Catholic Bible Scholars

Easter 2A

Brant Pitre

THE MASS READINGS EXPLAINED

Fr. Francis Martin

THE WORD PROCLAIMED INSTITUTE

Kieran J. O'Mahony, OSA

HEARERS OF THE WORD

Wikipedia Articles

Easter 2A

1st Reading

1st Reading – Search

2nd Reading

2nd Reading

Gospel Reading

Gospel

Encountering the Word

Easter 2A

1st Reading

True Christian Fellowship

Acts 2:42-47

St. Luke, the inspired writer of Acts of the Apostles, tells us that three characteristics identified the members of the Jerusalem faith community. See Acts 2:42-47 and CCC 949, 1329, 1342-43, 2624.

They were devoted to hearing and putting into practice the teaching of the Apostles.
They lived communally as a family, sharing their goods in common.
They centered their religious life on the Eucharistic: the “breaking of the bread” in Holy Communion.

You will recall that many members of Jesus’ faith community were from the Galilee in the north and had left their former occupations to follow Him. Those who lived in Jerusalem helped to support the Galileans and the poor who joined the community by selling property and material goods and sharing the money to support the fledgling Church in Jerusalem. Although “breaking bread” suggests a typical Jewish meal in which the father or the one presiding over the meal broke the bread and pronounced a blessing before dividing it. For Christians, “breaking the bread” became the phrase to describe the Eucharist and the Agape supper that they ate before the Eucharist. At this point in the early Church, they celebrated in private homes, like the Upper Room (Acts 2:42, 46; 20:7, 11; 24:35; 1 Cor 10:16; 11:20-34; Didache, 9:3-4). They still attended the daily Liturgy of Worship at the Temple since, at this stage, they did not see a dividing line between Old and New Covenant worship. To them, Christ was simply the fulfillment of what came before. God blessed them through a daily increase in their numbers until the day came when the small community in Jerusalem had spread the Gospel of salvation to the ends of the earth, as Jesus commanded them (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:26-27; Acts 1:8).

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2nd Reading

God’s Mercy Demonstrated

1 Pt 1:3-9

In his letter to the universal Church, St. Peter offers praise to God the Father, who he praises as the source of mercy. In verse 3, Peter offers what in the Jewish tradition is called a “berakah” (literal Hebrew = “blessing”). It acknowledges God’s mercy as the basis for the New Covenant order made through the redemptive work of God the Son in God’s divine plan for humanity’s salvation. Speaking of God’s mercy as the foundation for the blessings received in the New Covenant in Christ, we can appreciate that there is a continuity of the works of God’s mercy in the Old Testament fulfilled in the redemptive work of Jesus our Redeemer-Messiah.

In verses 3-5, St. Peter gives praise to God the Father for two benefits of His divine mercy:

A new birth to a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” The Resurrection of Christ is the cause and source of our new birth into God’s New Covenant family.
The powerful security of our inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. All earthly treasures are subject to time and decay, but our divine inheritance cannot perish and will never lose its glory because it is kept in Heaven for us by God.

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Gospel

Living Faith

Jn 20:19-31

Here John refers to the “Twelve” as a “perfect unity” even though there are only eleven at this point (they will make the number twelve again in Acts 1:23-26). Poor St. Thomas is always remembered for his remark in verse 25, which must have come from his discouragement and his fear. He seems not to be remembered for his courageous statement in John 11:16 when he declared that he was prepared to die with Jesus! One day, he would indeed keep that vow as he died a martyr’s death for love of his Savior. According to Church history, St. Thomas was martyred at the altar of his Church in India. He had faithfully carried the Gospel to what was then the end of the earth!

How many times have we been guilty of the same unbelief when we reject the teaching of Mother Church in favor of secular values and morals? How many Catholics in government have stated that the Church must remain separated from State, and since the Law of the land allows abortion, how can they stand against it? Do they need to see the nails in His hands? How many of us question the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist or the perpetual virginity of His blessed mother? Do we need to see the wound in His side? To believe in the name of Jesus Christ is to accept all that He taught and to be obedient to the teaching of His Church. There is no such thing as a “liberal Catholic.” Liberal and conservative are political terms. There are orthodox, true doctrine Catholics, or there are failed Catholics. Catholicism is not a cafeteria-style religion. It is an all or nothing religion. Place your finger in His wounds, and like Thomas cry out, “My Lord and My God!

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