Burning Hearts and Open Scriptures: The Third Sunday of Easter

 

How do we know that Jesus was someone and something different than the numerous religious leaders or founders of religions that have appeared on the stage of world history over the centuries?  Last week we examined one way that he is different: unlike Buddha, Mohammed, or Zarathustra, Jesus rose from the grave after his death, appearing and talking to his followers at length.  In this week’s liturgy, the Third Sunday of Easter, we examine another remarkable piece of evidence for the uniqueness of Jesus: the fact that his suffering and resurrection were strikingly foreshadowed by the sacred writings of the prophets of Israel, hundreds of years before his earthly sojourn.

The Testimony of Peter and John: The Readings for Easter

Holy Mother Church offers us Readings from Scripture this Easter Sunday that comprise an elegant review and statement of the whole Gospel message.  In particular, they focus our attention on the Resurrection, the Eucharist, and the relationship between the two.

1.  The First Reading is Acts 10:34a, 37-43:

The Easter Vigil Readings: A Celebration of Covenant

Brant, Michael and I belong to a school of thought that sees covenant as a central concept in biblical theology, particularly Catholic biblical theology.  Such an approach has strong support in the text of Scripture and in the tradition and liturgy of the Church, and would seem to be a "no-brainer," yet there are those who oppose it and de-emphasize the significance of covenant for interpreting the Scriptures in the Church.  For that reason, it's necessary periodically to justify this approach.

When I teach biblical theology, I focus on a series of covenants which are central to the economy of salvation: the (1) Creation (or Adamic; Genesis 1-3; Hosea 6:7), (2) Noahic (David Noel Freedman preferred "Noachian"; Genesis 9), (3) Abrahamic (Genesis 15, 17, 22); (4) Mosaic (Exodus 24), (5) Davidic (2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89); and (6) New (Jeremiah 31:31; Luke 22:20).  It has always struck me, and my students, how well this overview of the divine economy accords with the readings of the lectionary of the Mass, especially the readings of the Easter Vigil.

Good Friday Homily on Jesus the Bridegroom on Zenit!

Hey, everybody, check out this Good Friday homily on Zenit News about my new book
 on the Passion of Christ: Jesus the Bridegroom: the Greatest Love Story Ever Told. 

Let us pray for one another as we prepare to celebrate the great day that "the Bridegroom [was] taken away" from us (Mark 2:20). 

Have a blessed Triduum.

The Good Friday Readings and the Priesthood of Christ

(Holy Thursday commentary is below; scroll down if you are looking for it.)

Every year on Good Friday, we read St. John’s account of the Passion from John 18-19.

One of the themes that runs through this reading is the Priesthood of Christ.  I’ve traced this theme through the Good Friday Readings in previous years.  Here, I repost my earlier comments with some additions, especially concerning the First Reading:

There is priestly language already in the First Reading, from Isaiah 52 & 53, the famous “Suffering Servant” Song:

The "Billy Graham of Scandinavia" Announces His Conversion to Catholicism

As hundreds of thousands of people in the US alone prepare to join the Catholic Church this Easter, a high-profile conversion has been rocking the largely-secular Swedish culture.  Rev. Ulf Ekman, Sweden's most prominent evangelical pastor, leader of the nation's largest mega-church, announced a few weeks ago that he has decided to become Catholic.  A full interview with a Swedish newspaper is available here.

Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper

-->

So we are soon to begin the Triduum, this profound reflection on three earth-shaking events which form the pillars of our salvation: Eucharist, Crucifixion, Resurrection.  The Readings for the Holy Thursday Mass focus on the continuity between the ancient Jewish Passover and the institution of the Eucharist.  As the Passover was the meal that marked the transition from slavery to Egypt to the freedom of the Exodus, so the Eucharist is the meal that marks the transition from slavery to sin to the glorious freedom of the children of God.

1.  Our First Reading is from Ex 12:1-8, 11-14:

Jesus' Triumphal Entry, the Descent into Hell, and the Coming of the Messiah (Palm Sunday, Year A)

On this coming Sunday, the Church will bring us to what may be one of my favorite Masses and my favorite sets of Scripture readings in the entire liturgical year: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, popularly known simply as ‘Palm Sunday’.

With the Palm Sunday readings, the Church ushers us into the climax of the liturgical year in the celebration of Holy Week. This is the last Sunday feast before the beginning of the Triduum, which will climax in the celebration of Easter (Latin Pascha), what the Catechism calls the “feast of feasts” (CCC 1169).

As you may recall—especially if you have young children who need to be held the entire time the Gospel is being proclaimed!—this is one of the longest sets of readings in the entire liturgical year. (A word of advice: don't lock your knees :) For on this Sunday, the Church not only commemorates the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem six days before the Passover; she also lays before the faithful the complete account of Jesus’ Passion and death, according to one of the Synoptic Gospels (This year, Year A, it is Matthew’s account.)

Given the sheer number and length of readings for this Sunday, it should go without saying that I can’t give a full analysis of them all. (Whole books have been written just on the Passion! In fact, I just published one myself.) Instead, I simply want to focus our attention on the Jewish roots of Jesus' Triumphal Entry, and show how Jesus fulfills Zechariah's prophecy of the Messiah in his Triumphal Entry, the Last Supper, his Passion, and even his descent into Hell.

Jesus Fulfills Zechariah's Prophecy of the Coming of the Messiah

Unlike other Masses, Palm Sunday contains two proclamations of the Gospel. The first is from Matthew’s account of Jesus Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem:

"I'm Back!": The Raising of Lazarus, 5th Sunday of Lent

Unlike the other Gospels, John recounts only a limited number of miracles of Jesus, which he designates as “signs,” a rare term in the other Gospels.  Although John tells us of only a few miracles, he describes them in much greater depth than the other gospel writers do.  This is quite evident in this weekend’s Gospel reading, in which we get a very lengthy description of all the events surrounding the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead.