Musings for Easter 3

Sunday, April 22, 2012
Third Sunday of Easter

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Deb Johnson

Day of the Creation (Día de la Creación) (LLC)
This observance invites us to notice and give God thanks for the wonders of the created universe. As stewards of that creation, we are also challenged to be careful in our use of it.

Acts 3: 12 - 19
¹²When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, "You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? ¹³The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. ¹⁴But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, ¹⁵and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
¹⁷And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. ¹⁹Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.

Psalm 4

¹Answer me when I call, O God, defender ^|of my cause;

you set me free when I was in distress;

have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

²"You mortals, how long will you dishonor my glory;

how long will you love illusions and seek after lies?"

³Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful;

the LORD will hear me when I call.

⁴Tremble, then, and do not sin;

speak to your heart in silence upon your bed.

⁵Offer the appointed sacrifices,

and put your trust in the LORD.

⁶Many are saying, "Who will show us any good?"

Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

⁷You have put gladness in my heart,

more than when grain and wine abound.

⁸In peace, I will lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O LORD, make me rest secure.

I John 3: 1 – 7
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ²Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. ³And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
⁴Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. ⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Luke 24: 36b – 48

^36b"Peace be with you." ³⁷They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." ⁴⁰And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate in their presence.

⁴⁴Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

REFLECTION

Reflect on these phrases:

Know that the LORD does wonders for the faithful

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.

Peace be with you.

God fulfilled what he had foretold.

In peace, I will lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me rest secure.

These lessons are filled with promises … and as I read them again there is a wave a calm that washes over me. How can I doubt the risen Christ? How can I doubt the love God has for you and for me.

After all the pageantry of Easter (the music, the word, the sacrament, the flowers, the worship) I feel the comfort of the love of God. I know that the Lord does wonders for us. I know that I am a child of God. I know that God fulfilled what was foretold. Tonight, I will lie down and sleep, for the Lord makes me rest secure.

May peace be with you.

LET US PRAY

For those this night who lay down in fear

For those who this day are called

For the children who are marked as a Child of God and those to partake of the sacrament of holy communion

For the creation and all its glory

For peace in our hearts.