[Salvation]

Sunday Scripture Study

Easter Sunday - Cycle A

April 20, 2014

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Opening Prayer  

First Reading: Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Psalm: 118:1-2,16-17,22-23

Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4 

Gospel Reading: John 20:1-9

• On the third day after Jesus’ death on the cross Mary Magdalene, accompanied by some other women (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 23:55—24:1), come to the tomb fully expecting to find Jesus’ body. Imagine her reaction when she finds the heavy stone rolled back and the body gone! Her first thought was to run to tell Peter, the leader of the remaining apostles.

• Although Peter at first doubted her story (Luke 24:11), he and “the other apostle” (by tradition, John), also run to the tomb. They find the burial cloths in such a state that made it clear that the body had not been stolen (verses 6-7). At this point, they still could not grasp that Jesus had risen, as he predicted he would. Later, however, they would have no doubt.

• That Jesus rose from the dead is the most well-attested miracle in Scripture. The Old Testament foretold it; Jesus predicted it on more than one occasion; it was confirmed by his several appearances (John 20:19—21:1; Acts 1:3; Luke 24:13-35; 1 Corinthian 15:3-8). It was even verified by the Roman soldiers guarding his tomb ((Matthew 28:11-15)! Let us rejoice today that Jesus has defeated sin and death—Alleluia! He is risen indeed!

 

QUESTIONS:

• In the 1st Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter is speaking to the first Gentile (non-Jewish) converts to Christianity. What was their response to his message that the Jesus they had heard something about had been raised from the dead (see Acts 10:44-49)? What should our reaction be?

• According to St. Paul in the 2nd Reading, what should we be preoccupied with (verse 2)? Why? What has happened to us (verse 1, 3)? What will happen to us (verse 4)?

• Put yourself in the place of Mary. What is your emotional state in the days following the crucifixion? Why do you go to the tomb so early? How do you react to the empty tomb?

• According to the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, how long was Jesus dead and his body in the tomb (John 2:18-22; Acts 10:40; CCC 994)? What did Jesus do for that time while in the tomb (1 Peter 3:19, 4:6; CCC 631-33)?

• What had the disciples been told in advance about Jesus rising from the dead (Matthew 16:21, 27:63)? How do the positions of the linen shroud and the napkin provide corroborating evidence of the Resurrection? What is your proof that Jesus rose from the dead?

• How should we respond to the empty tomb? Why did John preach the message (John 19:35,17:20; 1 John 5:13)? When a loved one dies or life seems cruel or a drudgery, how does the Resurrection of Jesus help you deal with your pain?

 

Closing Prayer

Catechism of the Catholic Church:  §§ 2174, 515, 631-658

 

It is no great thing to believe that Christ died; for this is something that is also believed by pagans and Jews and [even] by all the wicked: everyone believes that He died. The Christians' faith is in Christ's Resurrection; that is what we hold to be a great thing--to believe that He rose   –St Augustine

[Salvation]

This is Eternal Life?

Pastor’s Column

Easter Sunday 2014

“For as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son also that he might have life in himself.” John 5:26

 

Science fiction has had a long fascination with the idea of being able to transfer one’s consciousness, or the essence of who we are, into some kind of machine or computer. For example, I remember an old Star Trek episode that explored this possibility and the inherent drawbacks in the plot line. So it was with more than a little fascination that I ran across an article in this month’s Popular Science that highlighted research with the goal of ultimately doing just this very thing…mapping the brain in such a way as to transfer its processes to a machine and thus live forever!

Would you be willing to try this when your body wears out? Of course, one is naturally skeptical that this kind of thing could ever capture the essence of our humanity, but what kind of immorality would this bring, anyway? Is this the best we can hope to do as human beings? Such an existence, even if it were possible, ultimately sounds more like purgatory than paradise.

Christians have had another, more practical answer to the pressing issue of our mortality for almost 2000 years. Notice what Jesus says in John’s gospel: Jesus has life in himself. Our life is borrowed.

Our lives are by their very nature finite and limited. We began our existence in a moment of time, our conception, our life borrowed from our parents. Our bodies, made of dust, must one day return to the earth. In fact, our existence comes from God!

Our modern technology seeks to create and manipulate life, when in fact it cannot even sustain it. Our life is borrowed from God, whereas Jesus, as the Son of God, is life itself. He doesn’t borrow life from anyone: he is life. The Lord has existence within him and offers this eternal existence to us who believe in him. This is the very essence of our faith!

Even if it were possible to live forever on earth as some kind of android/computer consciousness, there would come a time, after eons of earthly existence, when we would have seen and done everything. What kind of world would this be if tyrants never died and the rich just kept getting richer and never had to pass it along?

Nothing on earth satisfies us in the end because God put the essence of eternity in our hearts, whether we realize it or not. This is why we are driven to try to find life in other parts of the universe and to even try to build a machine that would theoretically enable us to live forever on earth.

A life such as this, but without God, can never ultimately satisfy the human heart. Instead, we put our hope in Jesus Christ raised from the dead: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, who you have sent.” (John 17:3)

Father Gary