It’s a little bit strange liturgically to have Easter on Christmas Day, but that’s how things worked out in this series.\u00a0 I’m going to quote a passage from the Gospel of St. John, which illustrates the Resurrection claim and connects to many of the issues I’m going to discuss in this series.\u00a0 (I know that many biblical critics believe that the Fourth Gospel isn’t a historically reliable source, but for reasons that will be explained later, I\u00a0don’t agree with them.)\u00a0 Note that this narrative occurs after the Crucifixion, so according to the Gospels, Jesus has already performed a bunch of miracles in public, and then been killed. I won’t add any more commentary here\u2014that’s coming later.\u00a0 So then, folks, hear the word of the Lord:<\/em><\/p>\n Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.\u00a0 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, \u201cThey have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don\u2019t know where they have put him!\u201d<\/p>\n So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.\u00a0Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.\u00a0He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.\u00a0 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus\u2019 head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.\u00a0 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.\u00a0 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)<\/p>\n Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus\u2019 body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.<\/p>\n They asked her, \u201cWoman, why are you crying?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey have taken my Lord away,\u201d she said, \u201cand I don\u2019t know where they have put him.\u201dAt this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.<\/p>\n \u201cWoman<\/span>,\u201d he said, \u201cwhy are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n Thinking he was the gardener, she said, \u201cSir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.\u201d<\/p>\n Jesus said to her, \u201cMary.\u201d\u00a0 She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, \u201cRabboni!\u201d (which means Teacher).<\/p>\n Jesus said, \u201cDo not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, \u2018I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: \u201cI have seen the Lord!\u201d And she told them that he had said these things to her.<\/p>\n On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, \u201cPeace be with you!\u201d\u00a0After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.<\/p>\n Again Jesus said, \u201cPeace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.\u201d\u00a0 And with that he breathed on them and said, \u201cReceive the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.\u201d<\/p>\n Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.\u00a0So the other disciples told him, \u201cWe have seen the Lord!\u201d<\/p>\n But he said to them, \u201cUnless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, \u201cPeace be with you!\u201d Then he said to Thomas, \u201cPut your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas said to him, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d<\/p>\n Then Jesus told him, \u201cBecause you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.\u201d<\/p>\n Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.\u00a0But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.<\/p>\n (John 20<\/a>)<\/p>\n Merry Christmas, everyone!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s a little bit strange liturgically to have Easter on Christmas Day, but that’s how things worked out in this series.\u00a0 I’m going to quote a passage from the Gospel of St. John, which illustrates the Resurrection claim and connects … Continue reading
\n<\/em><\/p>\n