Gospel: 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

Gospel: 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

Gospel: John 13:1-15
It was before the feast of the Passover. Jesus realized that his hour had come, to pass from this world to the Father; and as he had loved those
who were his own in the world, he would love them with perfect love. They were at supper, and the devil had already put into the mind of Judas,
son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had entrusted all things to him, and as he had come from God, he was going to

Gospel: Matthew 26:14-25
Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “How much will you give me if I hand him over to you?”
They promised to give him thirty pieces of silver; and from then on, he kept looking for the best way to hand Jesus over to them. On the first day
of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

Gospel: John 13:21-33, 36-38
After saying this, Jesus was distressed in spirit, and said plainly, “Truly, one of you will betray me.” The disciples then looked at one another,
wondering whom he meant. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining near Jesus; so Simon Peter signaled him to ask Jesus
whom he meant. And the disciple, who was reclining near Jesus, asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “I shall dip a piece of bread

Gospel: John 12:1-11
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus, the dead man, to life. Now they
gave a dinner for him, and while Martha waited on them, Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus. Then Mary took a pound of
costly perfume, made from genuine spikenard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair. And the whole

Gospel: Luke 23:1-49 (or Luke 22:14–23:56)
The whole council rose and brought Jesus to Pilate. They gave their accusation: “We found this man subverting our nation,
opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, and claiming to be Christ the King.” Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the King of the
Jews?” Jesus replied, “You said so.” Turning to the chief priests and the crowd, Pilate said, “I find no basis for a case against this

Gospel: John 11:45-56
Many of the Jews who had come with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw what he did; but some went to the Pharisees and told
them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Council. They said, “What are we to do? For
this man keeps on performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, all the people will believe in him and, as a result

Gospel: John 10:31-42
The Jews then picked up stones to throw at him; so Jesus said, “I have openly done many good works among you,
which the Father gave me to do. For which of these do you stone me?” The Jews answered, “We are not stoning you
for doing a good work, but for insulting God; you are only a man, and you make yourself God.” Then Jesus replied,

Gospel: John 8:51-59
Truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never experience death.” The Jews replied, “Now we know that
you have a demon. Abraham died and the prophets as well, but you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never experience
death.’ Who do you claim to be? Do you claim to be greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets who