• 7 Harriet Starr Cannon, Religious, 1896

• 8 Dame Julian of Norwich, c. 1417 an English anchoress who is regarded as one of the most important Christian mystics. She is venerated in the Anglican and Lutheran churches.

• 9 Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishop of Constantinople, 389 widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age.[2]:xxi As a classically trained orator and philosopher he infused Hellenism into the early church, establishing the paradigm of Byzantine theologians and church officials

• 10 Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, Prophetic Witness, 1760 commemorated as a hymnwriter and a renewer of the church by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on their Calendar of Saints

• 13 Frances Perkins, Public Servant and Prophetic Witness, 1965 the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet. As a loyal supporter of her friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped pull the labor movement into the New Deal coalition.

FIRST READING: Acts 8: 26 - 40 (all but Roman Catholic)

Acts 8:26 (NRSV) Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Ga'za." (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Canda'ce, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isai'ah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isai'ah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32 Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
"Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth."
34 The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" 35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" 37 38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azo'tus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesare'a.


Baruch 3: 9 - 15, 32 - 4:4 (alt. for C of E)

Bar 3:9 (NRSV) Hear the commandments of life, O Israel;
give ear, and learn wisdom!
10 Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies,
that you are growing old in a foreign country,
that you are defiled with the dead, 11 that you are counted among those in Hades?
12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.
13 If you had walked in the way of God,
you would be living in peace forever.
14 Learn where there is wisdom,
where there is strength,
where there is understanding,
so that you may at the same time discern
where there is length of days, and life,
where there is light for the eyes, and peace.
15 Who has found her place?
And who has entered her storehouses?

32 But the one who knows all things knows her,
he found her by his understanding.
The one who prepared the earth for all time
filled it with four-footed creatures;
33 the one who sends forth the light, and it goes;
he called it, and it obeyed him, trembling;
34 the stars shone in their watches, and were glad;
he called them, and they said, "Here we are!"
They shone with gladness for him who made them.
35 This is our God;
no other can be compared to him.
36 He found the whole way to knowledge,
and gave her to his servant Jacob
and to Israel, whom he loved.
37 Afterward she appeared on earth
and lived with humankind.
4:1 She is the book of the commandments of God,
the law that endures forever.
All who hold her fast will live,
and those who forsake her will die.
2 Turn, O Jacob, and take her;
walk toward the shining of her light.
3 Do not give your glory to another,
or your advantages to an alien people.
4 Happy are we, O Israel,
for we know what is pleasing to God.


Genesis 22: 1 - 18 (alt. for C of E)

Gene 22:1 (NRSV) After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you." 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.
9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill {Or [to slaughter] } his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 12 He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." 13 And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place "The LORD will provide"; {Or [will see] ; Heb traditionally transliterated [Jehovah Jireh] } as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided." {Or [he shall be seen] }
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the LORD: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, 18 and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."


PSALM 22: 25 - 31 (RCL)
Psalm 22: 25 - 27, 29 - 31 (Roman Catholic)

Psal 22:25 (NRSV) From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD.
May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.
29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.

Note: Verse numbering in your psalter may differ from the above; verse numbering in Roman Catholic Bibles is one greater than the above.


22 Deus, Deus meus (ECUSA BCP)


24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who
worship him.

25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: *
“May your heart live for ever!”

26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to
the LORD, *
and all the families of the nations bow before him.

27 For kingship belongs to the LORD; *
he rules over the nations.

28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down
in worship; *
all who go down to the dust fall before him.

29 My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him; *
they shall be known as the LORD’S for ever.

30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *
the saving deeds that he has done.


SECOND READING: 1 John 4: 7 - 21 (RCL)

1Joh 4:7 (NRSV) Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

h/t montreal Anglican

In earlier chapters, the author has stressed two signs of fellowship with God: faith in Christ and love of fellow Christians. In vv. 1-6, the author contrasts the work of the Holy Spirit with that of other supernatural powers (working through false teachers): the Holy Spirit inspires confession of who Christ really is: he has come from God, to be truly human. The author has told his Christian readers: you “are from God” (v. 6).
Our passage can be summed up in three words: “God is love” (vv. 8, 16). This love originates in God; this is the kind of love we have for each other. Being lovers, we are God’s children and we love him (v. 7). If we don’t actively love, we don’t know God – because the very nature of God “is love” (v. 8). God’s greatest expression of love for us, the Church, was sending “his only Son” (v. 9) into the far-from-perfect “world”, thereby giving us a path to godly living (“atoning sacrifice”, v. 10). God took this initiative, this action restoring us to unity with him. So we have a duty to love “one another” (v. 11). It is only through Christ that we can see the Father (v. 12a). The flip side is: if we love our fellows, God (love) is “in us”: fraternal love completes (“is perfected”, v. 12) God’s.
The presence of the Holy Spirit is proof that we and God are inter-related (v. 13). Part of this is witnessing and believing who Christ is (v. 14). Being thus in love has a consequence: we need not fear judgement at the end of the era; fear and “punishment” (v. 18) are incompatible: God’s “love casts out fear”. We are called to love both God and are fellows; it is impossible to love our fellows and not God, or God and not our fellows (vv. 20-21).

This section takes up the second part of the double commandment. [NJBC]
Verses 7-12: Christ has shown us God’s love. Love distinguishes the person who “knows God” from the one who does not: see also 2:4-5; 3:1, 11. Christ’s death in expiation of sin is again invoked as the example of the obligation that Christians must follow. 3:16 says: “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another”. [NJBC]
Verse 9: “revealed among us”: Not only is God’s love revealed to the Christian in Jesus, but it can also be said to be revealed “among” the Christian community, which now has life through that love. In John 5:26, Jesus says “‘For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself’”. See also John 6:57 and 1 John 5:11. [NJBC]
Verse 10: “atoning sacrifice for our sins”: 2:2 speaks of Jesus Christ in these terms. [NOAB]
Verse 12a: “No one has ever seen God”: This statement also appears in John 1:18. [NOAB] This is a general maxim that the Johannine tradition had employed to insist that only Jesus reveals the Father. See also John 5:37; 6:46. [NJBC]
Verses 13-18: The Holy “Spirit” (v. 13) testifies that “Jesus” (v. 15), God’s “Son”, has revealed his “Father” (v. 14) as love. When his love is “perfected” (matured) in us, “fear of judgement” is allayed: 2:28 says “... abide in him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming”. See also 3:21. [NOAB]
Verses 13-16a: We know God’s love through the Holy Spirit. [NJBC]
Verses 16b-21: Our confidence: abiding in God’s love. [NJBC]
Verse 17: “Love has been perfected ...”: 2:5 says “... whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection ...”. [NJBC]
Verses 19-21: Love originates in God. Failure to love is visible evidence of a breach with the unseen God, and a violation of his commandment. [NOAB]
Verses 20-21: The double commandment is also found in 3:23. The need for fraternal love on the part of one who loves God is also found in Matthew 25:40. [NJBC]



GOSPEL: John 15: 1 - 8 (all)

John 15:1 (NRSV) "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Jesus is preparing the disciples for the time when he will no longer be physically with them. He has said: “... I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples ...” (13:34-35).
In our reading, he probably has in mind the judgement on Judah in Isaiah 5:1-7: God has lovingly prepared a vineyard for the people, but the vines yielded “wild grapes”, so God destroyed the vineyard. In John, God is the “vinegrower” (v. 1), Christ the vine, and members of the Church the fruit. Jesus says that he is the “true” (godly) vine, the one of whom Isaiah spoke. He is the Father’s agent. Followers who are ineffective will be cut off, but those who are productive will be aided by God’s power (v. 2). V. 3 may allude to Jesus’ washing the disciple’s feet: in 13:10, he tells the disciples that they are now clean: they have been cleansed by his revelation of God. Shared life with each other and with God is the basis for being fruitful (v. 5b). Leaving this community ends productivity, and leads to destruction and damnation (“thrown into the fire”, v. 6). If they remain in unity with him, whatever they ask in prayer will be granted (v. 7). God’s power and authority are shown forth (“glorified”, v. 8) in the bearing of fruit, doing in Christ’s name. The disciples represent Jesus in the world.

Verses 1-27: In presenting the pattern of the Christian believer’s life, Jesus defines three dimensions:
• Vv. 1-11: the believer’s relationship to Christ: “abide” (v. 4)
• Vv. 12-17: the relationship of believers to one another: “love” (v. 12)
• Vv. 18-27: the believer’s relationship to the world. [NOAB]
Has the original order of the Gospel been changed at some time in the distant past? That this chapter opens abruptly suggests, along with other clues, that it has. If this chapter originally followed immediately after the account of the Last Supper, and if the original account included an account of the institution of the Eucharist (now in the discourse in Chapter 6 – see especially 6:53-58), then the reference in v. 1 to the “true vine” would have followed closely on that to the bread of life, and its eucharistic reference would have been unmistakable. [BlkJn]
Verse 1: “I am”: This is one of seven sayings which begin “I am” and are followed by nouns (e.g. “the light of the world”, 8:12, “the door for the sheep”, 10:7). The absence of parallel passages in other gospels, their occurrence in Hellenistic religious literature, and the fact that these sayings embody some of the most characteristic themes of this gospel, all suggest that these are not strictly sayings of Jesus but of a Christian prophet speaking in his name. [BlkJn] It is also noteworthy that the exact Greek phrase occurs in the Septuagint translation of Exodus 3:13-14, where God answers Moses inquiry as to what his name is with ego eimi, I am. [CCB]
Verses 1-11: As “the true vine”, Jesus is the true Israel, fulfilling the vocation in which the old Israel had failed. [NOAB] For Israel as a vine or vineyard which God has planted, see Isaiah 5:1-7 (the Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard); Isaiah 27:2ff; Jeremiah 2:21; 12:10ff; Ezekiel 17:5; 19:10-14; Psalm 80:8-16. Jesus may well have these texts in mind. [BlkJn]
Jesus’ (and John’s) audience knew much more about viticulture than most of us do today. Viticulture was very labour-intensive, requiring constant care. Growers even moved to the vineyards before and during the harvest. Pruning is important in increasing yield. Drastic pruning is performed on vines which do not produce grapes. The wood of a vine is useless: it can only be burnt. Wine and grapes were an important export. Israel recognized the vine as a gift from God. For knowledge of viticulture, see Ezekiel 17:7-10.
Verse 1: “the vinegrower”: Jesus used the imagery of the present allegory, for a different purpose, in Mark 12:1-12. [BlkJn]
Verse 2: “bears fruit”: This is a familiar image for living the Christian life: in Romans 7:4-6, Paul writes: “... you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are slaves not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit”. See also Colossians 1:6, 10; Mark 4:14-20 (the Parable of the Sower). [BlkJn]
Verse 3: “cleansed by the word”:Recall Jesus’ words in 14:23: “‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them’”. [BlkJn]
Verse 5: “bear much fruit”: In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul tells us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”. The fruit-bearing of the new Israel, i.e. the Church, springs from union (actual incorporation) with Christ. [NOAB]
Verse 6: “thrown into the fire”: In Matthew 3:10, John the Baptiser warns some of those who come for baptism: “Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”. See also 13:30. The idea that the ungodly would burn after judgement is found in other contemporary literature, e.g. 2 Esdras.
Verse 7: “my words abide in you”: This is another way of saying “keep my commandments” (14:15, 21),”keep my word” (14:23, 24). [BlkJn]
Verse 9: For the love of the Father for Christ, see also 3:35; 10:17; 17:23-24, 26; for the love of Christ for the disciples, see 13:34; 15:12. [BlkJn]
Verses 10-11: You will achieve unity with Christ and a loving relationship with him by being obedient to his will; being in unity is a joyous experience. Note 4:35-36: “Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.”
Verse 10: For Christ keeping his Father’s commandments, see also 8:28-30 and 14:31. In 14:31, “I love the Father” corresponds to “abide in his love” here. [BlkJn]

April 27 Christina Rossetti, Poet, 1894was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems. 28 29 Catherine of Siena, 1380worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. 30 Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, Editor and Prophetic Witness, 1879was an American writer and an influential editor. She is the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". She famously campaigned for the creation of the American holiday known as Thanksgiving, May 1 Saint Philip and Saint James, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ 2 Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, 373, is considered to be a renowned Christian theologian, a Church Father, the chief defender of the Trinitarian faith against Arianism, 3 4 Monnica of Hippo, Mother of Augustine of Hippo, 387, is a Christian saint and the mother of Augustine of Hippo, who wrote extensively of her virtues and his life with her in his Confessions. FIRST READING: Acts 4: 5 - 12 (RCL) Acts 4: 8 - 12 (Roman Catholic) Acts 4:5 (NRSV) The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, 6 with An'nas the high priest, Ca'iaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. 11 This Jesus is "the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.' 12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." Genesis 7: 1 - 5, 11 - 18, 8: 6 - 18, 9: 8 - 13 (alt. for C of E) Gene 7:1 (NRSV) {The Great Flood} Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground." 5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark, 14 they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind-every bird, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in. 17 The flood continued forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 8:6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7 and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; 9 but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. 10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; 11 and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more. 13 In the six hundred first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh-birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth-so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." 18 So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. 9:8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. {Gk: Heb adds [every animal of the earth] } 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." 12 God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. PSALM 23 (all but Roman Catholic) Psal 23:1 (NRSV) The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff-- they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. 23 Dominus regit me (ECUSA BCP) 1 The Lord is my shepherd; * I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures * and leads me beside still waters. 3 He revives my soul * and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake. 4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; * for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; * you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. 6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, * and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psalm 118: 1, 8 - 9, 21 - 23, 26, 21, 29 (Roman Catholic) Psal 118:1 (NRSV) O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to put confidence in mortals. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. 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. 26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. SECOND READING: 1 John 3: 16 - 24 (RCL) 1Joh 3:16 (NRSV) We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us--and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17 How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? 18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. h/t Montreal Anglican V. 11 says “For this is the message ... that we should love one another.” Abel’s godly deeds (Genesis 4:8) stirred Cain’s hatred for him, even to murdering his brother, so don’t be surprised if the “world hates you” (v. 13). For a Christian to hate a fellow Christian is equivalent to murder. “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another” (v. 14). Jesus is the great example of selfless love: far from taking life, he “laid down his life for us” (v. 16). How can the love that originates in God (“God’s love”, v. 17) be in a wealthy person who sees another in need and “refuses to help”? We need to love actively, “in truth and action” (v. 18), not hypocritically (“in word or speech”). (Truth and faith are synonyms.) It is by “this” (v. 19) love that we will know that we are Christ-like (“from the truth”): our consciences (“hearts”) will be reassured whenever we are conscious of sinning (“our hearts condemn us”, v. 20), for God knows us better than we do ourselves. But, when we know we are following God’s ways (v. 21), we can boldly present ourselves “before God”. As Jesus promised (John 14:12), “whatever we ask” (v. 22) in his name (recognizing his power and authority), he will grant, because we follow God’s ways. Jesus has commanded that we believe in his authority and love one another. Then v. 24: obedience to him guarantees our continued liaison with him. By this love and the presence of the Holy Spirit, given to us by God, we know that Christ “abides in us”. Verses 11-12: Abel’s righteous deeds stirred Cain’s hatred: see Genesis 4:8; Hebrews 11:4; Jude 11 (which speaks of evil people as walking in “the way of Cain”). [NOAB] Jewish traditions preserved in gnostic writers makes Cain an example of those who murder. 1 John evokes the image of those “children of the devil” (v. 10) who seek Jesus death (see John 8:39-44) and of Judas, whom the devil induced to betray Jesus (John 13:2, 27). The Gospel of John accuses Jews of killing Christians (see John 16:2) at the end of a section that begins with the parallel to 1 John 3:13, “‘If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you’” (John 15:18). [NJBC] Verses 16-17: For Jesus’ selfless love as the highest model of friendship, see John 15:13: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends”. [NJBC] Verse 17: The author’s concrete example is one that all can appreciate, without going as far as martyrdom. James 2:14-17 gives a similar example: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead”. [NJBC] Verse 18: James 1:22 advises: “Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” Verse 19: “reassure our hearts before him”: Since God, the source of forgiveness (see 1:8-2:2), is “greater than our hearts” the possibility of the conscience condemning us does not shatter Christian confidence. Even if the Christian is not conscious of sin, one is assured that God hears prayer: see also John 16:26-27. The test of acceptance by God is willingness to “do what pleases him” (v. 22). In John 8:29, Jesus says of himself: “the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him”. [NJBC] Verse 20: “God”, who “knows” everything, judges us by the abiding relation of love to others, rather than by our passing moods. In John 21:17, when Jesus challenges Peter with “‘do you love me?’”, and Peter answers “‘you know that I love you’”, Jesus tells him: “‘Feed my sheep’”. [NOAB] Verse 21: “boldness”: Boldness in prayer results from obedience to God, and strengthens assurance: 5:14 says “... this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us”. [NOAB] Verses 23-24: Belief “in the name of Jesus Christ”, i.e. in Jesus, makes people children of God: see John 17:11-12. “Love” (see John 13:34; 15:17) is evidence if God’s Spirit and presence. See also 4:12-13. [NOAB] Verse 23: “believe in the name of his Son ... and love one another”: this may be the Johannine version of the double love command in Mark 12:28-31, since in the Johannine tradition to believe in the Son whom God sent is equivalent to loving God. [NJBC] Verse 24: “he abides in us, by the Spirit”: 2:27 has pointed to the anointing received upon entering the community: see also John 3:5. The Spirit is the pledge elsewhere in the New Testament: see Romans 8:14 and 2 Corinthians 1:22. This passage also prepares for the next section, in which the Spirit inspires the true confession which unmasks false teachers. [NJBC] GOSPEL: John 10: 11 - 18 (all) John 10:11 (NRSV) "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away--and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father." Jesus continues to speak of himself as the good shepherd, an image familiar to his audience. True followers, he has said, recognize the good shepherd. “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved ... and find pasture ... the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have [spiritual] life, and have it abundantly” (vv. 9-10). Now he says that he is the “good” (v. 11, i.e. real, proper) “shepherd”, the one who dies for his “sheep”, his flock. But the “hired hand” (v. 12) does not care enough to save the sheep from the “wolf”. (Old Testament prophets spoke of leaders of Israel in these terms, so Jesus probably speaks of them here – shepherds who are not worthy of the name.) Jesus’ relationship to people is like the Father’s to him (v. 15). Who are the “other sheep” (v. 16)? We can only guess: perhaps they are non-Jews. They will have equal status with those who already follow Jesus, as part of one Church. Then v. 18: Jesus has been given the authority to choose to die and the power to rise again from the dead. He is in control of his own death and resurrection. Verse 7: “gate for the sheep”: BlkJn points out that if this represents accurately what Jesus said after the parable in vv. 1-5, vv. 7-10 are in an almost intolerable state of confusion. But if in the Aramaic original the accidental repetition of one letter has caused the shepherd to be read as “the gate”, then vv. 7-8 give an interpretation consistent with the original parable, and the allegory does not begin until v. 9. Verse 8: “thieves and bandits”: “Came” has the sense of claimed to be the coming one (see also Matthew 11:3 and Mark 11:9), so they are pseudo-messiahs, like Theudas and Judas (in Acts 5:36-39). While they had some success, the “sheep”, those who are truly Christ’s, “did not listen to them”. [BlkJn] Verse 9: Christ provides: • escape from the perils of sin • freedom (see also 8:36), and • spiritual sustenance – the bread (see also 6:35), water (see also 4:14 and 7:37), and light of life. [NOAB] Verse 9: “I am the gate”: i.e. he determines who will be admitted to his people. [CAB] This is an allegorical interpretation of a feature of the parable in vv. 1-6. For Christ alone being the point of access to God, see also Hebrews 10:20. [BlkJn] Verse 9: “come in and go out”: An Old Testament expression suggesting the freedom of movement enjoyed by a trusted servant: see, for example, of David in 1 Samuel 18:13, 16. Verse 10: “destroy”: The thief is not only selfish but murderous, as is the devil (see 8:44), i.e. fatal to the salvation of his victims. [BlkJn] Verse 10: “life”: i.e. participation in God’s life. [NOAB] Spiritual life. [BlkJn] Verse 10: “abundantly”: i.e. beyond measure. [NOAB] Literally more than is really necessary. [BlkJn] Verse 11: Note the change in metaphor. In the ancient world, shifting metaphors was common. Jesus now contrasts himself with shepherds who are not worthy of the name. [BlkJn] Verse 11: Jesus fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 23:1-6; Ezekiel 34 (especially v. 11) that God himself will come to shepherd his people. [NOAB] Verse 11: “good”: The Greek word, kalos, means real and proper rather than morally good. [BlkJn] Verse 11: “lays down his life”: The possibility of a shepherd dying in defence of his flock against wild animals or robbers was a real one. See, for example, David’s claim to Saul before killing Goliath (in 1 Samuel 17:34-36). However, such sacrifice is not part of the then-conventional picture of the shepherd-messiah – being Jesus’ own distinctive contribution. It looks forward to 15:13: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends”. [BlkJn] Verses12-13: “hired hand”: The description of him recalls the attacks of the prophets on the leaders of Israel, calling them unworthy shepherds of God’s flock: • “shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture ... you have not attended to them” (Jeremiah 23:1-2) • “you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves ... You have not strengthened the weak, ... healed the sick, ... bound up the injured, ... brought back the strayed, ... sought the lost ... So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals” (Ezekiel 34:2-5) • “a shepherd who does not care for the perishing, or seek the wandering, or heal the maimed ... Oh, my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock!” (Zechariah 11:16-17) The point of the comparison between the “hired hand” and the religious leaders of Israel lies in their indifference to the plight of the ordinary people (see Matthew 23:4 and Luke 6:46), the “sheep without a shepherd” of Mark 6:34. [BlkJn] Verse 12: “hired hand”: This may include messianic pretenders and false teachers who came before Jesus. Verse 12: “wolf”: For the “wolf” as the enemy of the flock, see also Matthew 10:16 and Acts 20:29. Here the “wolf” is probably the devil. 1 Peter 5:8 speaks of him in these terms: “Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” Verse 16: “other sheep”: To NJBC, they are the scattered children of God who are brought together by Christ after his death and resurrection. In 11:52, we read that Caiaphas, as High Priest, prophesied that “Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God”. In 12:32, Jesus says “‘I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself’”. This interpretation follows naturally from the allusion to Christ’s death in v. 15 (repeating v. 11). Verse 16b: “they will listen to my voice”: Jesus as prophet. Verse 16c: “one flock”: see Ephesians 2:11-22. [NOAB] This looks forward to the fulfilment of the prophesies that the Gentiles will be brought into God’s flock (see Isaiah 11:10; 49:6; 60:1ff, etc.) under “one shepherd”, the Messiah (see Ezekiel 37:24). [BlkJn] Verse 17: A difficult verse. It appears to make God’s love for Jesus conditional on his death and resurrection.

Saints - April
22 John Muir, Naturalist and Writer, 1914, was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. and Hudson Stuck, Priest and Environmentalist, 1920
23 George, Soldier and Martyr, c. 304. Toyohiko Kagawa, Prophetic Witness in Japan, 1960was a Japanese Christian pacifist, Christian reformer, and labour activist.
24 Genocide Remembrance
25 Saint Mark the Evangelist
26 Robert Hunt, Priest and First Chaplain at Jamestown, 1607, a vicar in the Church of England, was chaplain of the expedition that founded, in 1607, the first successful English colony in the New World, at Jamestown, Virginia.
27 Christina Rossetti, Poet, 1894
28
29 Catherine of Siena, 1380was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France,



FIRST READING: Acts 3: 12 - 19 (RCL)
Acts 3: 13 - 15, 17 - 19 (Roman Catholic)

Acts 3:12 (NRSV) When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, "You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. 14 But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
17 "And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,


Zephaniah 3: 14 - 20 (alt. for C of E)

Zeph 3:14 (NRSV) {A Song of Joy} Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing 18 as on a day of festival.
I will remove disaster from you,
so that you will not bear reproach for it.
19 I will deal with all your oppressors
at that time.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you home,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes, says the LORD.


PSALM 4 (RCL)
Psalm 4: 1, 3, 6 - 8 (Roman Catholic)

Psal 4:1 (NRSV) Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
2 How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
3 But know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.
4 When you are disturbed, do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the LORD.
6 There are many who say, "O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O LORD!"
7 You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety.

Note: Verse numbering in Roman Catholic Bibles is one greater than the above.


4 Cum invocarem (ECUSA BCP)

1 Answer me when I call, O God, defender of my cause; *
you set me free when I am hard-pressed;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2 “You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory; *
how long will you worship dumb idols
and run after false gods?”

3 Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful; *
when I call upon the LORD, he will hear me.

4 Tremble, then, and do not sin; *
speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.

5 Offer the appointed sacrifices *
and put your trust in the LORD.

6 Many are saying, “Oh, that we might see better times!” *
Lift up the light of your countenance upon us, O LORD.

7 You have put gladness in my heart, *
more than when grain and wine and oil increase.

8 I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; *
for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.


SECOND READING: 1 John 3: 1 - 7 (RCL)

1Joh 3:1 (NRSV) See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

h/t Montreal Anglican
The author emphasizes that through our kinship with Christ, son of God, we can “be called children of God”, a status we enjoy because of God’s gift of love: his gift of his only Son as Saviour of the world. We have this status now (“that is what we are”). Then v. 1b: most people did not listen to and understand Jesus (“did not know him”), so it is to be expected that few will listen to us, his emissaries. Then v. 2: being his children is happening now, and will be at the end of time, but we have not been shown in what way this will be; however, we do know that we will be like Christ: we will see the Father fully, in all his glory. “All who have this hope” (v. 3) in Christ, this expectation of the future – i.e. Christians – consider it required of them to live a virtuous, ethical, life (“purify themselves”), emulating the essential goodness, purity, of God.
In 2:1-2, the author says that he is writing “so that you may not sin”, but should anyone sin, Christ will defend us. Then in 2:3, he says that we know Christ “if we obey his commandments”, i.e. if we walk in God’s ways, his laws. There are dissenters from the true faith, who are spoken of, in v. 4, as lawless: they habitually deviate from God’s ways, persist in doing evil (v. 5). In 1:8, the author says “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves ...”: so sin is possible for Christians. When we do sin, we weaken our bond with God, the very bond which gives meaning and reality to being Christian (v. 6). The dissidents may claim that all that matters is a godly attitude, but being “righteous” (v. 7, godly) requires actions as well. Jesus is our example.

2:29-3:10: Differentiating God’s children from those of the devil: Jesus is the model of obedience, and God’s children follow his example. He was not understood by the “world” (3:1), and neither are they. Their future is to become like him, and to become pure as he is. [CAB]
3:1-10: NJBC splits these verses into two sections: We are God’s children now (vv. 1-3) and Those born of God do not sin (vv. 4-10).
3:1: “children”: John 1:12 says: “... to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God”. Through God’s “love”, we become progressively more to resemble him. [NOAB] We are God’s children now. This has three consequences:
• Christians do not belong to the world, which has failed to receive Jesus. See also John 15:18-19; 17:14-16.
• Christians will live lives of holiness like Christ. See also John 17:17-19.
• Christians are confident of an even greater salvation in the future. See also John 17:24. [NJBC]
3:1-2: God’s love in making us “children” (see also John 1:12) progressively produces resemblance to God, here and hereafter. [NOAB]
3:2: “we will be like him, for we will see him as he is”: In Hellenistic religion, a common theme was that like would know like, so here the human being who knows God is made godly. For the Johannine tradition this occurs experientially through Jesus. Jesus possessed the divine name and equality with God (see John 17:11-12). He has shared this name with the disciples (see John 17:6, 26). They have shared Jesus' fate at the hands of the world (see John 15:21) and will witness his preexistent glory (see John 17:24). Paul expresses a similar idea: we have the expectation of a future vision of God or divine glory: in 1 Corinthians 13:12, he writes: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known”. See also 2 Corinthians 3:18. [NJBC]
3:3: Hope of complete moral likeness to Christ motivates purity of life: in Matthew 5:8, Jesus says “‘blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God’”. [NOAB]
3:4: I have linked “lawlessness” to earlier in this book; however others point out that lawlessness and the devil are associated in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8.
NJBC says that the author appears to be referring to the “lawlessness” associated with Satan's rule at the end of the era. Sinning proves that one is really a child of Satan.
Alan Perry, my reviewer, has suggested another thought on “lawlessness”: it may refer to the antinomian strain of thought in early Christianity, i.e. the thinking process that led Paul to say “all things are permissible” – but not all things are beneficial. Some argued that Jesus has set us free from the law in its entirety – that how we live is of no concern – and even Paul does not appear to be totally clear on the issue, when he distinguishes between ritual and moral laws.
3:5: In John 1:29, we read: “The next day he [John the Baptizer] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”. [NOAB]
3:6: “no one who sins has either seen him or known him”: The author implies that the person who sins is not really a Christian. In 2:5, he has written: “whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him”. [NJBC]
3:6: “sins”: i.e. habitually and constantly. 3 John 11 warns: “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God”. [NOAB]
There is a tension in the New Testament over whether it is possible for the saints to sin, which led to much questioning later on (in the second and third centuries) concerning the possibility and consequences of sin after baptism. This led to the practice of postponing baptism until quite late in life, even to one's deathbed, for fear of an inadvertent sin leading to loss of salvation. Ultimately, this sort of practice was done away with as the matter was settled through an understanding that post-baptismal sins can also be forgiven. [Alan T. Perry]
3:8: In John 8:44, Jesus says to some who are hostile to him and his message: “You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies”. See also Acts 13:10 and Hebrews 2:14. [NOAB]
3:9: In 5:18, Jesus says: “‘We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them’”. [NOAB] The emphasis on the inherent sinlessness of the Christian appears to stand in sharp contrast to the earlier claim that one should not say, “we have no sin” (see 1:8 and 1:10). This section deals with the certainty of divine election and indwelling over against those who persist in doing evil. It presumes that the Christian is living in a way that coheres with being a child of God (“is righteous”, v. 7, and loves fellow Christians, v. 10). A similar distinction is found in John 8:39: between those who are hostile to Jesus (i.e. are children of Satan) and those who are real children of Abraham (i.e. rejoice in Jesus). [NJBC]
The assumption in this passage in 1 John is that Christians are living truly worthy lives: note “righteous” in v. 7 and love fellow Christians in v. 10. [NJBC]


GOSPEL: Luke 24: 36b - 48 (RCL)
Luke 24: 35 - 48 (Roman Catholic)

Luke 24:35 (NRSV) Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you--that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

Jesus has appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and has shared bread with them (vv. 13-32). Upon returning to Jerusalem, they have heard from “the eleven and their companions” (v. 33) that Jesus has also appeared to Peter. “Peace” (v. 36), proclaimed by the angel at Jesus’ birth, (in 2:14) is now his gift to the disciples. When the group think they are seeing a ghost (v. 37), Jesus asks them: why do you have trouble in believing that it is me, risen from death? (v. 38) He invites them to “touch me and see” (v. 39), to understand. Realizing that he is risen, their joy is so great as to leap beyond belief (v. 41). They give him “broiled fish” (v. 42), a Galilean dish. Eating shows that he is not a ghost: he is bodily resurrected. Times have changed, as “while I was still with you” (v. 44) shows. He tells them that he fulfils the whole of the Old Testament (to Jews divided into “the law ... the prophets, and the psalms” or Writings), and explains the scriptures to them (v. 45). The quotation in vv. 46-47 combines verses from the Old Testament and apocryphal books. He commissions the Church: with faith in his divinity (“in his name”, v. 47) “repentance and forgiveness ... is to be proclaimed ... to all nations”; the Church is his agent.

John 20:19-23 also tells of Jesus arriving and showing the marks of crucifixion to the disciples. There he gives them the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 15:5, Paul tells of Jesus’ appearance to “the twelve”. [NOAB]
The experience with Jesus, affirmed in v. 36, is tentatively interpreted in v. 37 as an encounter with the dead, but this explanation is rejected in v. 39. [NOAB]
It is possibly still Easter Day. V. 13 begins “On that same day ...”
Verse 36: “and said to them ...”: While omitted in some ancient manuscripts, this clause is supported by the majority. [NJBC]
Verse 38: “‘Why are you frightened ... ?’”: This story begins without reference to the preceding, in which those who walked with Jesus to Emmaus and ate with him returned to tell the eleven disciples and other followers about their experience. [NJBC]
Verse 39: “Touch me”: 1 John 1:1 says “We declare to you ... what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life”. [NOAB]
Verse 42: See Tobit 12:16-22 for a similar story, but with a different result.
Verse 43: “in their presence”: While the Greek means literally before them, NJBC says that the correct translation is at their table – based on usage in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, Luke’s usage (in 13:26 and Acts 27:35), and from Luke's account of the risen Lord's eating with his disciples (see Acts 1:4; 10:41). Thus, the main point of this verse is not insistence on the reality of Jesus' body, but rather Jesus' victory over death as symbolized by his renewal of table fellowship with his disciples.
Verse 44: Jesus has also interpreted the scriptures to Cleopas and the two other followers on the road to Emmaus: see vv. 26-27. In Acts 28:23, we read that Paul tried to convince the Jews of Rome “about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets” (but note that the psalms are not mentioned). [NOAB]
Verse 45: In v. 32, those who had seen Jesus on the road to Emmaus say to each other: “‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’”. [NOAB] Luke tells us what he means by understanding in two verses: “But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying” (Luke 9:45) and “But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said” (Luke 18:34).
Verse 46: “... rise from the dead on the third day”: Hosea 6:2 speaks of raising on the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 speaks of Jesus dying, being buried, and being “raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures”. [NOAB]
Verse 47: In Acts 1:4-8, Jesus tells the eleven disciples that they will soon be his witnesses throughout the world, starting with Jerusalem. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commissions his disciples to seek the conversion of all peoples, and to baptise them. [NOAB] Jesus the Messiah preaches to “all nations” through Paul and the Church: see Acts 26:23. [NJBC]
Verse 48: In 1:2, Luke states that he writes based on the testimony of eyewitnesses. In Acts 1:8, speaking of the Day of Pentecost, Jesus says “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. [NOAB] “You” here in Luke is “the eleven and their companions” (v. 33) and, considering that we are reading Luke, includes women. [NJBC]
Verses 49-51: Jesus tells the disciples that he will “send upon you what my Father promised”, i.e. the Holy Spirit. After blessing them at Bethany (the village near Jerusalem from which he began his triumphal entry, see 19:28-38), he is “carried up into heaven” (v. 51).
Verse 49: “what my Father promised ... clothed with power from on high”. Acts 2:1-4 tell of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. In John 14:26, Jesus promises that the Father will send the Holy Spirit. In John 20:21-23, Jesus sends out the disciples, confers the Holy Spirit on them, and gives them authority to forgive sins. The new age has begun but its power is not yet freely felt. Joel 2:28-32 foretells that God will “pour out my spirit” “on the day of the LORD”. [NOAB]
Verse 50: “led them out”: Luke plays on the exodus theme; he uses the Greek verb used in the Septuagint to describe God's leading the people from Egyptian slavery in the exodus. Jesus is about to complete his exodus to his Father. [NJBC]
Verses 52-53: Luke gives us more details in Acts 1:12-14: “Then [after Jesus’ ascension] they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers”. [NOAB]
Verse 52: “they worshipped him”: The christological high point of vv. 36-53, indeed of the entire Gospel, has been reached, for this is the first and only time that Luke says that the disciples worship Jesus. Luke's christology is close to that of John 20:28. [NJBC]
Verse 53: “in the temple”: The Gospel begins and ends in the Temple, which, for Luke, is the bond of continuity between old and new. The primitive community of Acts is found worshipping in the Temple: see Acts 2:46; 3. [NJBC]

Saints
• 15 Damien, Priest and Leper, 1889, and Marianne, Religious, 1918, of Molokai Known for her charitable works and virtuous deeds, she spent many years caring for the lepers on the island of Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi. Despite direct contact with the patients over many years, Cope was not afflicted by the disease
• 16 Mary (Molly) Brant (Konwatsijayenni), Witness to the Faith among the Mohawks, 1796
• 19 Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Martyr, 1012 He became an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey. His perceived piety and sanctity led to his promotion to the episcopate, and eventually, to his becoming archbishop. Ælfheah furthered the cult of Dunstan and also encouraged learning.
• 21 Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1109 Called the founder of scholasticism, he is famous as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God.

• 22 John Muir, Naturalist and Writer, 1914, The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States.

and Hudson Stuck, Priest and Environmentalist, 1920.



FIRST READING: Acts 4: 32 - 35 (RCL, Roman Catholic)

Acts 4:32 (NRSV) Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35 They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

h/t Montreal Anglican

Only in Jerusalem (to our knowledge) was the sharing of all possessions practised - and there only for a time. Our passage is the second of three summaries in Acts; they tend to generalize and idealize. V. 32 says that the community tried going beyond seeking a consensus in what they believed, to holding all possessions in common. Vv. 34-35 say something different: people of property contributed to the needs of the poor, through the Church (but note 5:4: this was voluntary.) At this time, “there was not a needy person among them” (v. 34, perhaps they took Deuteronomy 15:4 in a temporal sense, “There will ... be no one in need among you ...”). But later the poverty of the Jerusalem church was such that the church at Antioch sent relief to “the believers living in Judea” (see 11:29). Perhaps the church tried to rectify the situation in Palestinian society, at least among its members: wealth was grossly disproportionately divided. In 4:36 to 5:11, the author presents examples of selling possessions and giving the proceeds to the Church. Joseph, called Barnabas, “sold a field ... then brought the money” (4:37). It is likely that he retained his house. In contrast, Ananias, with his wife’s consent, “sold a piece of property” (5:1) but “kept back some of the proceeds” (5:2). He appears to have lied, claiming that he was giving all the proceeds. Both he and his wife died immediately.
Then 4:33: 4:31 says “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness” – after Peter and John had been arrested, brought before the Sanhedrin, and been told to say nothing more about Jesus.

Chapters 2-9 tell us about the growth of the church in Jerusalem. All the summaries are in the first five chapters: the others are in 2:42-47 and 5:12-16. [NJBC]
Luke is not alone in idealizing the apostolic era. There are Hellenistic visions of primal days and political utopias. [NJBC]
In Romans 12:8, Paul says that being a “giver” is a gift from God. In 1 Corinthians 13:3, he writes: “If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing”. In Hebrews 13:2, we read: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it”. [NOAB]
For other references to the poverty of the Jerusalem church, see Galatians 2:10 (the Council of Jerusalem) and Acts 6:1 (neglect of widows in the distribution of food).
4:31: “the place in which they were gathered together was shaken”: This may be a divine affirmative in response to prayer, rather than an earthquake. [BlkActs] NJBC suggests that an earthquake did indeed occur.
4:33: See 3:12-16 for “their testimony to the resurrection”. [NJBC] The story of the arrest of Peter and John, and their appearance before the Sanhedrin, is in 4:1-22. They were arrested when they appealed for the conversion of Israel. Luke, the author of Acts, later shows that a tide of opposition to the Church arose, and eventually led to the dispersal of the community (8:1, 3). The good news was then proclaimed to Gentiles (Chapters 10-28).
4:34: “There was not a needy person among them”: Deuteronomy 15:4 says “There will be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you ...” [NJBC]
4:35: “as any had need”: Jesus’ command to renounce/sell possessions is found in Luke 12:33; 14:33; 18:22. Jesus’ command seems to be absolute, while that of the Church is relative. [NJBC] However, Jesus speaks to itinerant evangelists while Luke (also the author of Acts) speaks of a settled community.
4:36: “Barnabas”: He later appears as a supporter and associate of Paul: see 9:27 (he brings Paul to the apostles after Paul’s conversion) and 11:25-26 (Barnabas joins Paul in the mission in Antioch). [NOAB]
5:1-10: The guilt of Ananias and Sapphira was no less than denying the Holy Spirit’s presence in the church by lying to it. [NJBC]
5:3: “the Holy Spirit”: The apostles, or perhaps the Church, represent the Holy Spirit. [NOAB]
5:3: “keep back”: BlkActs offers embezzled as an alternative translation and notes that the same word appears in the Septuagint translation of Joshua 7:1, the first verse of a story in which Achan takes (embezzles) some sacred things and the Israelites suffer casualties in their attempt to take the town of Ai – as God’s judgement. BlkActs sees the story of Ananias and Sapphira as an antitype of the Achan story, but NJBC suggests that a later editor has been active, i.e. that we have the expansion of an old Palestinian Christian story. This would explain for him the inconsistencies in the text: as to where the sin lies (in the withholding or in the lying) and how v. 7 can follow from v. 5. (I do not agree with his second point.)
5:4: “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?”: It does seem that contributions to the finances of the Church were voluntary.
5:5: “he fell down and died”: The apostles had the power to destroy as well as to heal and make alive. In 1 Corinthians 5:4-5, Paul states what is to happen to the “man [who] is living with his father's wife”: “When you are assembled, and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord”. [NOAB]
5:6: “wrapped up his body”: While one naturally thinks of a burial shroud, BlkActs suggests that the Greek may mean no more than removed the body from sight.
5:9-10: “put the Spirit of the Lord to the test ... fell down at his feet”: BlkActs notes that these are Semitic notions, so he sees a Semitic source – either written or oral.
5:11: “church”: This is the first of 23 appearances of the Greek word ekklesia meaning the local assembly of believers in Acts. [NJBC]


Exodus 14: 10 - 30, 15: 20 - 21 (alt. for C of E)

Exod 14:10 (NRSV) As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, "Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." 13 But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still."
15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. 16 But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. 17 Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers."
19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. 24 At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25 He clogged {Sam Gk Syr: MT [removed] } their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
26 {The Pursuers Drowned} Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers." 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

15:20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:
""Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea."



PSALM 133 (RCL)

Psal 133:1 (NRSV) How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the LORD ordained his blessing,
life forevermore.


133 Ecce, quam bonum! (ECUSA BCP)

1 Oh, how good and pleasant it is, *
when brethren live together in unity!

2 It is like fine oil upon the head *
that runs down upon the beard,

3 Upon the beard of Aaron, *
and runs down upon the collar of his robe.

4 It is like the dew of Hermon *
that falls upon the hills of Zion.

5 For there the LORD has ordained the blessing: *
life for evermore.


Psalm 118: 2 - 4, 13 - 15, 22 - 24 (Roman Catholic)

Psal 118:2 (NRSV) Let Israel say,
""His steadfast love endures forever."
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
""His steadfast love endures forever."
4 Let those who fear the LORD say,
""His steadfast love endures forever."

13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
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;

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 John 1: 1 - 2: 2 (RCL)

1Joh 1:1 (NRSV) We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- 2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us-- 3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John is set in a Christian community from which some have dissented, e.g. over whether Jesus really became human (and suffered), or only appeared to do so. In 1:1, “we”, the author writing in the name of the teachers of a church which emphasized John (which the dissenters interpreted heretically) “declare to you ... concerning the word of life”, i.e. re Christ – who has existed “from the beginning”, from the very start of God’s creative activities (see also Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1). “We”, who preserve traditions from Jesus’ earthly life, declare that Jesus could be sensed (“heard ... seen ... touched”): he really was human! He was both “with the Father” (1:2, spiritual) and “revealed to us”. “We declare” (1:3) so that “you” may share in “fellowship”, communion, with each other, and with the Father and the Son. These relationships make Christian “joy ... complete” (1:4). Further, “God is light” (1:5), the light of humankind, absolute holiness without taint of sin.
1:6, 8 and 10 begin with dissenting views, heresies (“If ...”). Claiming that one is in unison with Christ while living evilly, unethically, is to live a lie (1:6); but if we live ethically, in a godly way (as Christ does), we are in community and Jesus’ sacrifice removes sin from us (1:7). Claiming that one is perfect (“have no sin”, 1:8) is to deceive oneself and deviate from God’s ways; but God will forgive us when we admit our deviations, and eradicate our ungodliness. Claiming that one has never deviated from God’s ways is to assert that God is wrong in saying that we are subject to sin, to “make him a liar” (1:10): one is not Christ-like. The author writes so that we may not deviate from godliness, (which is the ultimate goal of Christian living) (2:1), but should we sin, Jesus will intercede on our behalf with the Father, as our “advocate”. Jesus, through the cross, brings us into unison with God – as he does for all who will believe (2:2).

