Easter Sunday
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Mt 11:28-29).
The Lord invites us to find peace and joy in Him this Sabbath as we set aside time to worship and rest.
“Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God.”
Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word “Shabbat”, which literally means “to stop.” Keeping holy the Sabbath is not just a commandment, but an invitation. An invitation from the Lord to stop our work, stop our worrying, stop our striving. An opportunity to fid rest and to be renewed. A chance to refocus on the things that truly matter - the Lord, family, community. In our culture, Sunday has become a day to “catch up” on everything that didn’t get done during the week, and any time left over is often seen as an opportunity just to “get ahead” for next week. But we Christians have a chance now to remember what it means to keep the Sabbath. During this pandemic the Lord is calling us back to Himself, offering us a chance to reclaim the gift of the Sabbath, reminding us again what it means to “keep it holy.”
A basic principle for observing the Sabbath is only to do things that can be considered “rest” or “worship”. Here are a few ideas to consider to begin more to enter into the Sabbath. Maybe pick just one thing to focus on this Sunday, then next Sunday keep that practice in addition to a second one. And then the next Sunday add a third, to slowly over time begin to enter into this great gift of the Sabbath more and more.
Keep the Lord at the center - read the Mass readings ahead of time, participate in Mass, make more time for prayer, spend some extra time in silence focusing on the Lord
Try not to work - resist the urge to check your email, or catch up on a few things, and leave it for Monday
Plan ahead - take care of what needs to be done before Sunday, so plan the rest of your week to make sure you get the laundry done, have gone grocery shopping, etc.so you don’t have to do any of it on Sunday
Spend the day “screen free” - try to stay off social media, internet news, and your phone as much as possible. If you can’t make it the whole day try to go for at least a few hours
Be intentional with others - if you live with others (ie. family, roommates), is there something you can do together like play a game or go on a hike? If you live alone, can you reach out to a good friend and catch up?
Leisure, not entertainment - try to do things that are life giving; binge-watching a favorite show or playing video games for hours rarely leaves anyone with a new zeal for life. Read a good book, go on a long walk, develop a hobby.
PARTICIPATE
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). Each Sunday we are called to “keep holy the Sabbath” and although that may look different for right now we will still come together as a St. Ann community through the gift of technology.
MASS READINGS
GIVING
Take a few minutes to give to St. Ann Parish. Please give generously and sacrificially as an act of faith during these difficult times. You can give online:
After giving, offer ways to be generous of your whole self during this trying time for our world.
“Each must do as already determined without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.”
PROCESS
“When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place” (John 20:6-7).
St. John is surprisingly detailed when retelling the story of his encounter of the empty tomb: “When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place” (John 20:6-7). The burial cloth are described as “lying there” (Gk: ta othonia keimena) and the facecloth as “rolled up in a separate place” (Gk: to soudarion… xoris entetyligmenon eis hena topon). This is certainly not the way grave robbers would have left the tomb had they taken the body, but rather indicates that someone had taken an unusual degree of care, almost as if to give a sign to those who were to find it.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He gave His apostles tangible signs of the Resurrection: The tomb is empty. The burial cloths are lying there flat, fallen, as if Jesus’s body had just passed through them. The shroud around his head is wrapped, off to the side, almost as if to say to the disciples, “I will be back.” And St. John, arriving at the tomb, and noticing these little signs, “saw and believed” (Jn 20:7).
Jesus’s Resurrection is tangible. It is real. It matters. In fact, it changes everything.
It can be difficult for us to enter into the joy of the Resurrection because we experience Lent knowing the end of the story: Jesus rises from the dead. But for the apostles, this was not a foregone conclusion. It is helpful to read the Easter gospel readings and meditate on them and put yourself in the shoes of the apostles - what must they have been feeling? What would the tomb have looked like? Jesus’s last meal was on Holy Thursday, and yet we know that he eats fish with His apostles later. Jesus stopped breathing on Good Friday and so He must have had a first breath that Easter Sunday morning. What tangible signs of the Resurrection do you see in the readings? These tangible signs can be an important means through which God communicates to us and helps us remember the incredible mystery of our salvation.
Now as we celebrate the great joy of Easter, this most holy day of the year, let us ask God how we ourselves can be a tangible sign of the Resurrection in our daily life.
Practice
We handed out an Easter gift this year, a beautiful decal with the word “Risen.” One small way we can be a visible sign of the Resurrection is to proudly display this decal somewhere at home, on our car, or at work. Let this decal be a reminder to us that we are called to bear witness to the risen Christ.
How can you be a visible sign of the resurrection? Maybe you can bring joy to someone’s day who might be lonely or discouraged. If God gives you an opportunity to do so, you can respond with grace and joy if you do not get your way. Perhaps you can greet everyone you meet with a genuine smile.
There are an infinite number of ways to witness this Easter joy in your daily life: ask God to show you how He is calling you to bear witness to the joy of the Resurrection.
Discussion Questions
Think about how you can continue to reflect on God’s word to you this week, and how you can invite others into the conversation. You can use the questions below for personal reflection, or to grow with others. Be creative! You could consider gathering with friends and family, or starting a group text, or a group FaceTime, to discuss the questions below.
What stands out to you from the readings this week? What might God be speaking to you at this time?
Last week we focused on preparing for Holy Week. What preparations helped you enter more fully into Holy Week?
The author of Acts of the Apostles writes that the apostles “ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead” (Acts 10:41). Why do you think it is so important to him that Jesus ate and drank with them after rising from the dead?
The Letter to the Corinthians says “Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” What old yeast do you need to rid from your life in order to celebrate Easter with full joy?
Read through the Easter sequence again. What stands out to you?
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
Offer your thankful praises!
A Lamb the sheep redeems;
Christ, who only is sinless,
Reconciles sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous:
The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
What you saw, wayfaring.
“The tomb of Christ, who is living,
The glory of Jesus’ resurrection;
Bright angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting.
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he goes before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining.
Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia.
How has your life been changed because of the Resurrection?
What is one way this week you can be a tangible sign of the resurrection?