But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.
Luke 24:12
The Greek word here translated amazed might also be translated. he went home wondering at what had happened. Luke uses the same word several times throughout his Gospel:
After the birth of Jesus, when Simeon took the child in his arms and spoke of his destiny, Joseph and Mary were amazed/wondering at what was said about him.
When, at the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus spoke in the synagogue at Nazareth, all were amazed/wondering at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
When Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples were filled with awe and amazed/wondering
We should allow ourselves to experience the wonder of the truths we hold. The last words of the prayer said over those being confirmed are: Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence.
We need to enjoy the wonder and awe of the truths about our God: There is a God. God became part of the human family. Christ died, rose, ascended. Christ sends his Spirit upon us.
These are colossal truths. Someone who never heard of them before would say, You believe what?! In this Easter Season, we spend 50 days stepping back and experiencing the wonder and awe of the truths weve gotten used to.
Take the passage, above, and walk home with Peter as he thinks, ponders, wonders, is filled with amazement.
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The Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation (sometimes mistakenly called the Book of Revelations) was written about 95 A.D. for Christians living in the part of the Roman Empire that is modern-day Turkey. The Roman emperor had ordered his subjects to worship him as a god. When the Christians resisted, they were persecuted.
The author of the Book of Revelation, intending to encourage these persecuted Christians, vividly describes visions of how God would overcome the evils they faced, and ultimately all evil.
Because of these visions and the symbolic language used, many people read the Book of Revelation as though it gives secret information about future events, including the end of the world. But the Book of Revelation was not intended to give coded messages about actual people and events in later times. The author was only concerned about the people and events at that time, and was given no privileged information about the future.
Yet the Book of Revelation is timeless because whatever time in history, it is the same struggle between good and evil, and the same God.
This is an unusual time in the liturgical year. The only Old Testament reading that is used at Mass is from a Psalm.