2025-05-04 Easter 3

Scripture Readings

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

Here we are at the third Sunday in Easter. And today, I think that the lectionary people are purposely trying to mess with us! As an aside, Christians have been using lectionaries virtually forever. In fact, of the roughly 5,800 copies of New Testament manuscripts we have, lectionaries make up around 40% They are Scripture readings that have been organized primarily for the seaons of the church year and were designed for lectors to read them publicly. One of the main purposes of God’s people gathering together was for the public reading of Scripture. The other reason was coffee hour! But the public reading of God’s Word was the main point, all the way back to ancient Israel. Moses. Joshua. King Josiah. Ezra and Nehemiah. They all publicly read aloud the Scriptures. And in the New Testament we get a super clear and blunt command to do this from St. Paul to young pastor Timothy: “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (1Tim 4:13).

So there’s our little rabbit trail for the day. But getting back to the lectionary people messing with us, just think about it. Last week, on the Second Sunday in Easter, do you remember the Easter Egg that Jesus gave us? What did our Lord tell St. Thomas in the midst of his doubting? He said “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (JN 20:29). Jesus gives those who do not see Him first hand this special beatitude and blessing of faith that believes without seeing the evidence of the resurrection first hand. But today, it’s the complete opposite! In all three of the appointed readings, it’s all about seeing!

Our first reading from Acts is none other than the conversion of Saul to St. Paul. The great Apostle literally shows us that what is impossible with man is more than possible with God. You’ve got Saul, the chief antagonist to the Christian church. A Pharisee, hell bent on persecuting the followers of Jesus, gets special authority to arrest any people belonging “to the Way” - that is, to Jesus, Who is the way, the truth and the life. He gets permission to haul them all into Jerusalem for questioning and most likely worse. But on the way to Damascus the miracle happens. Jesus speaks to him: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4). All the people with Saul can hear the voice speaking, but can’t see anything. Then, the Lord strikes Saul with blindness! He was spiritually blind already and now he is physically blind as well. “Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (9:8-9).

I think most of us are familiar with the story of Saul’s conversion. It’s the story that one of the most famous hymns of all time, Amazing Grace - that we just sang - is based on. The Lord needs to get Saul’s attention, in a big way. This ailment was purposely designed for his repentance. You need to wake up Saul! What you are doing is evil and wrong. You need to change your ways and who you are. In this way, Saul’s conversion is a lesson and example for all of us. We all need to repent and believe the Good News that even the worst of sinners is no match for the grace of God. His mercy envelopes Saul and a murderer becomes the “chosen instrument of [Jesus] to carry [His] name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (9:15). The chief persecutor of Jesus becomes the chief Apostle of Jesus!

At the Lord’s command, the disciple Ananias is sent to Saul. He lays his hands on him to provide divine healing: “And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized” (9:18). He was blind, but now he sees! Following his Holy Baptism, Saul “immediately…proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God” (9:20). Talk about a complete 180 degree turn around! His life is completely changed, from the very bedrock of his being. The truth of the Gospel breaks through and makes the blind man see the light.

Our Revelation reading likewise features seeing. St. John records his heavenly vision: “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands” (5:11). St. John sees the eternal and everlasting glory the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. The hymn of praise echoes throughout the heavens and earth as John’s eyes opened even wider. He sees countless angels and the elders and the four living creatures and every creature in heaven and on earth joining in the chorus! The Lamb Who was slain has begun His reign! Alleluia! He sees the eternal glory and splendour that all of us will one day see too with our eyes - that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (1 Cor 13:12). Our Easter Egg of faith will truly give way to sight and we will see the Living God face to face.

And this takes us to our Gospel reading for today. This is the third time that Jesus reveals Himself as the resurrected Messiah to His disciples. We hear this lesson and immediately we are taken back to the 5th Sunday in Epiphany a few weeks ago. There is an uncanny resemblance between the miraculous catch of fish that St. Luke records and this reading here from St. John. In ‘The Chosen’ we saw this too. The Lord provides this miraculous catch when the chips were down and Simon is utterly humbled. “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (LK 5:8). Do you remember that? But look what happens this time with the resurrected Christ. “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea” (JN 21:7).

Peter could not wait to see Jesus! He jumps right into the water and swims to shore as fast as he could! What marked difference from the earlier account in St. Luke’s Gospel! From looking away in shame to staring in wide-eyed wonder at the Risen Christ, Simon comes full circle. This is us too as we gaze upon our Saviour. None of us are worthy, but He calls us all the same. He calls us from our sin like Saul. He calls us to follow Him like Simon. He calls us to His sacrament of Baptism where He washes away our sins and makes us see the glory of His Kingdom. And just like He makes breakfast for His cold and tired disciples on the beach, He likewise calls us to His table to taste and see that the Lord is good in Holy Communion.

And this is the take away point on this third Sunday in Easter. The resurrected Christ has the power to replace our blindness with sight. He reveals to us His true identity as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. He gives us the ability to see a path through life that is worth following and pursuing with the gusto of St. Peter as opposed to path that leads to a dead end and destruction like Saul. He gives us the ability to see Who holds our future in His hands and the glory that awaits. The promise is clear, the crucified and risen Saviour makes us see. With joy we proclaim loudly along with Job “in my flesh I shall see God” (19:26). Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!