1 John is an exhortation rather than a letter. Scholars debate whether 1 John was written before or after the gospel according to John. 1 John rejects any gnostic interpretation of John.
1:1-2:2: “We”: The author uses “we” when associating himself with the guardians of the tradition (including eyewitnesses of Jesus) and handing on the tradition to others or when identifying himself with his readers in terms of their basic Christian experience. He often uses "I" in direct address or exhortation. [NJBC]
To NJBC, the original setting seems to have been for initiation into the community. Although the New Testament does not contain a description of such a ceremony, he suggests a parallel with the initiation into the Qumran community described in 1QS (Rule of the Community) 1:18-3:22.
1:1: “ what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands”: As in the Gospel, testimony interrupts what “was from the beginning”. 1 John stresses the physical character of the revelation received by the community. [NJBC]
1:1: “word of life”: The Greek translated “word” is logos, as in John 1:1. For Christ as the word and source of life, see John 1:14; 11:25; 14:6. [NOAB] Note 1 John 5:13: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life”. [NJBC]
1:3: The “fellowship” is reciprocal as with each other.
1:4: “our joy may be complete”: An echo of (or is echoed in) John 15:11 and 16:24, where Jesus' discourses are to complete the joy of the disciples. John 17:13 makes this joy that of Jesus. [NJBC]
1:5-7: “light ... darkness”: Those who live in the “light” are those who live according to God's commandments; those who live in “darkness” do not. The ethical distinction between “light” and “darkness” is often found in the Qumran literature: see, for example, 1QS (Rule of the Community) 3:13-4:26. [NJBC]
1:5: “message”: The Greek word, angelia, occurs here and in 3:11. The verb form of the word is used for Mary's announcement of “I have seen the Lord” in John 20:18. It refers to the gospel preached by the Johannine teachers and reminds the readers of what they have heard when they became Christians. [NJBC]
1:6: “walking in darkness” means habitual and intentional misconduct. John 3:19 says that before Christ came “... people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” and 1 John 2:11 “whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness”. [NOAB]
1:10: “we make him a liar”: The secessionists are liars, as 2:22 suggests in a rhetorical question: “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?”. See also 2:4; 4:20; Psalms 14:1-2; 53:1-3. [NOAB]
2:1: On not sinning as the ultimate goal of Christian living, Paul writes in Romans 6:11: “... you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”. [NOAB]
2:1: “advocate”: John 14:16-27 begins: “... I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.” [NOAB] This verse represents a more primitive stage of the tradition: that Jesus is the advocate. [NJBC]
2:2: “atoning sacrifice”: Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, as 4:10 also states: “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins”. [NOAB]
2:3-5: Obedience to God’s commandments tests whether we know God, and measures the perfection/completeness of our love of God. In John 14:15, Jesus says: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. See also 14:21, 23; 15:10. [NOAB]
2:6: Jesus is the model for our obedience. [NOAB]


GOSPEL: John 20: 19 - 31 (all)

John 20:19 (NRSV) When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Early on Easter Day, Mary Magdalene has discovered that Jesus’ body is missing from the tomb; the stone door is open, so it looks as though someone has stolen it (v. 1). She has seen a man standing near the tomb. When he speaks to her, she recognizes him as Jesus. She has told the disciples: “I have seen the Lord” (v. 18).
Later the same day, Jesus joins the disciples, gathered behind locked doors. He shows them that he is the one who was crucified (v. 20). Jesus confers on “the disciples” (not including Thomas, but perhaps a group larger than the ten) “peace” (vv. 19, 21) and “the Holy Spirit” (v. 22). As God “breathed” life into Adam, the proto-human, so Jesus now breathes the new, spiritual, life of recreated humanity into his followers. Aided by the Spirit, they continue Jesus’ judicial role in the world, forgiving the sins of the faithful and holding others blameworthy (“retain”, v. 23) for their actions. Thomas is expected to believe without having seen, but he demands: show me the evidence! (v. 25) The next Sunday, the community gathers again (v. 26). Upon seeing, Thomas makes the most complete affirmation of faith of anyone in the gospel (v. 29). Henceforth the faith of all Christians in all ages will rest on the testimony of the first believers. Vv. 30-31 tell us John’s purpose in writing the book. His eyewitness account is intended to help us, who were not witnesses of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension to “come to believe” and thus “have life in his name”, eternal life.

Verses 19-23: Apart from in the longer ending of Mark (Mark 16:14-18), which a number of important manuscripts lack, and the mention of an appearance “to the twelve” (see1 Corinthians 15:5), the only parallel to this story is Luke 24:36-51, where Jesus shows himself to “the eleven and their companions”. The following contacts with the Lucan story are noted:
John Luke
v. 19
“stood among them” 24:36
“stood among them”
v. 20
“then the disciples rejoiced” 24:41
“while in their joy they were disbelieving”
v. 20
“he showed them his hands and his side” 24:39
“Look at my hands and my feet” [BlkJn]

Verse 19: “evening”: In John’s time, Sunday was a normal day of work, so the community would meet for Eucharist during the evening. So this passage would have a special resonance for the worshipping community, as they met for their weekly commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection. When Paul visited Greece, Christians celebrated the Eucharist in the evening: see Acts 20:7-11. [BlkJn]
Verse 19: The “disciples” may have been a larger group than the remaining eleven (less Thomas). [JBC]
Verse 19: “the doors ... were locked”: For “fear of the Jews”; this fear is also mentioned in 7:13 and 19:38. It is not clear why at this time Jesus’ followers should fear them.
Verse 19: “Jesus came and stood among them”: For the spiritual qualities of Jesus’ resurrected body, see 1 Corinthians 15:35-56.
Verse 19: “Peace be with you”: Exchanging the peace was a usual Jewish greeting (see Judges 6:23; 19:20; Tobit 12:17) but the repetition of the words in vv. 21 and 26 suggests a reference back to 14:27 (“ ... my peace I give to you”) and 16:33 (“... in me you may have peace”). [BlkJn]
Verse 20: “hands ... side”: Identifying marks. See also Luke 24:25-26 (Emmaus). [NOAB]
Verse 20: “rejoiced”: This fulfils the promises of renewed joy: see 14:19 and 16:16-24. [NJBC] This contrasts with Luke 24:37: there the stress is on terror and amazement. [JBC]
Verse 21: “Peace”: Also a promised gift, as Jesus says in 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives ...”. [NJBC]
Verse 21: “‘so I send you’”: In 13:20, Jesus says: ‘Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me’”. See also 5:23 and 17:18. [NJBC]
Verse 22: The commissioning of the disciples also appears in other post-resurrection appearances: see Luke 24:47-48; Matthew 28:19-20a. Jesus confers on the disciples the mission of which he has spoken: in 17:18, as he prays to the Father, Jesus says “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world”. See also 4:38 and 13:16. [NJBC]
According to BlkJn, 7:39 says that the Holy Spirit would be received after Jesus’ glorification; 15:26 and 16:7 say that the Holy Spirit would be received after Jesus returned to the Father. The ascension has now happened.
Verse 22: “he breathed on them”: The same image is used to describe the communication of natural life in Genesis 2:7 (the second creation story). Here it is used to express the communication of the new, spiritual, life of re-created humanity. [NOAB] In Greek, pneuma means both breath and spirit. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes into the nostrils of Adam, giving him earthly life; [JBC] the Septuagint translation uses pneuma here. See also Ezekiel 37:9 (the valley of dry bones) and Wisdom of Solomon 15:11.
Verse 22: “‘Receive the Holy Spirit’”: In 15:26 and 16:7, Jesus says that when he has returned to the Father, he will send the Holy Spirit. In v. 17 he has told Mary Magdalene that he has not yet ascended, so in that he now gives the disciples the Holy Spirit, the ascension has now happened. So in John, Jesus’ resurrection, his ascension, and the coming of the Holy Spirit all happen in the same day. But to John (and other New Testament authors) chronology is of secondary importance. In common with the authors of the synoptic gospels, John insists on the connection between the resurrection and the animation of the Church by the Holy Spirit. [JBC] Note the connection between the granting of authority and receipt of the Holy Spirit. See 16:7 for the continuation of Jesus’ ministry by the Holy Spirit.
In 7:39 Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will only be given after Jesus’ glorification and in 16:7 he says that he will send the Holy Spirit after he has returned to the Father; however here Jesus appears to grant the Holy Spirit before he has been exalted. Scholars have puzzled over this for centuries. The most likely explanation is that early Christians were less concerned with chronological sequence than we are – they saw Jesus’ resurrection, he appearances, his exaltation, and the gift of the Holy Spirit as one event. Only later did they begin to be described as separate events. As support for this apparent lack of chronological sense, note that while Luke describes the Ascension as occurring at Pentecost in Acts 1:3-10, he describes Jesus’ decisive parting from the world on Easter Day in Luke 24:51.
Verse 23: Through the Holy Spirit, the Church continues the judicial role of Christ (see 3:19; 5:27; 9:39) in the matter of sin (see Matthew 16:19; 18:18; Luke 24:47). (In Matthew 16:19, “bind” and “loose” are technical rabbinic terms: “bind” means forbid; “loose” means permit.) [JBC]
Verse 23: “forgive ... retain”: BlkJn notes that these expressions are not used elsewhere in John and not at all in the Matthean parallels (Matthew 18:18; 16:19). He notes that Matthew 16:19 (“whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven ...”) recalls Isaiah 22:22, so he suggests that both this verse in John and the parallels in Matthew may be variants of a common original. This original, which might well have been in Aramaic, may have followed Isaiah in speaking of the conferral of authority as opening and shutting. In this case, John and Matthew provide different interpretations of what Jesus said, with John’s version arising out of the ambiguity in the Aramaic words, for there the word to shut also means to seize or to hold. Given hold for shut, loose (release, set free) for open follows naturally. In support of this hypothesis, BlkJn notes that the Greek verb translated retain is not used here in any of its normal senses, so it may be a Semitism.
Verse 24: In the synoptic gospels, incredulity is shared by the other disciples. [JBC]
Verse 25: This verse reminds us of 4:48: “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
Verse 25: “nails”: Criminals were usually tied to the cross, rather than being nailed through the palms of the hands.
Verse 25: “nails”: The usual custom was to tie the criminal to the cross, but Jesus was nailed to it.
Verse 27: Jesus’ invitation to Thomas contrasts with his prohibition to Mary Magdalene in v. 17. [JBC]
Verse 28: We are not told whether Thomas actually touched Jesus. Before Jesus’ ascension, he forbade Mary Magdalen to touch him. [JBC]
Verse 28: Thomas’ words became a common confession of faith in the early Church. [JBC]
Verse 28: “Lord and ... God”: In the Septuagint translation, theos kyrios translates the name of the God of Israel (Hebrew: Yahweh Elohim). theos kyrios was also a name used as a designation of a god in the Hellenic world. It became a common Christian confession of faith. [JBC]
Verse 29: 1 Peter 1:8-9 tells readers: “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls”. [CAB]
Verse 30: “signs”: John tells us of six signs in chapters 2-12. The seventh is Jesus’ resurrection. [NJBC]

