The Third Sunday of Easter – Second Reading – 04/19/2026

Peter's letter to the churches in Asia Minor reminds us we have been redeemed at a great price.  This episode will help you provide clarity to this complex passage.

Transcript

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Howdy, and welcome to Bob the Lector. I'm Bob. The purpose of this podcast is to inspire Catholic lectors to bring their proclamation of God's Word to life. This episode is for the April 19th, Sunday Mass's second reading. It's the third Sunday of Easter, year A. A reading from the first letter of Saint Peter. Beloved, if you invoke his Father, him who judges impartially, according to each one's works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a spotless, unblemished lamb. He was known before the foundation of the world, but revealed in the final time. For you, who through him believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God, the word of the Lord. Welcome to the third Sunday of Easter. This is a complicated reading, but we'll break it down to get some clarity. So let's get to it, shall we? I always start my own lecture practice with preparation, which is not the external proclamation, but the internal discernment of the message. What is God saying to us? What is his purpose? What is the meaning of this reading? Because if it doesn't mean anything to us, how can we as lectors make it mean anything to the congregation before us? Last Sunday's second reading was also from 1 Peter chapter 1. It spoke of baptism in verses 3 through 9. Today, we return to that same chapter with verses 17 through 21. This reading focuses on our redemption as one by Jesus' sacrificial death for our sins. The words you and your show up six times in this reading. Make these words about the people in the pews before you. What do you learn from this reading? We start with, Beloved, if you invoke his Father, him who judges impartially, according to each one's works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, realizing that you were ransomed from your feudal conduct handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a spotless, unblemished lamb. This is a long, complicated sentence, such that its style reminds me of Paul, much like last Sunday's second reading. It opens with beloved, so use a warm and loving tone, almost in spite of the complex exhortation that follows. Let's break this sentence down into pieces in an attempt to give it some structure. The first clause, if you invoke his Father, him who judges impartially according to each one's works, think of this as the first factor, the if, in an if-then equation. The then factor is conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning. So to break it down, if you invoke, then conduct. Next we have realizing that you were ransomed from your feudal conduct. Think of this as the why for the preceding clause. Why should you conduct yourselves with reverence? Because you realized you were ransomed from your feudal conduct. Then we have handed on by your ancestors, which immediately follows and clarifies the origin of the feudal conduct. Your ancestors didn't have Jesus to redeem them, so their conduct was feudal, as were the lessons they passed down. Here's where the modifiers can get confusing. Then we have not with perishable things like silver or gold, and but with the precious blood of Christ. Both phrases look back and jump over from your feudal conduct handed on by your ancestors to modify the verb ransomed. It's perplexing, but that's the way it's written. Then you have, as of a spotless, unblemished lamb, which modifies precious blood of Christ, which, mercifully, it immediately follows. Then happily this sentence ends. What this sentence lacks in grammatical clarity, though, it makes up for with some wonderful references. The word sojourning is translated from the Greek word parakeus, which translates as a temporary residence or temporary stay, with an inference of living in exile. This implies we believers are passing through a foreign country and are on a journey home. Our true home is not this earth, but the heavenly realm. Then we have the word ransomed, which is a reference to Isaiah 53 10. But it was the Lord's will to crush him with pain by making his life as a reparation offering. The reparation offering is the precious blood of Christ, which is modified by as of a spotless, unblemished lamb. This is a reference to Exodus 12.5, which describes the Passover lamb. Your lamb must be a year old male and without blemish. There's another reference to John 1.29, in which John the Baptist spots Jesus. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. It all ties together. Okay, back to practicals. Let's see if we can't add some clarity for the congregation by overcoming those misplaced modifiers. When you read, realizing that you were ransomed, from your feudal conduct handed on by your ancestors, insert a small pause after ransomed, and drop your voice as if mentioning an unimportant aside and ignore the comma after conduct. So you're reading from your feudal conduct handed on by your ancestors straight through with deemphasis. Emphasize father, him, conduct, the verb conduct, not the noun conduct, reverence, realizing you, ransomed, not, precious blood, Christ, spotless, unblemished, and lamb. Smile when you say with the precious blood of Christ, because that is the source of our salvation. Let the congregation feel this good news. When you say you, address it directly to the people in the pews before you with maximum eye contact. Insert small pauses after Father, impartially, gold, and Christ. Also place small pauses between spotless and unblemished, and between unblemished and lamb. Deliver this line with an almost chant like cadence. Now the last sentence. Convert so that your faith and hope into a question to create a little suspense at the end here. Incorporate a full pause and then answer that question with are in God as your conclusion. Well, that's all for now. Thanks for listening. My hope is these ideas will help you find your authentic voice, so your proclamation of God's word will transform your listeners, whether they're in pain and broken or just going through the motions, because the good news deserves great delivery. Visit us on the web at bobthector.org and we'll see you at the Ambo. By the way, if you like what you hear and are so inclined, please give us five stars on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much.