Tag: resurrection

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Easter Vigil

entrance to the tomb

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Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter Mass Readings

Reading 1: Genesis 1:1-2:2 or Genesis 1:1, 26-31A
Responsorial: Psalm 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12-14, 24, 35 or Psalm 33:4-7, 12-13, 20, 22
Reading 2: Genesis 22:1-18 or Genesis 22:1-2, 9A, 10-13, 15-18
Responsorial: Psalm 16:5, 8-11
Reading 3: Exodus 14:15-15:1
Responsorial: Exodus 15:1-6, 17-18
Reading 4: Isaiah 54:5-14
Responsorial: Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13
Reading 5: Isaiah 55:1-11
Responsorial: Isaiah 12:2-6
Reading 6: Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4
Responsorial: Psalm 19:8-11
Reading 7: Ezekiel 36:16-17A, 18-28
Responsorial: Psalm 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4 or Isaiah 12:2-3, 4BCD, 5-6 or Psalm 51:12-15, 18-19
Epistle: Romans 6:3-11
Responsorial: Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Gospel: Mark 16:1-7

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040321.cfm
https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/

Happy Easter! He is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal and I’m so glad to share this time with you as we break open the Word!

A brother deacon of mine told me recently that he has either served at or assisted with one to two funerals a week, every week for the past year. Half of those funerals were due to COVID. There is no question that this time of pandemic has been difficult for so many people regardless of whether you think things have been handled well or not. But death, I imagine, has been especially difficult. How many deaths might have been preventable if it weren’t for politics? How many people had to die alone, I wonder? And the sad truth of it is that the pandemic is not over yet.

What comfort does all the ritual of Holy Week and Easter offer those who mourn? What comfort does Easter offer? Let’s explore Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection to show how these events relate to lives of people.

Today is the Great Vigil of Easter! Now, these aren’t just some bedtime stories we tell to pass the time until Easter dinner, with tons of chocolate, and easter egg hunts. No! There’s so much more going on. As we listened to the Scriptures and we walked through the events of this most Holy Week, I invite you to stop and think about how we got here to the Easter Vigil. I mean, just last week, we celebrated Palm Sunday. And as we heard in what is typically the first reading proclaimed outside before the procession, the people yelled, “Hosanna!” (11:9), and they spread their cloaks and leafy branches on the road to make way for Jesus! (11:8). The people were cheering and applauding and celebrating! They treated him like a rock star!

Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be one of Jesus’ closest disciples as that scene unfolded? I bet excitement and joy filled the disciples at the way the crowd received their teacher! What a moment!

And then, just a few days later – they crucified him. They stripped Jesus of his dignity, and they nailed him to a cross. There he hung in the air like a criminal until he died a most torturous death.

How do you think the eleven disciples felt? We can’t be sure because they weren’t there! Where were they? They were hiding! I mean, Judas betrayed Jesus. Peter denied Jesus. Their whole world collapsed. So now what?

Just a little earlier in Mark before the reading we heard proclaimed today, Mark tells us that two women who followed Jesus in Galilee were there at the crucifixion. Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James and Salome. They witnessed the horror of Jesus’ death. They saw where they laid Jesus to rest. For some reason, they decided to go to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. Maybe they felt Joseph had rushed things Friday night. The women didn’t realize Jesus has already been “anointed beforehand for burial” by another woman the night before the Last Supper (14:3-8). <1>

Now, this is an interesting point to keep in mind as we move forward. The women – not the men – “provide … continuity between the story of Jesus’ death and burial and the story of Easter morning.” <2> Unlike the male disciples who are nowhere, these women clearly aren’t overcome with despair. They resolve to do something – one final act to honor their beloved teacher. They couldn’t anoint his body on the Sabbath, so early Sunday morning, they set out for the tomb.

Now, the Greek words that Mark uses gives us some interesting insight into this scene. When the women arrived, they looked up and saw the tomb opened. The Greek word Mark used for “looking up” could also mean “to gain sight.” <3> Why gain sight? Perhaps the women were so busy that they were blind to Jesus’ words. Just as they witnessed his death, now they bore witness to the empty tomb.

