Easter Saturday Yrs A BC 2026
Easter • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsThere are two themes I see in our readings. The first is that the testimony of the witnesses was not believed until God so willed it. The second is that the witnesses had been companions of Jesus and could not stop talking about what they had seen and heard, for they knew it was in accord with God’s command. We likewise need to spend time with the resurrected Christ so his presence burns in our heart and occupies our thoughts. And then we too need to share, not in a lecture but naturally in whatever form God leads us, because we are so full of our experience of Jesus we cannot stop sharing and know it is God’s will.
Notes
Transcript
Title
Title
Witnesses to the Resurrected Christ
Outline
Outline
Two themes in our readings stand out for me
Two themes in our readings stand out for me
First, “They did not believe.”
Seconds, “They had been companions of Jesus” and “It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”
Let me unpack them a bit.
First, “They did not believe.”
First, “They did not believe.”
Whether it is the 11 in the upper room listening to Mary Magdalene, or the 11 listening to the two who had met Jesus on the way to Emmaus, or even some of those who saw Jesus themselves on a mountain in Galilee, hearing or seeing was not believing. And sometimes, as in the case of the Sanhedrin, they not only did not believe the witnesses, but they were hostile towards them and tried to shut them up.
Realize that we may have had an experience, we may be excited about the resurrection, or we may simply be intellectually convinced, but it will not necessarily convince others. There is something else necessary and that is the work of the Spirit. As our narratives unfold Jesus convinces those he chose to convince when he chose to convince them. So we can be at peace with negative reactions. We may have had them ourselves.
Second, “they had been companions of Jesus “ and “it is impossible for us not to speak”
Second, “they had been companions of Jesus “ and “it is impossible for us not to speak”
While even Jesus’ companions did not believe at first, once they did everything fell into place. They remembered what Jesus said. And what qualified Mary Magdalene or Peter and John, or eventually all the disciples to proclaim the resurrection is not their background or education but that they had been companions of Jesus.
And therefore they kept on talking about him and his resurrection for they knew what reality was. And they also knew that it was the will of God to proclaim it. They knew Jesus had said, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” And when rebuked and told to shut up they said, “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”
Whether ignored, laughed off, or threatened, and later beaten and killed, they knew what burned in their heart and what God had commanded. And they did it.
So Sisters [so friends], let us be like these witnesses
So Sisters [so friends], let us be like these witnesses
Let us spent time being companions of Jesus, time in prayer and adoration, time in reading and meditation, time that is not necessarily scheduled but desired. And in the scheduled times let us pray for the grace of focus and attentiveness.
And let us share what burns in our hearts. not in lengthy talks, unless you are called to that, but in comments about our experience, in asides musing out loud about what Jesus would think about this or that, in explanations when people have questions.
Then not only will Jesus be pleased but many people will be praising God because of what they have heard through us.
