Second Sunday of Easter, April 23, 2006
BCP: Acts 3:12a, 13-15, 17-26 or Isaiah 26:2-9, 19; Psalm 111 or 118:19-24; 1 John 5:1-6 or Acts 3:12a, 13-15, 17-26; John 20:19-31.
RCL: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31.
Too often, it would seem, this Second Sunday in the Great Fifty Days of the Easter season is marked by a diminishment in our attitude of celebration. Popularly called “Low Sunday,” which it obviously should not be, it can be marked by a weary sigh rather than a joyful “Alleluia.” One might wonder why the somber mood of Lent can be maintained for 40 days, but the joyfulness of Easter is difficult to keep into a second week?
Many phrases can be found in this week’s scriptures that support the sense of joyful belonging that is to be found for the faithful when gathered together. Psalm 133 begins, “Oh, how good and pleasant it is, when brethren live together in unity!” The passage from Acts in the Revised Common Lectionary emphasizes the importance of community even more strongly: “Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul,” and “they had everything in common.” Our Easter joy is found and expressed within the community of the faithful.
This community extends beyond our relationship with each other. It is grounded in the communion with God into which we are, as today’s collect states, “reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body” in baptism. This is underscored in both of the lessons from 1 John. The verses from the first chapter emphasize that “our fellowship is with the Father and the Son.” In the fifth chapter, this fellowship is described in terms of familial intimacy, “Every one who believes … is a child of God.” Our communion with one another as brothers and sisters is a participation in fellowship with the Lord, whose presence we receive and make manifest together.
Today’s gospel affirms the interconnectedness of our fellowship with other believers and with the Lord. When absent from the community, Thomas is unable to come to faith. But when “Thomas was with them,” faith was inspired and new life bestowed. How blessed are we who “yet believe” as we gather together with fellow disciples and are inspired to believe that Christ is risen.
Look It Up
Read and compare the collect of the day and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, reflecting on your membership in “the body of Christ.”
Think About It
Consider Jesus’ words to Thomas, as well as our understanding of a sacrament being “an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace.”
Next Sunday
Third Sunday of Easter, April 30, 2006
BCP: Acts 4:5-12 or Micah 4:1-5; Psalm 98 or 98:1-5; 1 John 1:1—2:2 or Acts 4:5-12; Luke 24:36b-48.
RCL: Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48