When they entered the tomb, instead of finding Jesus, they encountered a young man in white. Scholars tell us that based on various Scripture passages, we can believe that this youth was some sort of angel. <4> Jesus is not in the tomb. The youth tells the women that Jesus has risen. Scholars tell us that even the Greek verb Mark uses is passive to describe “the divine origin of the miracle.” <5>

The youth tells the women to go and tell the other disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee. The women are commissioned to be the first evangelizers of the Resurrection! <6>

While this passage from Mark ends by describing the women’s fear, they told someone because the faith spread like wildfire and is with us here today. “The Gospel of Mark begins and ends with the proclamation of good news and the invitation to participate in God’s reign alive among us (1:14-15; 16:7).” <7>

Isn’t it wonderful? But this is no story.

What comfort do these events offer those who mourn their dead?

You see, for Christians, death isn’t the end of the story! Jesus was raised from the dead! Jesus overcame sin and death! Jesus’ triumph tells us, that, “The power of God is on the loose in the world, calling for our response.” <8>

As baptized Christians, we are united through Jesus with God – all of us – those who came before, those here with us now, and those yet to be born. And because we are united through Jesus, death is not the end! We are connected with our dead friends and family. And we will see them again! That’s part of the great hope of the Kingdom of God! The hope of the resurrection is felt by all believers, of course, but it’s felt in a particular way by all those who mourn. Indeed, all of the rituals of this most Holy Week affirms our hope in Christ Jesus. As we gather to mark the Great Vigil of Easter, we remember. We celebrate. And we believe!

Homework! Rejuvenated by the Easter message that we celebrate through the Word of God and the Eucharist, I invite you to reflect on the following question.
The women commissioned to announce the resurrection were ordinary people, just like most of us. How am I called to share the Good News?

Doing our homework reminds us as disciples that Easter is not just any day. It’s a reminder of our commission to go out into the world spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May we all come to know the joy of Easter and may God bless you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

You’re listening to deacon rudy’s notes. Thank you for joining me today. Silent Partner composed our theme music. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Join me again next weekend as we break open the Word. Peace!

Image Credit: Easter Tomb. Artist Unknown. JPG.

Notes:
<1> Mary Ann Beavis, chap. Mark 16:1-8, sec. Tracing the Narrative Flow, Kindle.
<2> Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, 352.
<3> Mary Ann Beavis, chap. Mark 16:1-8, sec. Tracing the Narrative Flow, Kindle.
<4> Mary Ann Beavis, chap. Mark 16:1-8, sec. The Messenger in the Tomb, Kindle. Also see Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, 351.
<5> Mary Ann Beavis, chap. Mark 16:1-8, sec. The Messenger in the Tomb, Kindle.
<6> Mary Ann Beavis, chap. Mark 16:1-8, sec. The Messenger in the Tomb, Kindle.
<7> Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, 355.
<8> Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, 357. Emphasis in original.

Bibliography/Suggested Readings:
1. Beavis, Mary Ann. Mark. Paideia Commentary Series. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011. Kindle.
2. Healy, Mary. Hebrews. The Gospel of Mark. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008. Kindle.
3. Hahn, Scott W. and Curtis Mitch. Romans. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017. Kindle.
4. Ottoni-Wilhelm, Dawn. Preaching the Gospel of Mark: Proclaiming the Power of God. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2008.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Christ’s resurrection and ours: 638-58, 992-1004
2. Easter the Lord’s Day: 647, 1167-70, 1243, 1287
3. The Sacraments of Initiation: 1212
4. Baptism: 1214-22, 1226-28, 1234-45, 1254
5. Baptism – death and resurrection with Christ: 1214, 1220, 1227
6. Baptism – the sacrament of faith: 1226, 1253-54
7. Baptism – the sacrament of justification: 1266, 1992
8. Confirmation: 1286-89
9. Eucharist: 1322-23
10. The first day of the week: 2174-77

Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040321.cfm
Lectionary: 41

Gospel
Mark 16:1-7
When the sabbath was over,
Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome
bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.
Very early when the sun had risen,
on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.
They were saying to one another,
“Who will roll back the stone for us
from the entrance to the tomb?”
When they looked up,
they saw that the stone had been rolled back;
it was very large.
On entering the tomb they saw a young man
sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe,
and they were utterly amazed.
He said to them, “Do not be amazed!
You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified.
He has been raised; he is not here.
Behold the place where they laid him.
But go and tell his disciples and Peter,
‘He is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him, as he told you.’”

