Easter IV- John 16:5-15

The traditional Gospel for this Sunday from John 16:5-15 is one of the rich selections from the "Farewell Discourses." Here our Lord seeks to reassure the disciples by speaking of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. He says, "I tell you that it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (16: 7). A little later, He adds, "when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth..." (16: 13).

These verses point to the divine plan for Christ's mission. As Jesus' ordinary physical presence on earth draws to a close, His followers experience some natural human anxiety. They do not really understand much that is about to happen, and they certainly do not want to hear of His leaving. But Christ's death, resurrection, and return to heaven are good for His followers. In heaven, He will intercede for them and prepare a place for them. Furthermore, through a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, Christ will continue to work among His followers in ways transcending His earthly ministry. The Spirit will guide them into truth. This truth is not some new, secret or unheard of truth, but it is the same truth already manifested in the person of Christ.

The essential point of Jesus' teaching should be clear to Christians. He teaches us that the work of the Holy Spirit must not be separated from the revelation in Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God. The work of the Spirit among Christians is a series of living applications of the truth already revealed in Christ and His Gospel. So as the Easter season winds down, and we look forward to Ascension and Pentecost, we should appreciate the unity of divine truth. The basic work of redemption in Jesus Christ was a unique time in history, but the same Christ continues to be be present and guide Christians through the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church.

Easter III- John 16:20

The Gospel for this Third Sunday after Easter is from John 16:16-22. This is one of several selections during Eastertide from the “Farewell Discourses.” In these discourses in John, Christ gives His disciples instructions about who He is and about their discipleship. These instructions may have very well been repeated during the forty days after Easter.

A key verse in our Gospel today is John 16: 20: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” Joy is a central theme of the Easter season, but we should take time to reflect on its meaning. Christian joy is not simply ordinary worldly happiness; it is a profound spiritual blessing.

During Lent and Holy Week, we emphasized the way of the cross, the sorrows and sufferings of Christ. And we must never gloss over those realities. However, sin, suffering, and sorrow do not have the last word. Jesus Christ rises from the dead. He wins an eternal victory and brings true joy. This joy of Christ is not some fleeting earthly happiness. While joy may sometimes be expressed through ordinary good times, the joy of Christ transcends transitory manifestations. Christian joy is more than ordinary human happiness. It comes from beyond this world. It comes from the goodness, the love, and the grace of God.

True joy can remain in the good times and the average times of ordinary life. And the joy of Christ can also remain through all the difficult times. It can abide with us in sickness, pain, and sadness- even through the valley of the shadow of death. As believers, we still have both sorrows and joys. But there is one joy which surpasses our earthly circumstances- there is the great joy of knowing the presence of the risen Christ with us!

Easter II- The Good Shepherd- John 10:11

In the traditional Gospel for the Second Sunday after Easter from John 10, our Lord boldly proclaims, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). There are two main aspects of Jesus’ claim. 1) Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah- a leader like King David in many ways. 2) By calling Himself the Good Shepherd, Jesus of Nazareth is also moving His claim to a different dimension. Let us notice that Jesus does not merely say “I’m a good shepherd.” He says, “I am the good shepherd.” The “I am” sayings of Jesus in John’s Gospel are reflections of God’s name in Exodus. 

In Scripture, God Himself is the Good Shepherd of Israel, and by identifying Himself this was, Jesus is claiming a unique relationship with God the Father. So in this verse, Jesus is saying that He is both the human Messiah and the divine Son of God. He is the great leader of the chosen people in both ways. 

The Easter season stresses our hope in Christ. Accepting and trusting Jesus Christ as our Good Shepherd highlights Christian hope in a special way. All too often we are like wandering sheep, but we do have a leader, a shepherd, that we can trust. Easter is a celebration and a proclamation of the depth of our Shepherd’s love and of His victorious power. So let us heed Him and have faith in Him. Let us follow where He leads and accept His nourishment for our souls through His Word and Sacraments.

The Feast of the Annunciation (transferred)- Luke 1

 The 25th of March fell during Holy Week this year, and traditional liturgical practice confines Holy Week to commemorating the Passion and Easter Week to celebrating the Resurrection. Thus, the feast of the Annunciation is transferred to Monday,  April 8. This is indicated on the list of precedence in the Book of Common Prayer and on other calendars

The observance of the Annunciation is based on the story of Gabriel's visit to the Virgin Mary in the Gospel from St. Luke 1:26 ff. On this day, we are reminded of the connection between the Incarnation of Christ and His Passion and Resurrection. The complete story of Jesus Christ has a unified redemptive purpose, and the collect for the day sums up this unity in a beautiful way. Commemorating Christ's first coming is also a reminder to us that we should always live in expectation and preparation for His second coming in glory.

Easter I- Resurrection Peace- John 20:19-23

In the Gospel for the First Sunday after Easter (John 20:19-23), the risen Christ appears to ten Apostles and blesses them with divine peace. Despite reports of Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples remain fearful and timid. The risen Lord comes to where they are hiding, and He brings greetings in the common Jewish manner, saying “Peace be with you.” 

In Scripture, this greeting is an implied prayer for God’s peace, and this implied prayer has a special meaning in light of Christ’s resurrection. At Easter, the common greeting becomes a specific blessing from the risen Lord. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s peace. He reconciles repentant and believing sinners with the heavenly Father. After everything that has happened, the disciples have a special need for His peace. They have not been very faithful. Even after hearing of His resurrection, they are still fearful. So they need to hear reassuring words directly from Christ. 

