Daily Readings - Sun Apr 21 2019

³⁴Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism³⁷You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached--³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.³⁹"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,⁴⁰but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.⁴¹He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen--by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

First Reading - Colossians 3.1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5.6b-8

Colossians

Chapter 3

¹Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

1 Corinthians

Chapter 5

⁶Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?⁷Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.⁸Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

John

Chapter 20

¹Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.⁶Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,⁷as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Sermon

The readings today invite us to reflect on the profound mystery of Christ’s resurrection and its transformative power in our lives. In the first reading from Acts, Peter proclaims the universal message of salvation, emphasizing that God does not show favoritism and that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are the fulfillment of God’s plan. This passage reminds us that the Gospel is for all people, and it calls us to be witnesses of Christ’s love and redemption. The second reading from Colossians encourages us to live with our hearts set on heavenly things, for our true life is hidden with Christ in God. This is a call to detach ourselves from worldly concerns and to seek what truly lasts. In the Gospel, John’s account of the empty tomb highlights the astonishment and faith of the disciples as they encounter the reality of the resurrection. The carefully folded linens and the separate cloth suggest order and purpose, hinting at the divine plan behind Christ’s rising. These readings are deeply interconnected. Peter’s testimony in Acts flows from the event of the resurrection, which is the foundation of our faith. The Colossians reading builds on this by urging us to live in the light of Christ’s victory over death. The Gospel narrative of the empty tomb serves as the historical and spiritual anchor for both. Together, they remind us that the resurrection is not just an event of the past but a living reality that shapes our present and future. As we apply these readings to our daily lives, let us ask ourselves: Are we living as people who have been raised with Christ? Do we seek the things that are above, or are we still mired in earthly concerns? The resurrection calls us to hope, to trust in God’s plan, and to live with joy and purpose. Like the disciples, we are called to enter the tomb of our fears, doubts, and limitations, and to emerge with renewed faith and courage. Let us allow the power of the resurrection to transform us, so that we may bear witness to Christ’s love in a world that so desperately needs it.