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Resurrection of the Dead

a picture of a cemetery with several old tombstones in the foreground

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Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
Responsorial: Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15
Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
Gospel: Luke 20:27-38 or Luke 20:27, 34-38

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111019.cfm

Will the dead rise? No, I’m not talking about the zombie apocalypse. I’m talking about one of the “big questions” of life and our readings today grapple with this head on. The Sadducees who were part of the Jewish priestly class did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. In fact, after the experience of the Maccabean martyrs that we heard about in our first reading from 2 Maccabees chapter 7, the belief in the resurrection of the dead was growing. <1> Indeed, this is a central Christian belief today. We profess this idea in the Creed we recite every Sunday when we say: I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. We call this the doctrine of eschatology. <2>

The Sadducees use the resurrection of the dead to try to trap Jesus. They present their question about a woman whose husband died. According to the levirate law handed to them from Moses, if the dead husband didn’t have any children before he died, then his brother should marry the woman. At the end of their question, the woman has had to marry seven times, marrying a different brother each time.

Jesus answers saying, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,” (Luke 20:34-35). What does this mean?

The entire point of the levirate law, besides providing for the widow, was to help continue the line of the fatherless husband – to continue the family name. But Jesus points out that in the life to come – in the resurrection of the dead, “the worthy” cannot die. He says, “They can no longer die, for they are like angels…”, (Luke 20:36). Since they cannot die, there is no need to try to preserve the family name.

But Jesus goes on to say clarify that the Pentateuch which the Sadducees cling to demonstrates the resurrection of the dead. When the Lord presented himself to Moses, He identified himself as the God of the patriarchs, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” (Luke 20:37). Why would God refer to Himself this way if the patriarchs are dead and forever lost? God, Jesus points out, is, “not God of the dead, but of the living,” (Luke 20:38).

How can they be alive? The emerging Jewish teaching taught that there must be an intermediate state. <3> This teaching is affirmed by the Christian faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,” face to face, (no. 1023).

Homework! Having been nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and by the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following:

  1. Pray something like this: Jesus, thank you for destroying death so that I may live forever!
  2. I encourage you to remember in your daily prayers your family and friends who have passed away and all the souls in purgatory.

Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Notes:
<1> The Gospel of Luke by Pablo T. Gadenz, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Baker Academic (2018).
<2> Himes, Michael, The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004), 119-124.
<3> Ratzinger, Eschatology, 124, as quoted in The Gospel of Luke by Pablo T. Gadenz, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Baker Academic (2018). Ratzinger writes: Indeed, Josephus (Jewish War 2.163; 3.372-74; Jewish Antiquities 18.14) explains that the Pharisees believed in both an immediate life after death because of the immortality of the soul and a future resurrection of the body.

Church teaching:

  • Catechism of the Catholic Church: resurrection of the dead, 575, 993; virginity as a sign of the coming age, 1619; angels, 330.
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Easter: Overcome Slavery to Sin

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Easter Readings
First Reading: Acts 10:34A, 37-43
Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4
Gospel: John 20:1-9

Happy Easter! He is risen! Alleluia, alleluia! So, what does Easter mean to me? What is the importance of the resurrection?

Today I’m going to reflect on Paul’s reading that we used on Saturday night during the Easter Vigil, Romans 6:3-11. In the notes for the podcast today, you’ll find the readings for Sunday’s Easter mass. But I want to reflect on Paul’s reading from the Easter Vigil. Since Paul’s reading is not in the notes, I’d like to read a little bit of it to you.