Jesus shares His resurrection victory over sin and spiritual death with His disciples. Through His Cross and Resurrection, Christ has accomplished the reconciliation of penitent sinners with God. This is true peace, and Jesus shares this divine peace with the apostles. And this peace is not limited to the apostles alone. As the heavenly Father has sent Him, likewise Christ sends the apostles and through them, His whole Church. Jesus Christ is risen and alive, and He wants His peace to spread through His followers.

Christ’s words of greeting remind us that divine peace is part of the Gospel. In Scripture, peace has many implications, and people often have limited or superficial understandings of peace. We need to see peace as a spiritual condition involving the relationship between God and human beings. We also need to realize that the resurrection of Jesus is the high point of scriptural teachings about peace. Faith in Christ can contribute to other types of peace, but most importantly, the risen Christ offers us peace with God. He overcomes our fallen estrangement from God; He offers us new eternal life in God’s holy and merciful presence. And the peace of His resurrection is not some private possession. It is not a secret that we are to keep to ourselves. The risen Christ wants us to share the joy of His spiritual peace with others. When we have living faith in Him, we can begin to share in the peace brought by His resurrection victory over sin and death.

Friday in Easter Week- Revelation 1

The New Testament reading for Morning Prayer in the 1928 American BCP (1945 lectionary) is from Revelation 1:4-18. This selection provides a meaningful way for us to look back at the last week. On Good Friday, it is appropriate for us to focus on the details of our Lord's Passion and Death. On Easter, it is appropriate to emphasize the power, mystery, awe, and joy of Jesus' Resurrection. Now it is easier to see His Death and Resurrection together. As Revelation 1:5 indicates, we recognize Jesus Christ as "the first begotten of the dead." Jesus' Resurrection is unique. His return to life is more than a temporary restoration of an ordinary person; His Resurrection is a lasting victory with eternal significance. This is made even clearer in Revelation 1:18, "And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." This is a forceful proclamation of Christ's role as the crucified and risen Saviour. And it shows that Jesus Christ is not merely some historical hero. He is the everliving Lord over life, death, and life beyond death! He is Lord of our lives now and evermore! Alleluia!

Easter Tuesday- Resurrection and Incarnation- Luke 24: 36-48

 Traditional Books of Common Prayer provide propers for the Tuesday after Easter. This observance may have been intended to give more opportunity for Easter Communions. Aside from referring to the initial fear of the disciples, the Gospel from Luke 24:36-48  highlights two points: 1) the physicality of Jesus' resurrection, and 2) His resurrection as the fulfillment of all Scripture.

First, many people in the first century and since have not appreciated the unique character of Jesus' resurrection. Many people have merely viewed Christ's resurrection as a vague affirmation of spiritual survival. Some have viewed it as a dream, a vision, or even as some sort of ghost story. However, the New Testament accounts deny such bland understandings of the Resurrection. Although Jesus' physical nature has certainly been transformed (for example, space and time no longer limit His movements like before), the risen Jesus still has a tangible body. He walks and talks. He bears marks of the crucifixion. He can be touched. He can eat and drink. During the 40 days till the Ascension, Christ is physically present with His followers in real ways. His Resurrection is both a transformation of and a continuation of His Incarnation!

Secondly, as mentioned in yesterday's post, Jesus uses the days of Easter to complete the instruction of His followers in the meaning of Scripture. He re-emphasizes some of the teachings that the disciples never seemed to understand before. He equips them for lasting faith and mission. In particular, Jesus interprets the whole biblical message in light of His life, death, and resurrection. The risen Christ helps His followers see that He is the eternal Word at the heart of all Holy Scripture. He is the One whose death and resurrection gives all divine revelation its ultimate and abiding significance! He is the Gospel, the Good News, personified!

Easter Monday- Understanding Scripture- Luke 24:13-35

The Gospel for the Monday in Easter week is Luke 24:13-35, the account of the risen Lord's manifestation to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. There are several intriguing aspects of this story, but several times recently, my thoughts have been drawn to a theme that is sometimes neglected: the connection between Christ's resurrection and understanding the overall message of Scripture. Christians often affirm that Jesus Christ is at the heart of Holy Scripture from Genesis through Revelation. We are also aware that from the call of the Apostles through the Farewell Discourses on Maundy Thursday, Jesus spent a lot of time teaching His followers to understand Scripture.

Unfortunately, we may not have noticed that one important part of our Lord's forty days of resurrection appearances is to explain the Scriptures again. The disciples had not always listened attentively or been receptive to Jesus' teachings over three years. Now in light of His death and resurrection, He gives intensive instruction which they finally begin to understand. In Luke 24:25, the risen Jesus rebukes His followers, "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken." Even after the first reports of the resurrection, the disciples are slow to believe the things He has taught. So Jesus tries again. As Luke 24:27 says, "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Then after Christ has left them, we see their new understanding in Luke 24:32, "And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" Thus, among other Easter blessings is new insight into Holy Scripture.

There are many blessings that Christians associate with Easter. We see victory over sin, death, and the devil. We learn that suffering can be redemptive. We experience grace, hope, and peace. Yet, there is also another blessing. One of the great gifts of Christ's Resurrection is new insight into the meaning of Scripture. The risen Lord continues to open the true meaning of Scripture to us. May His divine grace open our hearts and minds to this gift even more during the Easter season!