·        1 Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, Teacher of the Faith, 1872

·        9 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran Pastor, Martyr, 1945

·        10 William Law, Priest, Spiritual Writer, 1761 was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, George I. Previously William Law had given his allegiance to the House of Stuartand is sometimes considered a second-generation non-juror (an earlier generation of non-jurors included Thomas Ken).

·        10 William of Ockham, Friar, Philosopher, Teacher of the Faith, 1347 was an English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher and theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey.^[8] He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thoughtand was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of the 14th century.

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."

Note: the Roman Catholic lectionary omits vs. 34b-36.

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.

Colossians 3: 1 - 4   (Roman Catholic)

Colo 3:1 (NRSV) So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Acts 10: 34 - 43   (alt. for RCL)

[If not previously used; see above for text]

1 Corinthians 5: 6b - 8   (alt. for Roman Catholic)

1Cor 5:6 (NRSV)  Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

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.

h/t Montreal Anglican

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   (alt. for RCL)

Mark 16:1 (NRSV) When the sabbath was over, Mary Mag'dalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salo'me bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

On Saturday after sundown, “when the sabbath was over”, Mary Magdalene (witness to Jesus’ death and burial) and others buy spices to anoint Jesus’ body. (Because Jesus died only hours before the Sabbath, there was no time to anoint it before he was buried. Buying spices on the Sabbath was permitted, but not aromatic oils and salves used for burial preparation.)

Early on Sunday morning (“the first day of the week”, v. 2), they go to the tomb, wondering who will roll away the heavy disk-shaped “stone” (v. 3) forming its door. (A tomb was cut out of the rock, and the “stone” ran in a track.) But they find the tomb open (v. 4) and realize what the empty tomb means: “‘he has been raised’” (v. 6).

The “young man, dressed in a white robe” (v. 5) is a heavenly messenger; he probably sits on a shelf intended for a body. It is the faithful women who first hear the Easter message. In v. 7, the angel tells them to inform the disciples that he “is going ahead of” them, will appear to them in Galilee, just as he told them during his earthly ministry. The women flee, seized with “terror and amazement” (v. 8), overcome with awe.

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]