“Brothers and sisters, are you aware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death, we were indeed buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” He goes on to write, “We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.”

Think about that phrase just for a second, “…in slavery to sin.”

What does this mean in relation to Easter? Here’s the bottom line: Christ was killed for us. His death washed away our sins. By dying, he defeated death itself. That’s it. As Christians, we may have different ideas about how all of this works, but this our common belief. As CS Lewis put it, “That is the formula. That is Christianity,” (Mere Christianity, 55). But there’s the catch. We have to say yes. You see, we have a choice. Jesus will never force himself on anyone. So, we have a choice.

Why would anyone refuse the offer?

That’s a good question and Paul gives us some insight through the phrase he uses, “…in slavery to sin.” You see, temptation and sin are so powerful a force that people find themselves trapped in a cycle of sin. Yes, that sin could be things like drugs and alcohol, but people can also become slaves to money, power, influence, new technology, pornography, sex, among other things. A slave cannot do whatever they want. They can only do what their master commands.

Maybe another way of looking at sin is through the language of addiction. An addict may lack the power to resist – to fight – to decide. To break the cycle of addiction, an addict needs help from the outside, but even then, it won’t work unless the addict is wants help.

Consider the life of Venerable Matt Talbot. Born in 1856 in Dublin, Ireland, the second of twelve children, his father and most of his brothers were heavy drinkers. In 1868 Talbot left school at the age of twelve and went to work in a wine store where he soon began “sampling their wares.” By the age of thirteen, he was considered a hopeless alcoholic. He was an alcoholic by the age of thirteen! But that didn’t stop him from getting work at various whiskey stores. He frequented pubs spending most or all of his pay and running up debts. When he ran out of money, he borrowed and scrounged for money. He pawned his clothes and boots to get money for alcohol and once he stole a fiddle from a street entertainer just so he could buy drink.

At age 28, he was broke and out of credit. He waited in the street outside a pub in the hope that somebody would buy him a drink. After several friends had passed him without acknowledging him, he went home humiliated. With the help of his pastor, he turned to God for help.

He was an alcoholic for 16 years, but Talbot stayed sober for the next forty years of his life. He once said, “Never be too hard on the man who can’t give up drink. It’s as hard to give up the drink as it is to raise the dead to life again. But both are possible and even easy for Our Lord. We have only to depend on him,” (Matt Talbot).

My brothers and sisters, I have good news! Like Matt Talbot, we are not alone! By our baptism, we have access to God’s grace. You see, when we pour water over a baby during a baptism or submerge an older child or adult in the water, it symbolizes what Paul is saying – we die with Christ. When the child or adult emerges from the water, it symbolizes the Resurrection – we rise with Christ.

St. Paul reminds us that by our baptism we have God’s grace – we have the power to nail our sins to the cross and with Jesus to experience the resurrection. For Christians the Resurrection at Easter is like the Passover. Easter means deliverance from the oppression of sin and failure to new life through baptism.

Our lives can demonstrate freedom from sin’s power and show the fruits of the resurrection in our lives. Paul uses strong images to get his message across. Those baptized into Christ have been “buried with him.” We are united with him in his death, but also in his resurrection. Christ “raised from the dead, dies no more.” The same is true for us: we died with him and now we are “living for God in Christ Jesus.”

This Easter, Jesus invites you and he invites me to look at the results of our Lenten sacrifices and, by the grace of God, to nail our sins to the cross so that we can experience the liberating freedom of the resurrection. The great challenge of Easter is of course how the resurrection will bear fruit in our lives, and that leads us to our homework.

Homework!

  1. Reflecting on my Lenten experience, what sins am I prepared to nail to the cross? In other words, what is new about my faith this Easter?
  2. Like Jesus who emptied himself out for all of us, ask yourself, “as a disciple, where and how am I being called to sacrifice in my life for the good of others?”

Do you got it? Do you get it? Are you going to do it? Well good! May each of us come to experience the joy of Easter! He is indeed risen! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!