The Second Sunday of Easter - 1 May 2011
The Second Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, 22-32 Psalm 16 I Peter 1:3-9 St. John 20:19-31 El Greco - Saint Luke BACKGROUND: Acts The first reading through all of Eastertide is from the Book of Acts. I thought a bit of background might be helpful. Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke, and as such describes two great missions: 1. The Mission in Palestine, and 2. The Greater Mission to all the Earth. The author, surmised to be Luke of Antioch, was a some-time companion of Paul, and as such he pictures the Pauline mission (or at least a part of it) from the viewpoint of a companion, but also that of an “outsider”, not a part of the Pauline entourage. His devices are effective. First he positions Peter in a series of acts that recall the ministry of Jesus. Having established Peter as primus he then affords Paul the same opportunity. The stage then is Paul’s.