ACTS 2: 14, 22 – 33

[On the day of Pentecost,] Peter, standing with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know — this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ “Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand   of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear.”

The Word of the Lord.
 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm  16: 1 – 2a and 5, 7 – 8, 9 – 10, 11 (R.) 1

R/. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
Or:
Alleluia.

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord.”
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
you yourself who secure my lot. R.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord before me always;
with him at my right hand, I shall not be moved. R.

And so, my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my flesh shall rest in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to hell,
nor let your holy one see corruption. R.

You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand, bliss forever. R.

 
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Psalm 118: 24

Alleluia.
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL
“Tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
MATTHEW 28: 8 – 15

At that time: The women departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place.  And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The Gospel of the Lord
Muvhuro 1 Kubvumbi – April;

Muvhuro wePasika

Chiverengo chokutanga:
Mabasa 2,14.22-33

Inzwai chiverengo chinobva mubhuku
raMabasa Avapositori
14 Pazuva rePentekosti Pita akamira navane gumi
nomumwechete, akataura zviri pachena achiti,
22 “Varume, vaIsiraeri teererai mazwi aya anoti,
Jesu wokuNazareti, munhu akapupurirwa kwamuri
naMwari namabasa makuru, nezvishamiso, nezviratidzo zvakaitwa pakati penyu naMwari, nemaari
sokuziva kwenyu, 23 Jesu iyeyo wamakaturirwa
maererano nourongwa hwakanyatsoti tsvikiti, uye
nokufanoziva kwaMwari, imi makamuroverera
pamuchinjikwa mukamuuraya muchishandisa
vanhu vasina mutemo. 24Asi Mwari akamumutsa,
amusunungura marwadzo orufu nokuti zvakanga
zvisingagoneki kuti arambe akasungwa narwo.
25 Chikonzero ndechokuti Dhavhidhi achitaura
nezvake anoti:
Ndaiona Mwari ari pamberi pangu nguva dzose,
nokuti ari kurudyi kwangu kuti ndirege
kuzunguzwa.
26Naizvozvo mwoyo wangu unofara,
uye rurimi rwangu rwakapembera kufara,
uyezve muviri wangu uchagara uine chitarisiro.
27Nokuti hamungasii mweya wangu munzvimbo
yavafi, kana kurega mururami wenyu achiora.
28Makandizivisa nzira youpenyu,
muchandizadza norufaro nokuvapo kwenyu. 29 “Hama, regai ndikutaurirei zviri pachena nezvaTateguru wedu Dhavhidhi, kuti akafa, akavigwa,
uye guva rake tinaro nanhasi uno. 30Nezvo somuporofita, uye zvaaiziva kuti Mwari akapika nechitsidzo kwaari, kuti achaisa mumwe wechizvarwa
chake pachigaro chake choumambo, 31akafanoona
akataura nezvokumuka kwaMesia achiti,
‘Haana kusiiwa munzvimbo yavafi, uye muviri
wake hauna kuora.’
32Mwari akamutsa iye Jesu iyeyo, isu tose tiri zvapupu zvaizvozvo. 33 Asumudzirwa kurudyi rwaMwari uye agamuchira kubva kuna Baba chitsidzo
chaMweya Mutsvene, adururira zvamurikuona
nokunzwa izvi.
Shoko raTenzi.

Rwiyo rwokutsinhira:
Nziyo 16,1-2a+5.7-8.9-10.11. (D – 1)

(D) – Ndichengetei Mwari nokuti ndinopotera mamuri.
1 Ndichengetei Mwari nokuti ndinopotera
mamuri.
2 Ndinoti kuna TENZI, Imi ndimi TENZI wangu.
5 TENZI ndiye mugove wangu nenhaka yangu.
Nhaka yangu iri mumaoko ake.
(D) – Ndichengetei Mwari nokuti ndinopotera mamuri.
7 Ndinorumbidza TENZI anondipa mazano
kunyange usiku, mwoyo wangu unondinyevera.
8 Ndinoisa TENZI mberi kwangu nguva dzose;
nokuti ari kurudyi rwangu, handitsuduguki.
(D) – Ndichengetei Mwari nokuti ndinopotera mamuri.
9 Naizvozvo mwoyo wangu unofara,
mweya wangu unopembera;
kana muviri wangu uchava norugare.
10 Hamungandiregi ndichienda kunzvimbo yavakafa;
kana kurega mururami wenyu achipinda
muguva.
(D) – Ndichengetei Mwari nokuti ndinopotera mamuri.
11 Munondiratidza nzira youpenyu;
pamuri ndipo pane rufaro ruzere,
kurudyi kwenyu kune rufaro nokusingaperi.
(D) – Ndichengetei Mwari nokuti ndinopotera mamuri.