The saints

8 William Augustus Muhlenberg, Priest, 1877. Anne Ayres, Religious, 1896is considered to be the father of the Episcopal Church School Movement in the United States.

9 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theologian and Martyr, 1945 was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and anti-fascist. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church.

10 William Law, Priest, 1761. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Scientist and Military Chaplain, 1955 was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of Peking Man and in followup investigation of the supposed discovery of the fraudulent Piltdown Man.


11 George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand, and of Lichfield, 1878 was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand

12 Adoniram Judson, Missionary to Burma, 1850At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson[1] became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America[2] to preach in Burma.
13
14 Edward Thomas Demby, 1957, and Henry Beard Delany, 1928, Bishops

15 Damien, Priest and Leper, 1889, and Marianne, Religious, 1918, of Molokai was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,[2] a missionary religious order. He won recognition for his ministry to people with leprosy
FIRST READING: Acts 10: 34 - 43 (all)

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


Isaiah 25: 6 - 9 (alt. for RCL)

Isai 25:6 (NRSV) 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;
he will swallow up death forever.
8 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;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.


PSALM 118: 1 - 2, 14 - 24 (RCL)
118: 1 - 2, 16 - 17, 22 - 23 (Roman Catholic)

Psal 118:1 (NRSV) 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.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!

Note: Vs. 1 & 2 are optional for C of E and are omitted for Can. BAS


118 Confitemini Domino (ECUSA BCP)

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.

2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His mercy endures for ever.”


14 The Lord is my strength and my song, *
and he has become my salvation.

15 There is a sound of exultation and victory *
in the tents of the righteous:

16 "The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! *
the right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!"

17 I shall not die, but live, *
and declare the works of the Lord.

18 The Lord has punished me sorely, *
but he did not hand me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.

20 "This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter."

21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.

22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord's doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Hosanna, Lord, hosanna! *
Lord, send us now success.



SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 15: 1 - 11 (RCL)

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


h/t Montreal Anglican

Paul has heard that some at Corinth deny the physical resurrection of the body, claiming that only the spirit matters. Now he argues against this view. He says: I draw your attention to the “good news” I proclaimed to you, which you received, and “in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved” (vv. 1-2) – assuming that you all hold to it. I ask you to note the form of the words I used – unless you (in not accepting the message fully) “have come to believe” to no purpose. The most important tenets I handed on to you are: “Christ died for our sins” (v. 3), “he was buried” (v. 4, he really died), “was raised ...” and appeared to various persons and groups. His death, burial and rising again were “in accordance with the scriptures”, part of God’s plan. (Only the appearances to Peter, “Cephas”, v. 5, and to the “twelve” are in the Bible.) I, Paul says, was the last to see him: I, a monster (in appearance or as persecutor of the Church), the “least of the apostles” (v. 9). I, through “the grace of God” (v. 10), have achieved more than any other apostle. We all (“I or they”, v. 11) proclaim the same good news; this is how “you have come to believe”.

Comments: “Paul has heard ...: Some at Corinth denied the resurrection of the body either on the grounds of Greek (Platonic) philosophy (that only the immortal soul survives death, that all that matters is the spirit, and that the body hinders the soul’s activity) or that Christians are already raised. See also 4:8; 2 Timothy 2:17b-18. The basis for our resurrection, Paul says, is Christ’s example: he physically rose from death. [NOAB] There is no room for speculation, because we have Christ as a concrete example.
Verse 1: “I would remind you”: Elsewhere in this letter, Paul answers questions put to him by Corinthian Christians, but probably not here. [NOAB]
Verses 3-9: These appear to be a very early statement of faith or creed. Scholars say that Paul added v. 6b: “though some have died”. “In accordance with the scriptures” may mean that Paul is saying that Christ fulfills, completes, salvation history, already partially presented in the Old Testament, or he may be thinking of particular passages. Some of these passages are presented below.
Verse 3: “handed on ... received”: Paul uses the same expression when he talks about the Lord’s Supper in 11:23. [NOAB]
Verse 3: “Christ died for our sins”: This may refer to Isaiah 53:5: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.” [NOAB]
Verse 4: “scriptures”: This is a reference to Hosea 6:2 (“After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him”) – and perhaps to Psalm 16:8-11, including “My body rests also secure, for you do not give me up to Sheol”. Later Jewish tradition, to be found in Midrash Genesis Rabba on Genesis 22:4-5, said that “the third day” is the day of salvation. [NOAB] [NJBC]
Verses 5-7: Those whom Paul mentions as appearing would be legally acceptable witnesses in a Jewish court. (He does not mention female witnesses.) So it may be that those who denied physical resurrection were Jewish; they may have been influenced by Philo.
Verse 5: “Cephas”: Mark 16:7 foretells an appearance to Peter, and Luke 24:34 suggests that Jesus did appear to him, but does not clearly state it. See also Luke 22:31-32 and 1 Peter 2:25. [CAB]
Verse 5: “the twelve”: Jesus appeared to the “twelve” less Judas Iscariot: see Matthew 28:16-20. They are called “apostles” in the gospels: see Mark 3:16-19 and Luke 6:14-16 for lists of the disciples. [CAB]
Verse 6: No appearance to “five hundred” is to be found in canonical and non-canonical writings.
Verse 6: “most of whom are still alive”: So eyewitnesses are available for questioning. [NJBC]
Verse 7: “James”: An appearance to James, the Lord’s brother, is mentioned in the non-canonical Gospel of the Hebrews. The James to whom Paul refers is probably the Lord’s brother because he visited him on a visit to Jerusalem: see Galatians 1:19. If so, Paul progresses from appearances to the disciples of Jesus, to James (never a disciple of Jesus, but his brother), to himself (who never met Jesus.) Jesus’ brother James is clearly mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55; a “James” is mentioned in Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18. [CAB] [NJBC]
We do not know who “all the apostles” are. Paul has already mentioned “the twelve”, and he is unlikely to have repeated himself.
Verse 8: “one untimely born”: The meaning is obscure. Perhaps Paul is referring to the separation in time between his own experience and those of the other apostles. For other accounts of Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ, see 9:1; Galatians 1:16 and Acts 9:3-6 (his conversion). [NOAB] NJBC offers as if to an abortion. This may be a term of abuse used by Paul’s opponents, who mocked his physical appearance (see 2 Corinthians 10:10) and denied his apostleship (see 1 Corinthians 9:1-18). [NJBC]
Verses 9-10: The existence of the Corinthian church is proof of Paul’s apostleship. See also 9:1-18: “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? ...”. [NJBC]


GOSPEL: John 20: 1 - 18 (RCL)
John 20: 1 - 9 (Roman Catholic)

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


Early on Sunday morning, before dawn, Mary Magdalene (witness to Jesus’ death and burial) comes to the tomb and finds that the “stone” door has been rolled back, so she and those with her (“we”, v. 2) tell “Peter and the other disciple” (v. 3, traditionally John) that they suspect that someone has removed the body. The “other disciple”, apparently younger, outruns Peter (v. 5). But the orderliness of the “cloth” (v. 7) and “linen wrappings” show that the body has neither been stolen nor spiritualized.

John, when he sees, comes to trust that God is active; by implication, Peter does not understand yet. They do not yet understand the significance of what is occurring (v. 9), of how it fits into God’s plan, because they have not yet received the Holy Spirit.

Mary, still thinking that the body has been moved, has returned to the cemetery. In her grief, she sees “two angels in white” (v. 12), heavenly messengers. She recognizes Jesus when he calls her by name. But something has changed: they are in a new relationship: “do not hold on to me” (v. 17). To John the evangelist, Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, exaltation and return to heavenly glory, his ascension, are parts of a single event.


Verse 1: “while it was still dark”: That the women visit the tomb at dawn is stated in the synoptic gospels. Perhaps the writer has added darkness to incorporate his scene into the light symbolism of the gospel. [NJBC]
Verse 1: Mary must have looked into the tomb to be able to tell “Peter and the other disciple” (v. 2) that the body of Jesus is missing. Only in v. 11 are we told that she “bent over to look in the tomb”. [NJBC]
Verse 2: “We” is plural in the Greek, so it is likely that John worked from a source which included other women in these verses. (Mark includes other women.) [BlkJn] [NJBC]
Verse 4: “the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first”: In this gospel, Peter takes second place to “the other disciple”:
• At the Last Supper, it is the beloved disciple who sits in the place of greater honour: see 13:23
• Peter asks this disciple the identity of the traitor: see 13:24
• Peter gains access to the high priest’s courtyard through the beloved disciple: see 18:15
• The beloved disciple is entrusted with the care of Jesus’ mother: see 19:26
• When Jesus appears to the disciples in Galilee, it is the beloved disciple who identifies Jesus to Peter: see 21:7
• After being commissioned, Peter is rebuffed for asking about the beloved disciple’s task: see 21:20-24. [BlkJn]
• In v. 8, it is the beloved disciple that sees and believes, not Peter.
Verse 6: That Peter goes into the tomb while “the other disciple” stays outside is consistent with Peter’s temperament shown elsewhere in the gospels. See also 6:68 and 18:10. [BlkJn]
Verse 6: “He saw the linen wrappings lying there”: Note the difference from Lazarus: he needed unbinding (11:44); Jesus does not. In the synoptic gospels, the grave clothes are not mentioned, so presumably they were absent: see Mark 16:6; Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:3, 23. [BlkJn]
Verse 9: “the scripture”: There is no specific scriptural reference, so John is probably saying that Jesus’ fulfills salvation history. However, the term scripture may well include the apocrypha to the New Testament and pseudepigrapha. When John wrote, neither the Jewish canon of the Old Testament nor that of the New Testament existed. The Greek word refers to a writing, not necessarily Scripture as we understand it.
BlkJn points out that “scripture” is in the singular, so a specific text is intended. He suggests Psalm 16:10, “For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit”.
Comments: they have not yet received the Holy Spirit: When do the disciples receive the Holy Spirit in John? In 14:16, Jesus says to the disciples: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever”. So, in a sense, the Spirit is active in Jesus during his earthly ministry. However, in 16:7 Jesus says: “it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you”. So the Holy Spirit is with the disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry, and is more fully with them after his ascension.
Verses 11-18: To BlkJn, this is a separate incident which is mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament only in the spurious longer ending of Mark (Mark 16:9-20), though there are superficial similarities to Matthew 28:8-10. Here Mary is calm when she discovers the angels while in the synoptic gospels, the women are afraid: see Mark 16:5-8; Luke 24:5 and Matthew 28:5, 8. Further, here the angels do not deliver a message while they do in the synoptic gospels. [BlkJn] To NJBC, the evangelist has reworked a traditional story in which the risen Christ appeared to either Mary Magdalene alone or in the company of other women near the tomb. He has recast the resurrection message so that it is clear that Jesus’ return is not to the disciples in the various appearance stories. His return is his exaltation to his place with the Father: see 14:18-19; 16:22; 3:13; 6:62. [NJBC]
Verse 12: Mary sees “two angels in white” but apparently Peter and the other disciple did not (at vv. 6-7).
Verse 14: “she did not know that it was Jesus”: Mary also fails to recognize Jesus in other resurrection stories: see 21:4, 7, 12; Luke 24:16ff; Matthew 28:17. See also Luke 24:37-41. [BlkJn]
Verse 15: “Sir”: The Greek word is kurios also translated as Lord with divine connotations. Kurios is also used in vv. 2, 13, 15, 18, 20 and 25. [BlkJn]
Verse 15: “gardener”: a Jewish cemetery was much like a garden. Mary would be physically unable to “take him away”: this is an expression of her love for Jesus.
Verse 16: “Rabbouni” is a variant form of Rabbi, meaning teacher. Mary wishes to resume the relationship she has previously enjoyed with Jesus. [BlkJn]
Verse 17: One should not think of Jesus’ resurrection as though he had returned to life and then later ascended into heaven. Rather, Jesus has passed into an entirely different reality. 14:22-23 answers the question of how Jesus will manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world in terms of love and the indwelling presence of Father and Son with the disciples. [NJBC]
Verse 17: “Do not hold on to me ...”: In Matthew 28:9-10, the women grasp the risen Lord’s feet in a gesture of worship. [NJBC]
Verse 17: “my Father ... your God”: The Father truly is Jesus’ Father; Christians acquire their relationship to him through Christ.
Verses 19-22: Jesus appears to his disciples. As a community, as the Church, they now receive the Holy Spirit.
Mark 16:1-8
The parallels are Matthew 28:1-10; Luke 24:1-11 and John 20:1-10. [NOAB]
Jesus has been anointed at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany. This serves as his preparation for burial.
The emptiness of the tomb was not a proof of Jesus’ resurrection, but it was a necessary condition for the disciples to proclaim that Jesus had risen. ( Matthew 28:11-15 tells us of a Jewish claim that the disciples had stolen the body.) [NJBC]
Verse 1: Luke 23:56 tells us “It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment” and John 19:39-40 says “Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews”. [NOAB] Thus John 19:40 says that Jesus’ corpse had already been prepared for burial, but Mark 14:8 and this verse assume that the preparations had not been completed. Matthew 28:1 tells us that the women went simply to see the tomb. [NJBC]
Verse 1: “Mary Magdalene”: She has seen Jesus die (15:40) and knew where he was buried (15:47). She now goes to the tomb on Easter Day. [NJBC]
Verse 1: “Salome”: She is also mentioned in 15:40, as a witness to Jesus’ death. [NJBC]
Verse 1: “spices”: Incense, of which spices were an ingredient, were also used to prepare the tent of meeting for worship: see Exodus 30:34-36. [CAB]
Verse 2: “the first day of the week”: i.e. Nissan 17. [NJBC]
Verse 2: The “tomb” is that provided by Joseph of Arimathea. He intended it for his own body. Bodies remained in a tomb for about a year; then the bones were moved to an ossuary.
Verse 3: “stone”: The track in which it travelled ran downhill to the entrance to the tomb, making it even harder to move.
Verse 5: “a young man”: (Greek: neaniskos). Only Mark tells us about him. Mark has told us of a neaniskos who fled when Jesus was arrested: see 14:51-52. Matthew 28:5 says that the herald was an angel. [NJBC]
Verse 7: “he is going ahead of you to Galilee”: In Matthew 28:7, it is an angel that tells the disciples this news, which, in Mark, Jesus has told the disciples as they walk to the Mount of Olives: see 14:28. For post-resurrection appearances in Galilee, see John 21:1-23. [NOAB] Before appearing in Galilee, Jesus appears in Jerusalem: see Matthew 28:9-10; Luke 24:13-19 and John 20. [NJBC]
Verse 8: “For they were afraid”: The Greek expression is unusual in style and abrupt in effect, especially if, as is possible, it originally ended the Gospel. Fear here (probably overwhelming awe) is the pervasive consequence of “alarm” (v. 5) and of “terror and amazement” (v. 8) that resulted in fright and silence (v. 8). In contrast, in Matthew 28:8-10 fear is part of an emotional state that includes joy (v. 8) and is controlled by worship (v. 9) and acceptance of mission (v. 10). Though silent here, in Matthew 28:8 the women run to tell the disciples. as they do in Luke 24:9-11, 22-24. In the longer ending of Mark (vv. 9-20), at v. 9-10, Mary Magdalene goes out “and tells those who had been with him”. [NOAB]