Daily Gospel (2715)
April 28, 2022
Written by
Gospel: John 3:31-36
He who comes from above is above all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and his words belong to the earth.
He who comes from heaven speaks of the things he has seen and heard; he bears witness to these things, but no one accepts
April 27, 2022
Written byGospel: John 3:16-21
Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son
into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned. He who does not
April 26, 2022
Written byGospel: John 3:7b-15
Don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again from above.’ The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound,
but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus asked again,
April 25, 2022
Written byGospel: Mark 16:15-20
Then he told them, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved;
the one who refuses to believe will be condemned. Signs like these will accompany those who have believed: in my name they will cast out demons
April 24, 2022
Written byGospel: John 20:19-31
On the evening of that day, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews.
But Jesus came, and stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” Then he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples,
seeing the Lord, were full of joy. Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” After saying this, he
April 23, 2022
Written byGospel: Mark 16:9-15
After Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary of Magdala, from whom he had driven out seven demons.
She went and reported the news to his followers, who were now mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he lived, and had been
seen by her, they would not believe it. After this he showed himself in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.
April 22, 2022
Written byGospel: John 21:1-14
After this, Jesus revealed himself to the disciples by the Lake of Tiberias. He appeared to them in this way: Simon Peter, Thomas who was called the Twin,
Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples were together; and Simon Peter said to them, “I’m going fishing.” They replied,
“We will come with you.” And they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the shore,
April 21, 2022
Written byGospel: Luke 24:35-48
Then the two told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus had made himself known, when he broke bread with them.
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood in their midst. (He said to them, “Peace to you.”) In their panic and fright they
thought they were seeing a ghost, but he said to them, “Why are you upset, and how does such an idea cross your minds? Look at my hands
April 20, 2022
Written byGospel: Luke 24:13-35*
That same day, two followers of Jesus were going to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem, and they talked about what had happened.
While they were talking and arguing about what had happened, Jesus came up and walked with them, but their eyes were not able to recognize
him. He asked, “What is it you are talking about?” The two stood still, looking sad. Then the one named Cleophas answered, “Why, it seems you
April 19, 2022
Written byGospel: John 20:11-18
Mary stood weeping outside the tomb; and as she wept, she bent down to look inside. She saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus
had been, one at the head, and the other at the feet. They said, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She answered, “Because they have taken my
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April 18, 2022
Written byGospel: Matthew 28:8-15
In fear, yet with great joy, the women left the tomb and ran to tell the news to his disciples. Suddenly, Jesus met them on the way and said, “Rejoice!”
The women approached him, embraced his feet and worshiped him. But Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid! Go and tell my brothers to set out for
Galilee; there, they will see me.” As the women proceeded on their way, some of the guards went in to the city, and reported to the chief priests all that
April 17, 2022
Written byGospel: John 20:1-9 (or Matthew 28:1-10) (or Luke 24:13-35)
Now, on the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone
blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken the
Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have laid him.” Peter then set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together,
April 16, 2022
Written byGospel: Luke 24:1-12
On the Sabbath the women rested according to the commandment, but the first day of the week, at dawn, the women went to the tomb with the perfumes
and ointments they had prepared. Seeing the stone rolled away from the opening of the tomb, they entered, and were amazed to find that the body of the
Lord Jesus was not there. As they stood there wondering about this, two men in dazzling garments suddenly stood before them. In fright the women
bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why look for the living among the dead? You won’t find him here. He is risen. Remember what he told you in Galilee, that the
Son of Man had to be given into the hands of sinners, to be crucified, and to rise on the third day.” And they remembered Jesus’ words. Returning from the tomb, they
told the Eleven and all the others about these things. Among the women, who brought the news, were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James.
But however much they insisted, those who heard did not believe the seemingly nonsensical story. Then Peter got up and ran to the tomb. All he saw, when he bent down
and looked into the tomb, were the linen cloths, laid by themselves. He went home wondering.
Reflection:
Where did Jesus rise from? From the cross? From the tomb?
From the dead? Or from still somewhere unbelievably lower,
deeper, darker? Yes, indeed. He just didn't stop with dying. He
descended. Into Hell. So says the Creed. He descended to
the godless, to share in their godlessness as one among
them, as theologian Balthasar commented. The Resurrection
does not begin where Good Friday ended; It begins from
where Holy Saturday took him— the Hell. God’s kenosis (=selfemptying)
goes far deeper than the cross and the tomb, all
the way to the farthest depths. Easter begins from the darkest,
farthest, lowest point of human tragedies. This gives us hope!
For, as Easter icons of the East show, Christ is never risen alone:
He carries a bunch of souls—the entire humanity—with him. May
Christ help us easter from our hellish depths!
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022
April 15, 2022
Written byGospel: John 18:1—19:42*
(…) Bearing his cross, Jesus went out of the city to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There he was crucified,
and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice written and fastened to the cross, which
read: Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews. (…) The chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews’; but, ‘This man
claimed to be King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered them, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes
and divided them into four parts, one part for each of them. But as the tunic was woven in one piece from top to bottom, they said, “Let us not tear it,
but cast lots to decide who will get it.” This fulfilled the words of Scripture: They divided my clothing among them; they cast lots for my garment. This was
what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister Mary, who was the wife of Cleophas, and Mary of whom he loved,
he said to the mother, “Woman, this is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “This is your mother.” And from that moment the disciple took her to his
own home. Jesus knew all was now finished and, in order to fulfill what was written in Scripture, he said, “I am thirsty.“ A jar full of bitter wine stood there;
so, putting a sponge soaked in the wine on a twig of hyssop, they raised it to his lips. Jesus took the wine and said, “It is accomplished.” Then he bowed
his head and gave up the spirit. (…)
Reflection:
Nietzsche’s famous declaration “God is dead” is a popular war cry
for many atheists. However, not many are aware of his very next
words: “God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we
comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?” [italics added.]
If God died, it is because we, the creatures killed him. Human
language fails to communicate the import and emotion of this
day. Hence, let us do this today: Choose one of these moments:
Gethsemane, or at the foot of the cross, or at the tomb where
he was laid. Place yourself in that space, in that holy moment.
Observe the sentiments that arise within you. Share them
with him. But do not lose heart. Nietzsche was only partially
right: God wouldn’t remain dead; he will wake up soon, right into
our lives, giving us second and more chances.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022
