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Resurrection of the Lord

Easter Sunday

 

 

1Early 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. 2So 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.” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.

11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and 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. 13They 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.” 14When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?” 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.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17Jesus 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.’” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.



John 20:1-18

 

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Scenes from the Life of Christ:

21. Resurrection (Noli Me Tangere)

GIOTTO di Bondone

1304-1306

Scrovegni Chapel

Padua

Italy

My Favorite Panel   by Christina on May 18, 2015

It’s tough to have a favorite panel, but I definitely left the Scrovegni Chapel with a new appreciation for “Scenes from the Life of Christ – Resurrection.”  Based on the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to women weeping at his tomb just after the resurrection.  Mary Magdalene recognizes Jesus, calls out to him, and is told not to touch him because it is not yet time.  It’s a strange exchange but has become popular in art as the “noli me tangere” or “touch me not” scene.

Giotto’s Mary is just incredible.  Kneeling, she is almost completed concealed by her red robe.  Her little face peers out followed by two jutting, almost disembodied pink arms.  Unlike future noli me tangere Marys who will gesture gracefully for Jesus, Giotto’s Mary is really grasping with desperate, outstretched, and nearly straight arms.  Her expression combines disbelief with a wondrous hope; her eyes are locked in on Jesus’s face.

Almost as much as Mary is reaching out, Jesus seems to be running away.  I only really noticed this in front of the panel, but he is literally out of the frame.  Jesus’ arm and the very top of his victory banner are cut off by the edge of the panel.  The sharp angle of this right leg makes it look like Jesus is trying to get away – and fast!  Even with the urgent getaway, there is a kindness in his face that reminds us of the underlying reunion actually occurring here.

Looking at the lay-out, this composition is a huge departure from Gothic art.  The tense, non-physical interaction between Mary and Jesus only takes up a quarter of the image.  They are balanced by sleeping soldier to the left and an empty blue sky above which takes up almost half the painting.  It’s a daring lay-out that relegates the action to the corner and intensifies the fleetingness of this chance encounter.  It was really exciting to experience this insight and enjoy this painting in person.

https://daydreamtourist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/noli-me-tangere.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

The great gift of Easter is hope —

Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God,

in his ultimate triumph,

and in his goodness and love,

which nothing can shake.

~ Basil Hume

 

 

 

 

 

It is not easy to convey a sense of wonder,

let alone a resurrection wonder, to another.

It’s the very nature of wonder to catch us off guard,

to circumvent expectations and assumptions.

Wonder can’t be packaged, and it can’t be worked up.

It requires some sense of being there

and some sense of engagement.

~ Eugene H. Peterson

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner with the Moores

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Ann Moore, Bill Manning, Mande Moore Mischler, Ted Ning

 

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Mike Moore with Marsha Manning, Connie Ning, Carolyn Alexander

 

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Kelly Selva and her daughter, Melissa, at Bunco

 

Wild Aware Talk with Karen Hutcherson

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Christi Greene started Wild Aware in 2019.

 

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Fascinating!

The edges of owls’ feathers are uneven which

allows them to glide through the air almost silently.

 

Senior Group

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We met at a new barbecue place in Evergreen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EASTER MORNING

  

The stirring wildness of God

calls brittle bones to leaping

and stone hearts to soaring.

Old women dance among the stars.

~ Ann Weems

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 31, 2024  Resurrection of the Lord / Easter

 

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 







1Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2through 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, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards 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. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

 

Corinthians 15:1-11

 

Cephas, James, and Paul sit down for a chat in Jerusalem (Gal 1:18). Wouldn’t you have loved to be a fly on the wall for that conversation? – James Wetzstein

Agnus Day, by James Wetzsteinimage.png

Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

 

 

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All I really need is love, 

but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!

                                                        Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts

                                                        by Charles M. Schulz

 

 

 

 

  

Hallelujah !

 

 

 

 

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LECTIONARY

Acts 10:34–43 or Isaiah 25:6–9 

Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24 

1 Corinthians 15:1–11 or Acts 10:34–43 

John 20:1–18 or Mark 16:1–8

 

 

 

Summary

Easter Sunday’s most explicit proclamations of the gospel come from the 1 Corinthians reading (15:3-4) or Peter’s sermon in Acts (10:39-40). In both of these readings, it is worth emphasizing that Jesus’ death and resurrection happened “according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:4; Acts 10:43) and that the whole Old Testament points forward to Easter day.

The John passage is most interesting for how it highlights the factual reliability of the Resurrection, a special interest of modern persons. The disciples are incredulous, assuming other natural explanations. But the evidence militates against these. Jesus himself first appears to a woman, who would not have been considered a credible witness had the disciples wanted to convince the world of a hoax. The linen cloths are seen neatly laid in the tomb, something a graverobber would not have taken the time to do.

The Christian hope has always been placed on the truth of what Jesus accomplished in his resurrection, and it is enough for the preacher to point simply to this so that the people may come to its light.

https://www.preachingtoday.com/lectionary/

 

 

THE WORD:

John’s Easter Gospel says nothing of earthquakes or angels.  His account begins before daybreak.  

It was believed that the spirit of the deceased hovered around the tomb for three days after burial; Mary Magdalene was therefore following the Jewish custom of visiting the tomb during this three-day period.  Discovering that the stone has been moved away, Mary Magdalene runs to tell Peter and the others.  Peter and the “other disciple” race to get there and look inside.  

Note the different reactions of the three:  Mary Magdalene fears that someone has “taken” Jesus' body; Peter does not know what to make of the news; but the “other” disciple – the model of faithful discernment in John's Gospel – immediately understands what has taken place.  So great are the disciple's love and depth of faith that all of the strange remarks and dark references of Jesus now become clear to him.

HOMILY POINTS:

While the Easter mystery does not deny the reality of suffering and pain, it does proclaim reason for hope in the human condition.  The empty tomb of Christ trumpets the ultimate Alleluia: that love, compassion, generosity, humility and selflessness will ultimately triumph over hatred, bigotry, prejudice, despair, greed and death.  The Easter miracle enables us, even in the most difficult and desperate of times, to live our lives in hopeful certainty of the fulfillment of the resurrection at the end of our life's journey.

The Risen Christ is present to us in the faithful witness of every good person who shares the good news of the to bring resurrection into this life of ours: to rise above life’s sufferings and pain to give love and life to others, to renew and re-create our relationships with others, to proclaim the Gospel of the empty tomb.

The empty tomb of Easter morning is God’s vindication of his Son’s life among us: that no tomb can contain the mercy and hope of God.  The Christ who challenged us to love one another is risen and walks among us!  All that he taught – compassion, love, forgiveness, reconciliation, sincerity, selflessness for the sake of others – is vindicated and affirmed if he is truly risen.  The empty tomb should not only console us and elate us, it should challenge us to embrace the life of the Gospel.  With Easter faith, we can awaken the promise of the empty tomb in every place and moment we encounter on our journey through this life.

Easter is about resurrection — not just resuscitation, not just about coming back from the brink, not just about bouncing back from a difficult situation, not just about a near miss when we’ve been spared the worst that can happen.  In fact, the pre-requisite for resurrection is that the worst — devastating loss and death — happens.  And we are changed by the experience. 

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#march31

 


First Reading Acts 10:34-43
34Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all. 37That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38how 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. 39We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41not 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. 42He 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. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”


Or alternate First Reading Isaiah 25:6-9
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; 


Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1   O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; 
          his steadfast love endures forever!
2   Let Israel say,  
          “His steadfast love endures forever.”
14  The LORD is my strength and my might; 
          he has become my salvation. 
15   There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: 
     “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly; 
16       the right hand of the LORD is exalted; 
          the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.” 
17  I shall not die, but I shall live, 
          and recount the deeds of the LORD. 
18  The LORD has punished me severely, 
          but he did not give me over to death.
19  Open to me the gates of righteousness, 
          that I may enter through them 
          and give thanks to the LORD.
20  This is the gate of the LORD; 
          the righteous shall enter through it.
21  I thank you that you have answered me 
          and have become my salvation. 
22  The stone that the builders rejected 
          has become the chief cornerstone. 
23  This is the LORD’s doing; 
          it is marvelous in our eyes. 
24  This is the day that the LORD has made; 
          let us rejoice and be glad in it.


Second Reading 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
1Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2through 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, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards 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. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.


Or alternate Second Reading Acts 10:34-43
34Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all. 37That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38how 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. 39We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41not 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. 42He 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. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”


Gospel John 20:1-18
1Early 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. 2So 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.” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.
11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and 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. 13They 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.” 14When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?” 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.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17Jesus 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.’” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.


Or alternate Gospel Mark 16:1-8

1When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6But 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. 7But 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.” 8So 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.