Logout
Lectionary for April 5, 2026
Resurrection of Our Lord
Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24;
Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10
What’s worse than someone beating you to your punchline when you try to tell a joke or funny story? For me, the scariest part of being a researcher is when I’m only a couple weeks from sending out an article. I don’t know what all the other scholars are working on. What if someone has similar insights and they beat me to the punch? Years of creativity will be wasted. There’s no point in writing about something that people already know—or is there? The lectionary texts for this Resurrection Day are honest and transparent about their role: they aren’t teaching you something new—they are reminding you of what has already changed your life and caused you to celebrate.
Way back in Psalm 118, the composer wanted everyone who heard the song of praise to remember that God was a God of life from death. The psalmist insists that God has become his salvation (14, 21). Moreover, God will not turn the psalmist over to death but will provide assurance that life, not death, will have the final say (17-18).
And God will use agents to bring life. The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Isn’t that the way God has always worked? Joseph, David, Miriam, Jacob and many others were all surprising choices. This psalm was in the great songbook of Israel, sung year after year in the mouths, hearts and minds of the people. It suggests that people had known for centuries before the incarnation that God was salvation and would triumph over death using a surprising leader. Even if applying these verses to Jesus wasn’t the first thought in the first century, folks already knew what God was up to.
Then we have the resurrection account with its already known information. The angel caused a massive earthquake and left the guards at the tomb as silent, shaking witnesses to whatever would come next. In Matthew’s account, this angel had no time for a back-and-forth with the women who came to the tomb. “Do not fear. I already know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn’t here. He rose—just as he already told you. Come and see and go quickly to tell the others to meet him in the Galilee. Listen, I told you!” (a paraphrase of Matthew 28:5-7). This angel anticipated all the questions, all the desires for proof, and sent the Marys on their way without them speaking a word. Basically, the angel said, “I already know what you’re thinking. Jesus already told you what was going to happen. Get going!”
What is the point of reminding people what they already know? So that we will act accordingly.
Eventually Peter heard the good news, verified it for himself and then spread the message around the world. Every time I read it, I’m struck by Peter’s insistence in Acts 10 that the gentiles to whom he is speaking already know everything they need to know. They knew that God had anointed Jesus with the Spirit to do good works with power and to release the oppressed (38). They all knew that Jesus was crucified on a tree and was raised to life on the third day. Jesus didn’t appear to everyone, but only to his meal companions. But his life, ministry, death and resurrection were never meant to be a mystery, because all the prophets testified about him (43). For centuries, people had been told what was going to happen. Peter was just explaining to them what they had already heard.
What is the point of reminding people what they already know? So that we will act accordingly. The author of Colossians makes a simple argument, based on what people already know and believe. If you have been raised with Christ—you have, haven’t you?—set your mind on the things above, where Jesus sits at the right hand of God. In light of Jesus’ death and glorious resurrection, why mess around with the silliness of lust, desire and greed? If we are freed from death—which we already know that we are—why fool around with things that promise only entertainment and diversion in the life that we are dead to—and raised up from?
Resurrection Sunday is a gift because it pulls back the curtain and proclaims: “You don’t have to be afraid or pretend anymore. You already know the rest of the story. God wins! Jesus conquered sin and death, so we don’t have to mess around with sin and death anymore. That’s over. Instead, we get to love like it’s our job! Because the resurrected Jesus says it is! (And we already know that).
