EASTER SATURDAY FIRST READING: Acts 4:13-21 PSALM: Psalm 118: 1, 14-21 GOSPEL: Mark 16:9-15 THEME: GO AND PREACH THE GOSPEL!

For some Christians, the celebration of Easter ends with a picnic and not with a mission. Once the picnic comes to an end, Easter goes into a coma and they return to their old way of life. The reality, however, from a biblical perspective looks different. For the early Christian community, the experience of the risen Christ and the subsequent infilling of the Holy Spirit led to a massive evangelization drive that culminated in testimonies of conversions to the Christian faith.

In today's First Reading, Peter and John are described as "uneducated laymen" (cf. Acts 4:13). The deliberate qualification of these two as uneducated by the author of Acts is to highlight the fact that the power at work in them was supernatural. The leaders, elders and scribes of the Jewish community were virtually mystified by their boldness in the proclamation of the Gospel. What changed these ordinary men into extraordinary persons was their experience of the risen Christ. That experience filled them with so much power that they declared, It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:20).

In the Gospel text, the risen Christ addressed his disciples as follows: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation (Mk. 16:15). The early Christians did not have all the modern means of transportation and communication that we have at our disposal and yet they availed themselves generously in preaching  for the Gospel, and left a positive mark on their generation.

The biggest hindrance to the proclamation of the Gospel today is that there are many educated Christians who have heard and read widely about the resurrected Christ, and yet handle the mysteries of faith without any faith. Consequently, they are unwilling to move an inch to preach the Gospel.

During this octave of Easter, as Jesus Christ reveals himself to us individually and collectively, he sends us forth to go and preach the Gospel to all creation. If we truly love Jesus, we would take his word seriously and set out to witness to the power of the resurrection.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, fill me with power and make me a witness of your resurrection. Amen

Nana Amponsah Francis, OP

DATE: 21ST APRIL 2017 EASTER FRIDAY FIRST READING: Acts 4:1-12 PSALM: Psalm 118:1-2, 4, 22-27 GOSPEL: John 21: 1-14 THEME: BY THE FIRESIDE

Sitting by the fireside in the socio-cultural world of the Bible is very significant. In a world where there is no electricity, fire does not only bring light and warmth but also serves as a rallying point where stories are told and memories relived.

The expression charcoal fire appears twice in the New Testament. The first instance is John 18:18 and the second is John 21:9. In the first instance, Peter, in front of a charcoal fire, denies his master three times. In the second instance, Peter encounters the very person he denied by a "charcoal fire." This is the context of the Gospel text for today.

By the fireside on the shores of the sea of Tiberias, Jesus prepares a meal for Peter, the man who had denied him, and says to him and the other disciples, "Come and have breakfast" (Jn 21:12). This encounter between Peter and his master was not one of judgement but healing. The resurrected Christ chooses to heal the wounded memory of Peter with the power of love. In fact some few verses further (see Jn 21: 15-17), Jesus, with a threefold question, offers Peter the opportunity to reaffirm his love for him three times as a personal restitution for the three times he denied him.

The resurrection of Jesus brings forgiveness and healing. We too may have certain places and events that evoke memories of pain and shame. Perhaps, we carry a burden of guilt on account of a choice we made that led to a denial of our master and saviour Jesus Christ.  In this season of Easter, the resurrected Christ leads us down memory lane, not to condemn us but to offer us the opportunity to be forgiven and healed. He sets a table before us and says, Come and have breakfast.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, many times I have walked away from you but you always come in search of me. Your love for me is beyond measure. Renewed by the Eucharistic food that you offer me daily, I pledge my love for you and resolve to follow you anew. Amen
  
Nana Amponsah Francis, OP

EASTER WEDNESDAY FIRST READING: Acts 3:1-10 PSALM: Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9 GOSPEL: Luke 24:13-35 THEME: A BURNING HEART

Something happens internally and overflows externally after every true encounter with the risen Christ. Like a lighted candle in the dark, the risen Christ sets our hearts aflame and dispels every gloom that seeks to engulf us.

The Gospel text describes the initial mood of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus as one of sadness (cf. Lk. 24:17). However, after their encounter with Christ something happened to them -- "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Lk. 24:32). The effect of that experience was that they set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions. Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread. (Lk. 24:33 & 35).

The fearful Peter who denied his master three times during the passion of Christ is also seen in a different light in the First Reading. As he looked intently at the cripple from birth, he was fully convinced that the sick man could walk again because of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, he declared, rise up and walk. And it happened. The cripple jumped up, stood and walked into the temple praising God. The power of the resurrection had definitely transformed Peter and made him a man full of faith and boldness in the Lord.

The risen Christ is still setting hearts aflame and transforming lives. He walks with us as he did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. As we listen to him, wholeheartedly, he sets our hearts aflame and makes us witnesses of his resurrection. As witnesses of the resurrection, we too, like Peter, receive divine ability to exercise authority over every difficult situation and make things happen. Yes Jesus is alive and in him, we too are alive with a heart burning with the flame of faith.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, set my heart on fire and send me forth as your witness. Amen

Nana Amponsah Francis, OP

EASTER TUESDAY FIRST READING: Acts 2:36-41 PSALM: Psalm 33:4-5, 18-20, 22 GOSPEL: John 20:11-18 THEME: WITNESSES OF THE RESURRECTION

Women, according to Jewish law, were not qualified to be witnesses. In fact in Israel, the disqualification of women as witnesses was abolished only in 1951 by the Equality of Women's Rights Act 5711.

