Easter 4 (year A)- John 10:1-10

 An ancient Christian theme, especially during the Easter season, is Christ the Good Shepherd. The Gospel from John 10:1-10 is a key passage for this theme. Our Lord uses common biblical images of shepherd and sheep to talk about spiritual realities, and His words offer His disciples both warning and comfort. . The warning is about thieves or rustlers who will attack the flock. These evil people use disguise and surprise to mislead and destroy Christ's sheep. Such thieves and robbers are sharply different from the true shepherd of the sheep. The good shepherd knows his sheep. He cares for them, guides them, and protects them; the sheep also know him and follow him willingly. 

Despite the simple and clear figurative language in this parable, the disciples are slow to understand. So, beginning in John 10:7, Christ tries to get the point across again with more direct interpretation. In His role as a spiritual leader, Jesus is the shepherd and door for God's flock. Other spiritual leaders (such as corrupt Jerusalem priests, Pharisees, and false Messiahs) are thieves and robbers. They are out for themselves. They do not care for the sheep and do not deserve the flock's trust. However, Jesus is drastically different. Because He cares for them and protects their souls, God's sheep, His people, follow Christ. They trust that He leads them into true and abundant spiritual life.

The theme of Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd reminds believers about the spiritual dangers of earthly life, but it also points us to the comfort and encouragement of Christ. Our Lord's death and resurrection are the highest expressions of His shepherding. He has died to save us from evil and destruction, and He has risen that we "may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). During the Easter season and throughout our earthly lives, Christians should focus on this message. Jesus Christ is the shepherd who never stops caring for His sheep. We rejoice and continue to give thanks because Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, is "the Shepherd and Guardian of [our] souls" (1 Peter 2:25).

Easter 3 (year A)- Luke 24:13-35

The Gospel for this Sunday is from Luke 24:13-35, the lovely account of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus encountering the risen Christ. This account presents several interesting topics, such as the identity of these disciples, the slowness of the disciples to believe, and the change in Jesus' appearance after His resurrection. All these topics are fascinating.

However, this time, let us focus on two other topics of great theological meaning for us. First, this encounter stresses the Christ-centered message of all Scripture. Directly and indirectly, God's self-revelation and redeeming work are about Jesus. God's work through His only Son, Jesus Christ is at the heart of the biblical message.

Secondly, the disciples recognize the presence of the risen Christ through the breaking of bread. The Lord's Supper, also known as Holy Communion, remains a powerful way in which the living Lord reveals Himself to His followers. In other words, the risen Christ's manifestation on the Emmaus Road demonstrates the enduring significance of both Word and Sacrament for the Christian faith.

Easter 2 (year A)- John 20:12-31

The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Easter is John 20:19-31. In this passage, the risen Christ appears to ten apostles, and then a week later, He appears to Thomas as well. When He comes, Jesus blesses the disciples with divine peace. The disciples remain fearful and timid as the risen Lord comes to where they were locked in. He brings greetings in the common Jewish manner, saying “Peace be with you,” in Hebrew shalom alechem. 

This Biblical greeting is more than a hello. It is an implied prayer for God’s peace. Such a prayer for peace has a special meaning in light of Christ’s resurrection. It is a blessing from the risen Lord, who is the embodiment of God’s peace. After all that has happened, the disciples have a special need for peace and assurance.

Christ does not stop with reassuring words. Jesus adds a commission or a call to action. As the heavenly Father has sent Him, likewise Christ sends the apostles (and through them, His whole Church). Jesus brings peace through His resurrection victory over sin and spiritual death, and He asks His disciples to share that peace with others. His followers are to share the message with others. Jesus the Christ is risen and alive, and His peace is to be spread. His followers are to continue His work in the world and share the peace that comes through faith in the crucified and risen Lord.

The resurrection of Jesus is the high point of scriptural teachings on peace. While faith in the risen Lord may contribute to other types of peace, it chiefly offers peace with God. Christ's peace removes fallen human enmity with God; it offers us new eternal life in God’s holy and merciful presence.

Christ’s words to the disciples also point us to our Christian mission in the world. The peace of His resurrection is not some private possession. It is not a secret that we are to keep to ourselves. The risen Christ comes to us in peace and asks us to share the joy of His spiritual peace with others. Of course, ordained ministers have a special role in sharing this divine peace in Word and Sacrament. Nevertheless, the whole Body of Christ, the entire membership of Christ’s Church is involved. All of us are called to witness to God’s peace in Christ Jesus. Despite our human frailty, by grace, we can all share Christ’s peace with the people around us.

Easter Week Devotions

The season of Lent and Easter Sunday have come and gone. Christian preparation for Good Friday and Easter has passed. Celebration and rejoicing have reached a high point on Easter morning, and we have begun the 50 days of Easter joy.  Unfortunately, for many of us, the days after Easter seem to be a time when we crash. This tendency is understandable. We often exhaust ourselves with preparations and then lack the energy to meditate and enjoy the spiritual celebrations.

However, the fact is that the fifty days between Easter and Pentecost provide a time for spiritual rejoicing for individual believers and the body of believers. We should be freshly inspired by our Lord's Resurrection. So even if we take a brief pause to catch our breath, let us remain focused on our risen Lord in our thoughts and prayers.

Prayer Books and hymnals have resources to help continue celebrating. Prayers focused on our Lord's victory can be said throughout the week and the season. Lectionaries suggest Scriptures that focus on the Resurrection. Hymnals contain numerous Easter hymns which may be read or sung as prayers of praise and thanksgiving.

So let us be filled with prayers and praises during the Easter Season. Our prayers of thanksgiving and rejoicing for Christ's Resurrection should be as devoted as our prayers of preparation and repentance! Christ is risen! Thanks be to God for His inexpressible and gracious gift!

Easter Sunday, the Day of Resurrection (year A)- John 20:1-10

The Paschal Feast, the Feast of the Resurrection, which we call Easter, is the culmination of the biblical message and the greatest observance on the church calendar. Jesus of Nazareth, who accepted terrible physical and spiritual suffering to save us from sin, has risen from the dead; He offers us new life, in this world and the next. Easter is the great dividing point in human history. Among other things, Christ's Resurrection is the seal of divine approval upon the earthly life, ministry, and death of Jesus. In addition, it is the key event that transforms a band of disheartened and defeated disciples into faithful witnesses and ministers of the Good News. The whole New Testament is written from the standpoint of faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

The Easter Gospel for an early service is from St. John 20. 1-10. It proclaims the importance of faith. At first, the women at the empty tomb and the apostles who hear the women's report react with fear and curiosity. When the apostles hear the news from the women, Simon Peter and the other disciple (traditionally identified as John) run to see for themselves. Peter goes in first to see the grave clothes. Then that other disciple enters, "and he saw and believed" (St. John 20:8). Accepting the reality of the empty tomb is important, but this is only a first step. There must also be a second step.  The reality of the empty tomb calls each person to a personal response: faith in the living Jesus Christ! 

So on this Easter, let each of us accept with faith what the empty tomb tells us about Jesus. He is unique. He is more than a person who has recovered from physical death. He has experienced Resurrection; that is, He has conquered death. He has overcome the forces of evil, destruction, and death for all time, for all who truly believe in Him. He is the Word of God incarnate, God the Son. By overcoming death, He has opened the gate of everlasting life. Christ lives, and because He lives, we also may truly live in union with Him. Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed; O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.