THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER - APRIL 14, 2024

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

When we actively choose to do something wrong as human beings, our first and immediate fear is the potential of anyone finding out. If anyone does find out and makes it known to others, our next fear is of the potential consequences we might face. Rarely do we find the time to truly reflect on what actual remorse might look like in our hearts - to have our failings made known and to face the consequences of our actions so that we may begin the path towards forgiveness. In God, though, He adds another layer of mercy to His forgiveness of our sins against Him: He does not blame us, reprimand us, or chastise us, but rather gives us new life in Him.

READ THIS SUNDAY'S MESSAGE

As we continue in the season of Easter, we are still rejoicing in the fact that our Savior conquered death and offered to bring us into new life. But in the readings, especially for this Third Sunday of Easter, we are also faced with the guilt of being those who are responsible for Christ going to his death in the first place. In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter tells the crowds that the God they worshiped walked among them, yet they handed him over and denied him of his basic dignity and rights; they put to death the author of life. We may consider that Peter was referencing the actual act of his arrest and crucifixion, but as beloved children of God, we must place ourselves in the position of the crowd here. Had the Jews not turned in Christ to be arrested, Christ (or God Incarnate) would have to die some other way; the reason for this is because he came specifically to offer himself as a sacrifice in atonement for not only our sins but for those of the whole world, as John tells us in the second reading. We may not have physically been in the room when Jesus was on trial, we may not have been in the mob that urged Pontius Pilate to crucify him, we may not have driven the nails into his hands, but we are all responsible for him being in that situation through our sins. The guilt of such knowledge can be crushing, but the Spirit speaks through Peter, and his words are not condemning. Instead, they are hope-filled: those who put Christ to death acted in ignorance, and God understands this. However, we are no longer in the same ignorance those men were 2000 years ago; now that we have been given the fullness of the truth of Christ and that we are responsible for maintaining the perfect sacrifice Christ offered, we must repent, turn away from sin, and be converted.

Christ’s first message whenever appearing to his followers in his resurrected body is “peace be with you.” There is no implicit or judgmental message of blame, or wondering why they abandoned him or allowed him to die in such a manner. His message is one of mercy, one of peace. More importantly, he stands among them with the intention of calming their hearts about the true purpose of his Incarnation. Throughout his public ministry, he meant to convey the fact that he was the fulfillment of all the scriptures. No matter what, he was to suffer and die as a perfect sacrifice for the atonement of the world’s sins, and he would rise on the third day. Every sin committed before, during, and after Christ shares a responsibility in his suffering, but he wants us to know he took on that suffering gladly because of just how intensely he loves us. If we want to reciprocate that fully sacrificial love, we must turn away from sin so that the one we love may not have suffered in vain. We put to death the author of life, but as author of life, he took our failings and brought us into life with him. In this, there is mercy, forgiveness, and peace.