Call Us: 617-846-7400

Address: 320 Winthrop St, Winthrop, MA 02152

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • About
    • Ministers and Staff
    • Facilities
    • History
    • Links
  • News & Events
  • Donations
    • Donate Now
    • Planned Gifts
    • Holiday Meal Donations
    • Holiday Flowers
    • Grand Annual Collection
    • Commitment to Parish Life
    • Planned Gifts
  • Ministries
    • Community Help
    • Baptism
    • Parish Ministries
      • Bereavement Group
      • Collections
      • Eucharistic Ministers
      • Kenyan Community
      • Lectors
      • Liturgy Committee
      • Music Ministry and Choirs
      • RCIA
    • Committees
      • Commitment to Parish Life Committee
      • Buildings and Property Committee
      • Communications and Technology
      • Finance Committee
    • CYO Basketball
    • Weddings
      • Marriage Prep Program
  • Religious Education
    • Confirmation
      • Service – Why is it important?
      • Choosing your Sponsor
      • Choosing a Confirmation Name
  • Contact

Call Us: 617-846-7400

Address: 320 Winthrop St, Winthrop, MA 02152

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube

St. John the Evangelist Church

St. John the Evangelist Church

  • About
    • Ministers and Staff
    • Facilities
    • History
    • Links
  • News & Events
  • Donations
    • Donate Now
    • Planned Gifts
    • Holiday Meal Donations
    • Holiday Flowers
    • Grand Annual Collection
    • Commitment to Parish Life
    • Planned Gifts
  • Ministries
    • Community Help
    • Baptism
    • Parish Ministries
      • Bereavement Group
      • Collections
      • Eucharistic Ministers
      • Kenyan Community
      • Lectors
      • Liturgy Committee
      • Music Ministry and Choirs
      • RCIA
    • Committees
      • Commitment to Parish Life Committee
      • Buildings and Property Committee
      • Communications and Technology
      • Finance Committee
    • CYO Basketball
    • Weddings
      • Marriage Prep Program
  • Religious Education
    • Confirmation
      • Service – Why is it important?
      • Choosing your Sponsor
      • Choosing a Confirmation Name
  • Contact

Bishop Barron’s Gospel Reflection

Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of the Lord
JOHN 20:1-9
Friends, our Easter Gospel is John’s startlingly concise account of the Resurrection.

The Easter declaration, properly understood, has always been and still is an explosion, an earthquake, a revolution. For the Easter faith—on clear display from the earliest days of the Christian movement—is that Jesus of Nazareth, a first-century Jew from the northern reaches of the Promised Land, who had been brutally put to death by the Roman authorities, is alive again through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Once we’ve come to some clarity about the Resurrection claim itself, we can begin to see why it still matters so massively. If the Resurrection is only a bland symbol or a projection of our desires, then tyrants have nothing to fear from it. But if it is a fact of history, an act of the living God in space and time, then sinners have real cause to repent.

A second great implication of the Resurrection is that heaven and earth are coming together. The hope of ancient Israel was not a jail break, not an escape from this world, but precisely the unification of heaven and earth in a great marriage. Recall a central line from the prayer that Jesus bequeathed to his Church: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The bodily Resurrection of Jesus—”the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”—is the powerful sign that the two orders are in fact coming together.

Reflect: Why is the Resurrection really the startling “Good News” of the Gospel? How does it give you hope to celebrate it today?

Share:
Prev
Next

Latest Reflections

Gospel Reflection from Notre Dame

Sean McGraw ’92, ’00 M.Div. Time is...

Daily Inspiration from JesuitPrayer.org

Acts 14:21-27 After they had proclaimed the...

Bishop Barron’s Gospel Reflection

John 13:31-33a,...

Gospel Reflection from Notre Dame

Bill Doyle ’85 ND Parent Director,...

© Copyright 2012-2021 by St John the Evangelist All Rights Reserved

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube