Daily Readings - Tue Apr 23 2019

³⁶Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."³⁷Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"³⁸And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."⁴⁰And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."⁴¹So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

John

Chapter 20

¹¹But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.¹²And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.¹³They 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."¹⁴Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.¹⁵Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" 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."¹⁶Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).¹⁷Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for 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.'"¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"--and that he had said these things to her.

Sermon

The readings today invite us to reflect on the transformative power of faith and the call to conversion. In the first reading from Acts, Peter’s bold proclamation to the crowd after Pentecost leads to a profound moment of repentance. The people, struck by the truth of Jesus’ identity as Lord and Messiah, ask, “What shall we do?” Peter’s response is clear: repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit. This moment marks the beginning of the Church, as three thousand souls embrace the faith. The reading reminds us that faith is not passive but active—it calls us to conversion and a new way of life. The Gospel from John presents a deeply personal and emotional encounter between Mary Magdalene and the risen Jesus. Mary, grief-stricken and searching for the body of Jesus, is met with the surprising presence of the angels and then Jesus himself. Her tears of sorrow turn to tears of joy as she recognizes the Lord. Jesus’ instruction to her, “Do not cling to me,” is not a dismissal but a commission. He sends her to the disciples with the news of his resurrection, making her the first evangelist. This passage highlights the intimacy of God’s love and the call to share that love with others. Both readings point to the universal call to conversion and the mission of spreading the Good News. Like the crowd in Acts, we are called to turn away from sin and embrace the gift of new life in Christ. Like Mary Magdalene, we are called to encounter Jesus personally and then share that encounter with others. In our daily lives, this means being open to moments of grace, seeking repentance when we fall short, and living as witnesses to the resurrection. May we, like Mary, joyfully proclaim, “I have seen the Lord!” and may we, like Peter, invite others to experience the transformative power of faith.