Gospel Lesson Plans
“I have seen the Lord!” exclaimed Mary Magdalene. At first she does not recognize who is standing beside her. When she realizes it is the risen Jesus she wants to grasp him. He holds her off and tells her to go and share what has happened: He has walked through death and has created a path for us to follow, now and on through our own death.
In these 50 days of Easter, celebrating what Jesus has done for us, we are invited to recognize Jesus standing beside us, as he did with Mary. What is he calling us to do? Perhaps we can train our eyes to look in the direction that this Jesus, standing beside us is looking. What might he be looking at? Do we dare follow where he is leading? Can we notice and honor the various ways Jesus “appears” to people?
Old Testament Lesson Plans
In the early church Easter was the day for Baptism. The festival season of Easter marks the fifty days between Easter and Pentecost. It is a time for reflecting on the meaning of our Baptism and the other sacraments. The church calls this process of studying the mysteries of the church mystagogia. We explore what it means to be the Body of Christ and members of His church and how we are to live this out in the world today. During the Easter season the Old Testament readings are replaced with selections from the Book of Acts. We hear about the sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord so that we too may know how to proclaim the good news of Jesus with similar joy and conviction.
| Year A | Date | Scripture | Old Testament Lesson Plan | Gospel Lesson Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easter Day | Acts 10:34-43 John 20:1-18 | Easter Celebration! | Easter: Come and See | |
| Second Sunday of Easter | Acts 2:14a, 22-32 John 20:19-31 | Knowing Christ | Believing in Order to See | |
| Third Sunday of Easter | Acts2:14a, 36-41 Luke 24:13-35 | Promise | Known in the Breaking of the Bread | |
| Fourth Sunday of Easter | Acts 2:42-47 John 10:1-10 | Generosity and Peace | Who Will We Follow? | |
| Fifth Sunday of Easter | Acts 7:55-60 John 14:1-14 | Spirit and Courage | The Way, the Truth, and the Light | |
| Sixth Sunday of Easter | Acts 17:22-31 John 14:15-21 | We are God’s Offspring | The Spirit of Truth Within Us | |
| Seventh Sunday of Easter | Acts 1:6-14 John 17:1-11 | Power and Authority | That We All May Be One |