Pastoral Care

~The Second Sunday of Easter – Year C. Youth Sunday.

~8:00 AM Holy Eucharist Rite I in the Chapel.

~10:15 A.M. Holy Eucharist Rite II in the Main Sanctuary.

A Note on Today’s Readings                                     The Second Sunday of Easter — Year C

Today we begin the second of the seven weeks of our celebration of Christ’s resurrection. This Sunday is always the time we hear the story of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples on Easter Day and then again on the following Sunday when Thomas (who had been absent the previous week) refused to believe them unless he saw the Lord with his own eyes and touched the scars from his crucifixion.

This account is packed with the signs of resurrection that still find expression in the liturgy and the life of the church. The Lord’s greeting, “Peace be with you,” is characteristic of most of his risen appearances. The gospel writers’ care in noting that these appearances were on the first day of the week reflects the early Church’s decision to move the day of worship to Sunday. Not only do the apostles see the risen Lord but also he gives the Holy Spirit to them, marking Sunday as the Spirit’s day. Above all, he passes on to them the power he received from his Father: the authority to forgive sins.

The other readings today are two different sorts of witness to the meaning of the resurrection: the first, from Acts, is Peter’s sermon about the resurrection when he is on trial before the council after being arrested for the very same sort of preaching he does here. John’s vision of the last days, in the Book of Revelation, begins with the salutation from the risen Lord who has made us his royal priesthood and the servants of God.

Our celebration of Christ’s victory over sin and death has only begun. Week after week, we will explore more deeply our new life as the baptized people of God. Week after week, the Lord will reveal himself to us in the breaking of the bread.

From The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year.
Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.