First Reading (Acts 2,36-41)
Reading of the Acts of the Apostles.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jews: “Let all the people of Israel recognize with complete certainty: God made this Jesus whom you crucified Lord and Christ.” When they heard this, their hearts were troubled, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brethren, what should we do?” Peter replied: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all those who are far off, all those whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” With many other words, Peter gave them testimony, and exhorted them, saying: “Save yourselves from these corrupt people!” Those who accepted Peter’s words received baptism. That day, more or less three thousand people joined them.
– Word of the Lord.
– Thank God.
Gospel (John 20,11-18)
Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John.
— Glory to you, Lord.
At that time, Mary was outside the tomb, crying. As he cried, he leaned over and looked into the tomb. Then he saw two angels dressed in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been placed, one at the head and the other at the feet. The angels asked: “Woman, why do you cry?” She replied: “They took my Lord and I don’t know where they put him.” Having said this, Mary turned back and saw Jesus standing. But I didn’t know it was Jesus. Jesus asked her, “Woman, why do you weep? Whom are you looking for?” Thinking it was the gardener, Mary said: “Sir, if it was you who took him, tell me where you put him, and I will come and get him.” Then Jesus said, “Mary!” She turned around and exclaimed, in Hebrew: “Rabuni” (which means: Master). Jesus said, “Do not hold me back. I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell my brothers: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.” Then Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples: “I have seen the Lord!”, and told her what Jesus had said to her.
— Word of Salvation.
— Glory to you, Lord.
Reflecting the Word of God
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Was there a moment in your life when one word, one name, changed everything? An instant when darkness turned to light, confusion to clarity, despair to hope? Today’s readings present us with two such transformative moments – one collective and the other deeply personal – united by the power of divine revelation that changes lives forever.
In the first reading, we see Peter addressing the crowds in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. Imagine the scene: people from all nations gathered together, still perplexed by the extraordinary phenomenon they had just witnessed – simple disciples speaking in different languages, proclaiming the wonders of God. And then Peter stands up and utters words that must have struck his hearers like lightning: “Let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
This is not just a historical fact that Peter is sharing; It’s a devastating revelation. That man from Nazareth they rejected, the one they handed over to be crucified – God made him Lord and Christ! Imagine the shock, the horror that must have gripped that crowd when they realized what they had done. No wonder the text tells us that they were “pierced to the heart” – an expression that literally means they were pierced, pierced by the truth.
It is as if each of them had been awakened from a nightmare only to discover that the nightmare was real – they had rejected and crucified the very Messiah they had been waiting for for centuries. The gravity of this revelation leads them to a desperate cry: “Brethren, what must we do?”
The question resonates through the centuries to us today. When faced with the truth about who Jesus really is, when we recognize our own role in His crucifixion through our sins, when the reality of our rejection of God becomes clear – what should we do?
Peter’s response is as relevant today as it was that day in Jerusalem: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The path to reconciliation with God begins with repentance – not just feeling remorse, but completely changing direction. It is followed by baptism – a symbolic immersion into the death and resurrection of Christ, emerging as a new creation. And it culminates in the receipt of the Holy Spirit – the very power of God dwelling within us.
This is the pattern of Christian transformation, the path that three thousand people followed that day. A moment when they heard a name – Jesus – and everything changed. Their lives were never the same again.
Now, let us turn to the Gospel, where we find an equally transformative but much more intimate moment. Mary Magdalene is in the garden, next to the empty tomb, consumed by grief. The disciples have left, but she remains, unable to leave even the place where the body of her beloved Master had rested. Her tears are testimony to a broken heart, to crushed hopes.
Even when she turns around and sees Jesus there, she doesn’t recognize him. Perhaps his tears blurred his vision, perhaps the last thing he expected to see was Jesus himself alive, or perhaps, as some suggest, Jesus temporarily veiled his identity. Whatever the reason, Mary mistakes the risen Lord for the gardener.
And then it happens. Jesus utters a single word: “Mary!” Her name, spoken by the voice she knew so well, that she loved so deeply. In that instant, the fog dissipates, her eyes open, and she recognizes Him. “Rabboni!” she exclaims – an Aramaic expression meaning “my Master”, but charged with an intimacy and reverence that goes beyond translation.
This moment between Jesus and Mary is of profound beauty and meaning. It is the Good Shepherd calling his sheep by name. It is the Creator reconnecting with his creature. It is the Redeemer revealing himself to the one who loved him so much. And it’s a powerful picture of how Christ reveals himself to each of us – personally, intimately, calling us by name.
There is something extraordinarily powerful about hearing our name spoken by someone who loves us deeply. It is not just a means of identification; it is a recognition of who we are, an affirmation of our value, a call to communion. When Jesus called “Mary!” He wasn’t just getting her attention; He was reestablishing a bond that death had apparently severed.
And what happens next? Jesus gives Mary a mission: “Go to my brothers and say to them: I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.” Mary, the first witness to the resurrection, becomes the first messenger of the resurrected Christ. The one who once cried desperately at the tomb now runs with joy to proclaim the greatest news the world has ever heard: “I have seen the Lord!”
These two stories – Peter’s preaching and Mary’s encounter with Jesus – although very different in scale and context, share a similar pattern of transformation. In both, there is an encounter with the truth about Jesus that changes everything. In both, this encounter leads to a mission – whether to three thousand new believers or to a woman with a message. In both, the result is joy and a new purpose.
My brothers and sisters, these are not just stories of the past; they are an invitation to our own transformation today. Christ continues to reveal himself to us – sometimes dramatically as in Peter’s sermon, other times in the intimacy of a garden as with Mary. He continues to call each of us by name, inviting us into a personal relationship that can transform our pain into joy, our confusion into clarity, our fear into courage.
How do we respond? Like those first listeners in Jerusalem, we may ask, “What shall we do?” The answer is still the same: repent, be baptized (or renew the meaning of our baptism), receive the Holy Spirit. Like Mary, we can dry our tears and recognize that the One we thought lost is alive and present, calling us by name.
And like Peter and Mary, we are sent on mission. “You will be my witnesses,” said Jesus. Each of us has a message to share, a unique testimony of how we encountered the risen Christ, how we heard our name on His lips, how our lives were transformed by His presence.
In this world often marked by hopelessness and confusion, our mission is urgent. Like Peter, we are called to boldly proclaim the truth about Jesus, even when it is uncomfortable. Like Mary, we are called to share our personal experience: “I have seen the Lord!”
May we today open our ears to hear Christ calling us by name. May we open our eyes to recognize Him in our lives. And may we open our lips to proclaim, with Peter and Mary, the transforming truth that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He is alive, and that in His name there is forgiveness, reconciliation, and eternal life.
And may the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
