pronouncements, and a vivid description of
the heavenly messenger.
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