So we moved from Lent into Easter, singing our alleluias, with the church bells pealing, rejoicing that Jesus Christ is risen indeed – but what do we do now? How does this Easter Season change us? How do we live differently than we did before? In this week’s readings we hear a word repeated twice which leading linguistics experts say is a, “linguistic and theological tragedy and the worst translation in the New Testament.” What is the word? And once you understand what it really means – how can it answer the questions raised? How can it change your life?

1. 1
Deacon Jim Knipper
19 April 2015 3rd Sunday of Easter – Cycle B Princeton, NJ
In preparing my thoughts for this evening I had noticed that the word “repent” appears in both
the first reading and the Gospel…and that actually in the Gospel the risen Christ is found saying
that the repentance of sins would be preached in his name. So I took that as a cue that perhaps
I should talk a bit about ‘repenting.’
But I know what you are saying, “What a minute, we just did that repenting thing all through
Lent. But it is now Easter, aren’t we done with repenting?!” Well…actually, no. And let me time
you why and how it really does fit into our joyous Easter celebration.
Indeed, we did hear all through Lent the call for us to ‘repent,’ which is the English word given in
translation for the original Greek word ‘metanoia.’ The problem is that we operate under a faulty
understanding of ‘repentance,’ as we beat our chests reciting, “through my fault, through my
fault, through my most grievous fault…for it is so much more than that. Leading linguistics
experts have written much on this one word and have come to the conclusion, “….that
translating ‘metanoia’ to mean ‘repent’ is a linguistic and theological tragedy and the worst
translation in the New Testament.” The true literal translation of Metanoia means to change
your position…to change your mental attitude…a physical turn around…a life changing
moment…a mighty change in mind, heart and life wrought by the Spirit…a seeing with a new
set of eyes.
So we moved from Lent into Easter, singing our alleluias, with the church bells pealing, rejoicing
that Jesus Christ is risen indeed – but what do we do now? How does this Easter Season
change us? How do we live differently than we did before? Why, in the middle of Easter, is
scripture still telling us to repent – to be people of metanoia?
Perhaps the disciples were weighing similar questions as they sat locked in the Upper Room for
over a week. Which may be why the four gospel writers gave us a total of 14 resurrection stories
– stories that provide us insight into what the disciples were doing….or in some cases – were
not doing after the Jesus rose from the dead. For it is clear that the Apostles didn’t have it all
together. Remember…they deserted him at the cross, they were demoralized, they lacked
conviction, they lacked faith in all that Jesus told them and couldn’t fathom what it meant to be
risen from the dead - that is until they could see him...until they could touch him. Before that all
they did was huddle together, behind locked doors, with no aim or purpose. And how many of
us here feel or have felt that way sometime in our lives?
But the resurrection stories that we hear proclaimed during these weeks of Easter tell us that
the disciples were transformed – they changed within – they acted in a new way – they
experienced metanoia - they left their Upper Room, they opened the doors and…. filled with the
Holy Spirit – they went forth proclaiming the good news of Jesus the Christ.
So how can we follow the paths taken by these first Disciples? – How do we use this Easter
Season and gain focus and direction within our lives and our faith? How can these Easter
Gospels give us the insight for our own transformation, our own metanoia? I think the answer
lies rooted in forgiveness, nourishment and healing.

2. 2
Deacon Jim Knipper
Last week we heard from John’s Gospel the story of Jesus appearing twice to his Disciples in
the locked Upper Room – for they lacked the faith to believe in the risen Lord until they could
see and touch Christ. But there was no rebuke on the part of Jesus, rather he gave them the
gift of the Holy Spirit and sent them forth to go out and to simply forgive others just as he
forgave them so many times.
This week we hear Luke’s version of Jesus first appearing to all his disciples where they were
terrified and troubled and Jesus greets them offering peace. He then gathers them around a
table and has a meal with them and breaks open the scriptures. And in performing this table or
hospitality ministry Jesus is asking his disciples – and asking us – to extend nourishment and
peace to those around us, those we meet, those we live with, and even those we dislike.
And how often are we are like the disciples, locked behind our own personal doors – fearful,
broken and unsure what to do with our wounds. But the gospel tells us that this Jesus, who has
risen from the dead with his wounds visible to all, stands at our doors ready to connect with us
and all of our wounds. And the message that we are given today and throughout this Easter
Season is that Christ understands where we are coming from and that if we open the door and
let him in he will comfort us and give us peace and will foster our own metanoia.
For what we celebrate this Easter Season is – yes, Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will
come again – but also – we celebrate that all of us – young and old - are all the body of Christ –
we are temples of the Holy Spirit – we are the place where the Divine dwells – for we have the
same gifts that were bestowed upon the first disciples.
We simply need to have our eyes opened in order to recognize that the divine truly dwells within
our imperfect self! The Holy is not out there, over there – but rather right here, right now, in you,
in me – without exception. We are reminded in the Easter Season that we all have this calling –
for when we were baptized we were called Disciples of Christ – We were anointed with the
sacred chrism and reminded that just as Christ was anointed priest, prophet and King – so, too
may we always live as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.
And thus to answer the questions we first posed a few minutes ago as to how does the Easter
Season continue the call for true repentance….the answer lies rooted in the fact that we all
make up the Body of Christ…and through our baptism we are each called to be disciples – just
as the first disciples were called out from the Upper Room 2,000 years ago. And that is why,
during the Easter Season we begin each liturgy, with the sprinkling rite so that we are reminded
of our baptisms, reminded that we belong to Christ.
And in this belonging, and in this relationship to Christ we are all called to this table to
remember him through this welcoming, gathering, breaking, blessing, eating and sharing that
we do it in memory of him. And that is why we come together each week – why we gather
together and share in the Eucharistic Meal that nourishes us as disciples, so that we can go
forth – people living through metanoia - and ministering to others through forgiveness,
nourishment and healing.
So the next time we bless ourselves with holy water or receive the Easter waters in the
sprinkling rite during mass may we remember our call and our commission and our commitment
we have to ourselves and to each other in the name of Jesus the Christ, the risen Lord – Amen!
Alleluia!