Kupemberera Shoko Rakanaka:
Nziyo 118,24

Areruya, Areruya.
Iri ndiro zuva rakaitwa
naTENZI, ngatifarei kwazvo tipembere mariri.
Areruya

Shoko Rakanaka: Mateu 28,8-15

Inzwai Shoko Rakanaka rakanyorwa naMateu
8Madzimai vakabva paguva nokukurumidza, zvabatana nokutya nokufara kukuru. Vakamhanya
kundoudza vadzidzi vake.
9 Jesu akabva asangana navo akati, “Kwaziwai,” ivo
vakauya kwaari vakabata tsoka dzake vachimugwadamira. 10 Jesu akati kwavari, “Musatye. Chiendai mundotaurira hama dzangu kuti dziende
kuGarirea. Ndiko kwavachandiona ikoko.”
11 Madzimai aya pavakanga vachienda, mamwe
mapurisa aya akaenda muguta akataurira vapristi
vakuru zvose zvakanga zvaitika. 12 Vakaita dare
navakuru, vakuru ndokuita zano rokupa masoja
chitsama chakati kuti chemari 13 vachiti, “Taurirai
vanhu kuti vadzidzi vake vakauya usiku vakamuba
isu takakotsira.”
14 Izvi zvikanzwika munzeve dzagavhuna, isu ndisu
tichapedzerana naye kuti murege kuva nechinokutambudzai. 15 Saizvozvowo, vakatora mari iya
vakaita sezvavakanga vataurirwa. Rungano urwu
rwakaparidzirwa muvaJudha kusvika pari nhasi.

Shoko Rakanaka raTenzi.
GOSPEL REFLECTION: Humility in the Face of the Resurrection
April 1, 2024

The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” (Matthew 28:12–14)

The Lord of all rose from the grave, conquering sin and death, making it possible for us all to share in His glorious Resurrection! Death had lost. Satan had lost. The corrupt religious leaders had lost. And all those who believed in Jesus now had their eternal hope renewed. Sadly, though, what was the greatest victory ever known for humanity, a victory that opened the doors to eternal glory for all who believe, could not be accepted by the chief priests and elders of the people. They saw to His death, and, now that He had risen, they scrambled to do all they could to hide that truth.

Pride is hard to overcome. When a person professes they are right, when in fact they are wrong, and when they are then confronted with their error, the sin of pride will inevitably tempt them to further sin. This is what we see today in this passage from our Gospel. The chief priests and elders were informed by the soldiers that when the women came to the tomb early in the morning, there was a great earthquake, and they saw an angel of the Lord descend from Heaven, roll back the stone, and sit on it. When they saw this, “The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men” (Matthew 28:4). And after they heard the angel tell the women that Jesus had risen, the guards went off to tell the chief priests and elders.

After all the miracles and powerful preaching of Jesus, you would think that the chief priests and elders would have believed. But they didn’t. And then, after hearing the testimony of these soldiers, you would think they would have fallen on their knees, repented of their hardness of hearts, and come to believe. But they didn’t. They doubled down in their sin and added sin upon sin.

Some forms of sin can more easily be admitted, especially sins of weakness. When one is weak and falls, it may not be always easy to overcome that sin in the future, but it is easier to acknowledge it as sin when it is caused by human weakness. But a sin of weakness is much different than a sin of obstinate pride. Obstinate pride is not only hard to overcome, it’s hard to admit. It’s hard to admit our sin when it is based on our obstinacy and pride. As a result, this type of sin often leads to other sins such as ongoing deception, manipulation and anger. This is illustrated by these chief priests and elders. But if you can humble yourself and admit your sin when it comes from your pride, that humility can have a powerful and transformative effect upon your life.

Reflect, today, upon these chief priests and elders of the people. Try to ponder their hardness of heart and the sad situation they found themselves in as they attempted to cover up their error and sin. Resolve never to fall into this form of sin yourself. However, if this is a struggle for you, seek humility so that you can be freed of this heavy burden by the grace of the Resurrection of our Lord.

PRAYER:
My resurrected Lord, You conquered sin and death and brought forth new life for all who believe in You. Give me the grace, dear Jesus, to never allow my sin of pride to keep me from being open to the glorious and transforming action You desire to do in my life. Please give me the gift of humility so that I may always turn from my sin and turn to You. Jesus, I trust in You.