April 17, 2022, Easter Sunday (Year C)
In the readings for this Easter Sunday, we meet some of the most prominent people of the Bible, those who are the most well-known to us. These include Peter, Paul, Mary Magdalene, and the elusive “Beloved Disciple.” It is the witness account of these disciples, and others like them, which helped to form what we know as “Christianity” today.
In the First Reading from the book of Acts (Acts 10:34a, 37-43), we hear from Peter. A fisherman who was originally known as Simon and was one of the closest companions of Jesus. Peter was well-known for his blunders, but also his remarkable intuition about Jesus. One time the disciples were caught in a terrible storm on the sea when they saw Jesus walking on the water. When Peter asked Jesus to allow him to walk on the water, he lost faith and began to sink (Mt. 14:31). Another time when Jesus was making a prediction about his passion and death to the disciples, Peter rebuked him saying, “This shall never happen to You!” But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mt. 16:22-23).
And lastly was the time when Jesus was being tried by the high priest after the Last Supper. The disciples were afraid for their lives, and they all had fled. Peter, however, followed at a distance. But when he was accused by other bystanders as being one of the disciples, he claimed he did not know Jesus and denied him three times. (Mt. 26:69-75; cf. Mk 14:66–72; Lk 22:56–62; Jn 18:17–18, 25–27.).
Despite his weaknesses, Peter demonstrated a keen faith in Jesus as the Son of God. When Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” But when Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” Peter responded, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Mt. 16:13-16).
At this revelation, Jesus gave special status to Peter. He changed his name from Simon, to Peter, which means rock, and told him, “On this rock I will build my church. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Mt. 16:18a, 19, cf. Mk. 8:27–29; Lk. 9:18–20).
After the Resurrection, Simon Peter became one of the leaders of the early Church. He had been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and spent the rest of his life preaching about Jesus. This is where we find him in today’s First Reading. He is telling the people about the healings done by Jesus, and about his death and resurrection. He also tells them that, as a witness chosen by Christ, he has been commissioned to preach that “Everyone who believes in Jesus will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43).
In the Second Reading we hear from Paul, another of the prominent apostles, although he was not called by Jesus until after the resurrection. Paul was a devout Jew, who, being taught by the Pharisees, originally began his career persecuting the Christians of the early church. But one day when he was traveling to Damascus with a letter from the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to capture Christians there, he had a conversion experience. He heard the voice of Jesus asking him, “Why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4).
Paul was struck blind by the bright light he had witnessed and was taken by his companions to Damascus. Here he was baptized and regained his sight. He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus, and “He began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). Paul went on to convert hundreds of Jews and Gentiles to Christianity, establishing churches all throughout the Roman Empire. The letters he wrote to these churches proclaiming the Gospel message of salvation fill a good portion of the New Testament as we have it today.
The third person we hear about today is Mary Magdalene. The first mention of her in the Gospels is when Jesus healed her from demonic possession, exorcizing from her seven evil spirits (LK. 8:1-3). Contrary to common belief she is not the woman who was caught in adultery, nor the one who used her hair to anoint the feet of Jesus.
Her loyalty is reflected in the fact that she was one of the few followers who stayed near Jesus during his death and burial and also returned after the Sabbath to anoint his body. She was the first person to discover the empty tomb and encounter the risen Jesus who she, at first, mistook as the gardener. And she was the first to bring the news of the risen Jesus to his other followers. The record of her eyewitness account as a woman in a patriarchal society lends particular credence to her testimony.
There is one more person from today to consider, in addition to Peter, Paul, and Mary (not to be confused with the music group from the sixties). He is known as the “Beloved Disciple” or “the disciple who Jesus loved.” He is featured only in John’s Gospel and there are a few theories as to his identity. Most scholars identify him as the disciple John, the fisherman and son of Zebedee. John 21:24 states that the Gospel of John is based on the written testimony of this disciple.
The “Beloved Disciple” possessed special prominence among the other disciples. It is this disciple who reclined closely to Jesus at the Last Supper (Jn. 13:23). After Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was the only disciple brave enough to stay close to Jesus during his trial. (Jn. 18:15). Later at the crucifixion, Jesus entrusted the care of his mother to him, saying, “Woman, here is your son”, and to the Beloved Disciple, “Here is your mother.” (Jn. 19:26-27).
In today’s Gospel (Jn. 20:1-9), when Mary Magdalene discovers the empty tomb, she runs to tell the Beloved Disciple and Peter. The two men rush to the empty tomb and the Beloved Disciple is the first to arrive. Although Peter is the first to enter the tomb, the Beloved Disciple is the first to believe even though “they did not yet understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead.” (Jn. 20:9).
What we encounter in the readings on this Easter Sunday are four different witnesses, with four totally distinct backgrounds attesting to the risen Christ. One wonders why from the time of Jesus in the first century until today there are still those who deny the truth to which they testify – that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, died, and was raised from the dead by God through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is only by believing in these facts that we are brought to eternal life.
