Joan Conway….An Easter commentary and Bible exercise

Introduction

Easter Day is the first day of a season of joyful reflection on the resurrection of Jesus. The victory of Easter is the precursor of the final victory and redemption.
This season, which includes Ascension Day, ends at Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Easter.  During the Easter Season I have prepared some commentaries, reflections bible exercises for us to think on, whilst we are journeying apart from each other.  Peace be with you, Joan

The Easter Anthems

Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us:
so let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness:
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.     1 Corinthians 5.7b, 8

Christ once raised from the dead dies no more:
death has no more dominion over him.
In dying he died to sin once for all:
in living he lives to God.
See yourselves therefore as dead to sin:
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.       Romans 6.9–11

Christ has been raised from the dead:
the first fruits of those who sleep.
For as by man came death:
by man has come also the resurrection of the dead;
for as in Adam all die:
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.      1 Corinthians 15.20–22

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

A song of triumph

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with his truth.
Psalm 95. 1 – 7, 96. 13

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Bible exercise…..

How did they know and what happened next?        Look up the passages and fill in the gaps

Matthew 28. 1 – 9

After the Sabbath …

Go quickly and tell his disciples …

Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee …

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The I AM sayings in John’s Gospel

The phrase “I am …” appears in the Gospel of John many times.
It is formed of two Greek words [ἐγώ εἰμι] that seem to mean the same thing:
ego – I am; eimi – I exist.

So why does Jesus use this structure used?

In the Septuagint [Greek version of the Old Testament] it appears in Isaiah: 43. 10(11), 25.
God declares that God is the Lord and God forgives sins.
In Exodus (3.14), when Moses tells God that he needs a name to tell the people who is sending Moses with instructions for escaping from Egypt, God responds with the phrase translated as ἐγώ εἰμι in the Septuagint, as “I AM WHO I AM” in the NRSV translation, and is written אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה in the Hebrew text.

There has been much discussion over the translation of this text especially with regard to the tense of the phrase.

For us, in John’s Gospel we can consider whether we think that Jesus’ use of the phrase is an assertion of his identity, his self-understanding, and then we can look at the various ways in which he connects with us through the use of pictures such as Good Shepherd, Way, Life, True Bread …

I AM the Light of the world – John 8. 12 – 20

There are links with the Hebrew Scriptures
Exodus 13:21-22; Isaiah 42:6-7

Jesus explains:

8:12 – Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

We have light all the time, so much so that it is a form of pollution:
Recently, when so many people have been sick, it was suggested that there might be power cuts. Some have stocked up on candles and matches against this possibility. In the dark we bump into things, we stumble, we have to feel our way warily. When light returns we feel relieved.

As the sun rises, if your bedroom faces east, you may be woken to life earlier in the summer. The sun rise encourages us to get up and start our new day.

The light of Jesus shines into our lives, our hearts, our thoughts. It uncovers problems.
As Jesus walked with the friends on the way to Emmaus he enlightened them, ‘he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures’(Luke 24. 13 – 35.
Jesus illuminates our reading of the scriptures and he helps us to recognise him.
He removes ignorance and gives understanding and meaning.

At the end of verse 12 the phrase “light of life” could be translated as “the light which gives life”.
John Baptist has already described Jesus as “the true light, which enlightens everyone” (John 1. 9)

After this conversation Jesus gives sight to a man born blind (John 9).

As we move forward through this painful episode may we keep our eyes focussed on the light of Christ.