Psalm Reflection: Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of the Lord - Cycle A

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” - Psalm 118

Adam and Eve were resting in the Garden of Eden, enjoying all that God made and provided for them. They would never need to worry, struggle, suffer, or experience a lack of anything. That was the first day humanity experienced. That was the day the Lord made. 

Then, we decided to take our turn being in charge. Adam and Eve took creative control, they disobeyed God’s singular command to them, despite all He had given them, and sin entered into the world.

Every day after that has been marked in some way by sin, suffering, death, and despair. These are the types of days that we make. Without God there would be no life, time or existence at all, so the Lord still makes every day happen, but we distort His creation by our sin.

We could never again experience the intimacy and relationship with God we were created for until the problem of our sin was solved. God wants abundant life for all of us (John 10:10), but sin leads to death (Romans 6:23), and we all sin (Romans 3:23). So, without God, there is no hope for us to get back to the Garden.

That is why Jesus came. Jesus came to restore what was broken in the Garden. He came to reconcile us to God and bring us back into the freedom of Eden. When Jesus rises from the dead, where does He first appear?

In a garden.

He appears in the garden of the empty tomb to fix what went wrong in the Garden of Eden. It is ironic that Mary Magdalene does not recognize Him and thinks He is the gardener, because He is. He is the author of life and of the original garden (John 1:1-3). He came to forge a path back to God, so we could live with Him for all eternity in the new garden of paradise, a new Heaven and a new Earth (Revelation 21).

Easter Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, is a new “first day” for humanity. It was the first day since the Garden of Eden that reconciliation with God and unity with Him in paradise was again possible for us. As baptized Christians, we are an Easter people who can live in this newness of life every single day (Romans 6:4). This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!

This week, experience the joy of the Resurrection by diving into Scripture. One of the Hebrew words for “garden” used in Scripture is pardes (פַּרְדֵ״ס), a word that rabbis also used as an acronym (PRDS) for studying scripture: 

Peshat (פְּשָׁט‎): “surface” - the simple or literal meaning

Remez (רֶמֶז‎): “hint” - the implied, symbolic or allegorical meaning

Derash (דְּרַשׁ‎): “seek” - the deeper or comparative meaning

Sod (סוֹד‎): “mystery” - the hidden, esoteric or mystical meaning

Thoughts of the garden or paradise are meant to inspire deeper study and devotion to the Word. As Christians, we are called to study Scripture and live as disciples of the risen Jesus Christ. When we live in response to the Resurrection, we are living on a different plan of existence: one of new life, joy and a path Jesus forged for us toward a new Eden. We can only come to know and understand how to walk that path if we study the story and teachings of Jesus.

Read and reflect on John 20 and 1 Corinthians 15 this week.

Live your life with zeal because we are a Resurrection people!

Lead others to the Lord by your joy.

Remember, in the midst of your celebrations this weekend, Jesus rising from the dead changed everything and Easter means so much more than we often realize.

Let this Easter season be one of renewal, restoration, revival, healing and transformation for you and your family.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, April 9th, 2023, Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of the Lord - Cycle A: Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23.