MONDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER - Mt 28:8-15 - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

MONDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER - Mt 28:8-15 - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

READING OF THE DAY

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Acts 2:14, 22-33

On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up with the Eleven,

raised his voice, and proclaimed:

“You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.

Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.

“You who are children of Israel, hear these words.

Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God

with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,

which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.

This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,

you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.

But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,

because it was impossible for him to be held by it.

For David says of him:

I saw the Lord ever before me,

with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;

my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,

because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,

nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.

My brothers, one can confidently say to you

about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,

and his tomb is in our midst to this day.

But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him

that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,

he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,

that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld

nor did his flesh see corruption.

God raised this Jesus;

of this we are all witnesses.

Exalted at the right hand of God,

he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit

that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear.”

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew

Mt 28:8-15

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,

fearful yet overjoyed,

and ran to announce the news to his disciples.

And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.

They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.

Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,

and there they will see me.”

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city

and told the chief priests all that had happened.

The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel;

then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,

telling them, “You are to say,

‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’

And if this gets to the ears of the governor,

we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”

The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.

And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.

MONDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER - Mt 28:8-15

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God lets everyone know: Jesus Christ has truly resurrected after three days of death. He conquered death. Death had no power over His life. He only died once and will never die again. He will live forever.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is revealed through the empty tomb. No one was allowed by God to directly see the Lord's resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is recognized through faith, through life experience, through the words of Jesus that foretold the apostles, as well as those who followed Him: He would die and after three days He would rise again.

Jesus' prediction was fulfilled: when the women visited His tomb, they only found the tomb empty and bandages wrapped around it. The guards also witnessed the empty tomb. They did not see the body of Jesus there anymore. Both sides believe that God has been resurrected. As for those women, when they believed in the Lord's resurrection, they brought that faith and went out to spread the Good News of the Lord's resurrection to everyone, proclaiming: God was resurrected to bring eternal life to humanity. As for the guards, they also saw and believed that Jesus' resurrection was a miracle. But they were blinded by money, so they gave false testimony that someone had come to steal Jesus' body. So in the same event of the Lord's resurrection, one side testifies to the truth, and the other side testifies falsely.

Same in today's times! The truth, which is God's truth, always faces opposition. Those who believe and live according to God's Word always testify to the truth. Those who do not believe oppose God. They deliberately falsely testified, even though they knew the good deeds He did were true.

The same is true of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are true witnesses, true testimonies, who testify that He is truly risen. And continuing until today, there are also true witnesses and testimonies that have testified about the love, power and mercy of God that is always bestowed upon humans to save many sinful souls. Those who give false testimony because of their love for money are following the path of Satan. These people are trying every way to destroy the work of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of God who came to earth to become human to bring salvation to humanity.

Today, God calls everyone:

- to choose wisely to follow the path of God's light and truth.

- Be courageous to testify to the truth about Jesus Christ who died and was resurrected just like the apostles and women of old. Do not follow the actions of the guards: because of love for money bear false witness and lose your souls.

Thanks be to God. Amen.