{"id":2537,"date":"2018-03-26T12:43:53","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T12:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=2537"},"modified":"2018-03-26T12:43:53","modified_gmt":"2018-03-26T12:43:53","slug":"easter-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2018\/03\/26\/easter-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Easter Sunday (April 1, 2018)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23; Col 3:1-4; John 20:1-9)<\/p>\n

Theme: Tell the Good News<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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A<\/em><\/strong>lleluia! Today, all over the world, the Church once again echoes the good news: \u201cJesus is risen!\u201d In the Gospel by John, we learn about the discovery of the empty tomb and the reactions of those who first know about it.<\/p>\n

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It is the first day of the week while it is still dark, Mary Magdalene visits the tomb of Jesus.\u00a0 Identifying the first day of the week has been interpreted to the \u201cdawning of a new creation, or to the eschatological time of fulfillment,\u201d according to Bergant (2008).\u00a0 She also says that referring to darkness, rather than the dawn of a new day, may be John\u2019s way of incorporating the light\/darkness symbolism. Lack of \u00a0faith is a life in darkness.<\/p>\n

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Seeing that the stone has been moved, Mary Magdalene, had a\u00a0 natural reaction.\u00a0 She thought the body of Jesus had been stolen; it was\u00a0 a case of theft and robbery. She seems not to have any thoughts of Jesus\u2019 resurrection.\u00a0 But Mary has been a follower of Jesus and a brave one at that. She was one of the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to take care of his needs. She was also a witness to Jesus\u2019 death\u00a0 (Mt. 27:56; 43:49) and burial (Mt. 27-61; Lk 23:55).<\/p>\n

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She ran off to tell Simon Peter (hinting of his privileged status within the community). Also known as Cephas (John 1:42<\/a>), Simon Peter was one of the first followers of Jesus Christ. He was an outspoken and ardent disciple and was one of Jesus\u2019 closest friends. \u00a0But in the passion narrative, he denied Jesus three times. And in the account of the discovery of the empty tomb, he was not the one who believed in the resurrection of Jesus.<\/p>\n

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It was the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, who saw and believed.\u00a0\u00a0 This disciple is nameless in John and is not even mentioned in the other gospels.\u00a0 According to John, this was the disciple who leaned on Jesus during the Last Supper, and the only male disciple present at the crucifixion. \u00a0And though his identity is one of the biggest mysteries in biblical scholarship, it is clear in John\u2019s account that he is the only one who believed with little evidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Like Peter, he saw the linen wrappings lying there,\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>and the cloth that had been on Jesus\u2019 head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.\u00a0 We are not told what Peter thought about what he saw. But John says the beloved disciple saw and believed, making him unique for having resurrection faith from only the experience of the empty tomb rather than the appearance of the Risen Lord. He is the ideal disciple.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The reading ends with a sad note on the unbelief of the disciples, \u201cThey did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But in the rest of John 20, we learn that later in the day Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene\u00a0 (vv 11-20) who only believed after hearing his voice and in the evening Jesus appears before Peter and the disciples except Thomas (vv 19-23) \u00a0and a week later \u00a0Jesus appears before \u00a0all the disciples including Thomas (vv 26-29). All believed after seeing Jesus. An empty tomb is not enough to believe; they had to see to believe.<\/p>\n

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The different reactions of those who were close followers of Jesus tell us of their humanity and of the human need to see more proofs to believe.\u00a0 From the reading in Acts, we learn that like the apostles, we have to \u00a0preach and give witness to Jesus\u2019 victory over sin and death. We are to testify too that the Risen Christ, as stated in our Apostle Creed, is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.\u00a0 But how do we bring the light of faith in an all too human world?<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion<\/em><\/strong>:<\/em>\u00a0 1. As Christians today with the challenge to tell and share the good news, do you need to learn more about your faith and undergo formation?\u00a0 If so, what do you need and what do you plan to do. 2). Share on how to tell stories of God\u2019s love and being a witness so others may believe. 3) In your experience, what has been a good witnessing?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography<\/em><\/strong>: Bergant, Preaching the New Lectionary Year B (Manila, 2008); Harrington and Donahue, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Mark (Minnesota, 2002); Almazan, OFM, \u201cWelcome to Our Bible Study: Passion Sunday B\u201d (unpublished)\u00a0<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s teaching commentary was prepared by<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Minerva Generalao, Philippines Bat Kol Alumna July 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Email: may_neer@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2018<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE<\/em><\/strong>: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1983-2018<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible \u00a0within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

gill@batkol.info <\/em><\/strong>Website: <\/em><\/strong>www.batkol.info<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Easter Sunday (April 1, 2018) Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23; Col 3:1-4; John 20:1-9) Theme: Tell the Good News \u00a0 Download \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alleluia! Today, all over the world, the Church once again echoes the good news: \u201cJesus is risen!\u201d In the Gospel by John, we learn about the discovery of the empty tomb…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":2529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2537"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}