Because He Lives - Easter Sunday (4/4/2021)
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Acts 10:34, 37-43
Psalm 118
Col. 3:1-4 or 1 Cor. 5:6-8
Sequence
John 20:1-9
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone.” This song written by the Gaithers aptly expresses our resurrection faith and what it means in our lives. Today is a victory celebration. Today we rejoice in the definitive triumph of Jesus over Satan, sin, and death. The resurrection of Jesus is the pledge of our own salvation, resurrection, and victory. “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Alleluia!
ACTS
Our first reading is a summary of a very early version of Christian preaching. It proclaims Jesus’ life and ministry, emphasizing that “they put him to death by hanging him on a tree” but “this man God raised on the third day.” It makes explicit the connection between the death of Jesus on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday, completing the Paschal Triduum. The reading also states that the disciples “ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” There are accounts of these post-resurrection meals in the gospels and scholars find “Eucharistic implications” in them.
Psalm 118, the Responsorial, is the great Easter psalm. “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever…I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord…The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
COLOSSIANS OR FIRST CORINTHIANS
There is a choice given for the second reading. One option is the Colossians passage, emphasizing that we have died and been “raised with Christ.” We should set our minds on the things above, not the things on earth, because Christ is seated at the right hand of God. As the chant during the Passion says, “Human nature at the Father’s throne.”
The second option is from First Corinthians, relating the Passover of Jesus to the Jewish feast of Passover. “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.” Just as the Jews get rid of all yeast before they celebrate that annual feast, the reading urges us to “clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough.”
SEQUENCE
The ancient sequence, Victimae Paschali Laudes (“Praises to the Paschal Victim”), comes between the second reading and the gospel. It is obligatory on Easter; however, in my experience, it is often omitted, and this seems to me a great loss. It is a beautiful and powerful hymn of praise for the resurrection with several memorable phrases:
A Lamb the sheep redeems…
The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal
Speak, Mary, declaring what you saw wayfaring…
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen; to Galilee he goes before you…
Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
GOSPEL
Each evangelist approaches the resurrection narrative in a slightly different way. Although the other gospels mention several women going to visit Jesus’ burial place, John concentrates on only one: Mary Magdalene. She is called the “apostle to the Apostles” because she was the first to announce the empty tomb to them. John is the only evangelist to relate that Peter and the “other disciple,” (thought to be John himself), ran to the to the tomb to see for themselves. John tells us that the “other disciple” saw the burial cloths and wrappings and believed. He adds the comment that “as yet they did not understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.”
BECAUSE HE LIVES
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives.
It is difficult to adequately comment on today’s Easter liturgy because it speaks so loudly for itself. But the song lyrics above are as good a summary as I can think of. Because of Jesus and his resurrection, we are saved and set free. Even in the midst of the challenges of this time, what else can we do but rejoice! Alleluia!