Strikingly, in the Gospels, women are said to be the first witnesses of the resurrection of Christ. This proves that the Gospel writers were very truthful about what they narrated as events surrounding the resurrection of Christ. They simply narrated what had happened. If the resurrection accounts were cleverly invented myths, the Gospel writers, in the context of their time, would definitely not have used women as their first witnesses.

Our Gospel text for today singles out Mary Magdalene as the first to have witnessed the resurrected Christ. She subsequently received a message from the risen Lord to be delivered to the disciples. For this reason many Church writings consider her as an apostle to the apostles.

The divine choice of Mary Magdalene, a woman who was delivered of seven demons (cf. Luke 8:2), as a witness of the resurrection of Jesus drives home an important lesson, i.e. the choice of God is not based on human criteria. God can choose anybody he wants to proclaim his message. It is all a question of who is available. Whereas the others had left the tomb and gone home, Mary Magdalene kept watch seeking the Lord in tears. Her waiting was not in vain. She saw the Lord and became a witness.

The mode of Christ's revelation of himself to each one of us differs but indeed he does reveal himself in particular ways to every believer. We need to be prayerfully attentive and discerning and we will certainly experience the power of the resurrection in the events of our lives. May this octave of Easter, therefore, be a time of faith-sharing, as we witness to one another how the resurrected Christ has revealed himself to us.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, my heart is ready. Make me a witness of your resurrection. Amen

Nana Amponsah, OP

EASTER MONDAY FIRST READING: Acts 2: 14, 22-33 PSALM: Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11 GOSPEL: Matthew 28:8-15 THEME: THE PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION

In a world that is becoming increasingly secular, materialistic and sophisticated, our faith in the resurrection of Jesus is destined to be queried. People are asking, What shows that Jesus resurrected? Where is the proof?  It is not enough to say that my catechist or pastor told me so. Neither is it enough to say that I read it in the Bible. Even the evidence of an empty tomb was not enough to convince everyone in Jerusalem that Jesus had risen from the dead.

In today's Gospel text, we are afforded an insight into a challenge that the early Christians faced in their quest to proclaim the Easter message. We read that the chief priests and the elders, in an attempt to stop the message of the resurrection from spreading, gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, "Tell people, `His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' (Matt. 28:12-13). This is one of many such arguments that have been raised over the years to water-down faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, the transformed lives of the disciples was the greatest argument in favour of the resurrection. One such transformed life was that of Peter. In the First Reading, filled with the power of the resurrection, Peter boldly stood up and declared, God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. (Acts 2:24, 32)

In the face of the various attempts to discredit our faith in Jesus and his church, it is not enough to know the Dogmas, Canon Laws and the Catechism of the Church (very important though they are). What this generation needs most is our shared-personal-faith experiences of Jesus Christ. Each one of us should be able to say confidently, I know the one that I have placed my faith in. A transformed life is the greatest testimony that affirms that indeed Jesus is alive. Your beautiful life of faith is the proof of the resurrection.

I pray that the resurrected Christ may reveal himself anew to us as he did to Mary Magdalene and the other disciples, and that our faith may be so deep that no argument whatsoever can break us down. May we be filled with so much joy on account of the resurrection that we would run to announce the good news that Jesus is alive!!!

EASTER SUNDAY FIRST READING: Acts 10:34, 37-43 PSALM: Psalm 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23 SECOND READING: Colossians 3:1-4 OR 1Corinthians 5:6-8 GOSPEL: John 20:1-9 THEME: HE IS ALIVE!

On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene ran, Peter ran and the beloved disciple ran. It was not an organised jogging or keep-fit exercise. It was an unusual morning. Something had happened. The tomb of Jesus was empty.

Some biblical scholars are of the view that the piece of information given in John 20:7, which reads the cloth that had been on Jesus' head was not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself is a corroborating evidence of the resurrection. The point is that no thief would have taken the time to unwrap the corpse of Jesus and neatly fold his burial clothes in the tomb.

In John's Gospel account of the resurrection, the time of the morning that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb is described as still dark (Jn. 20:1). This emphasis by John, unlike the other Gospel accounts of the resurrection, serve a purpose. Reading further, we are told Till this moment they had still not understood the scripture, that he must rise from the dead (Jn. 20:9). The death of Jesus was a mystery for his followers (a kind of darkness) but his resurrection becomes the key that would unlock that mystery and bring light to their understanding.

No matter how hard you press a calabash into a pool of water, it will surface on top of the water. Why? The nature of the calabash is such that it cannot stay under water. Jesus Christ had a divine nature and this nature was such that he could not stay in the tomb forever. Death could not hold him captive.

The fact is Jesus is alive and the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit who lives inside a Christian. The implication is very deep. It means no tomb, be it physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, financial (name it), has the power to hold a Spirit-filled Christian forever. If you find yourself in any tomb like or apparently hopeless situation, take heart and prophetically tell that tomb, it is just a matter of time and that you shall arise.