Can we use this reading outside of Easter Time?

The Lectionary appoints the Acts and Revelation readings specifically for Easter Time, when the first reading is customarily taken from the New Testament. Outside the season, choose one of the Old Testament options; your celebrant can advise on what his parish practices.

Why does a funeral reading talk about judgment?

Because the judge it names is Jesus, "who went about doing good and healing all" — the same Lord who laid down his life for the person being buried. The reading pairs judgment with the promise of forgiveness for everyone who believes, which is precisely the consolation a funeral needs.

First Reading (Old Testament)

Acts 10:34-43

"Appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead (Easter Time)"

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Scripture text (World English Bible)

Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism; but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him. The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all— you yourselves know what happened, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they also killed, hanging him on a tree. God raised him up the third day, and gave him to be revealed, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that this is he who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him, that through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins.”

Themes

Easter faith
witness to the resurrection
judge of the living and the dead
forgiveness of sins
the apostolic preaching

Reflection

This is Peter's sermon in the house of Cornelius: the gospel compressed into a dozen sentences by the man Jesus left in charge of preaching it. During Easter Time the Church replaces the Old Testament reading at funerals with a reading like this one, so that the liturgy of the season and the liturgy of the funeral speak with one voice: Christ is risen, and that changes what death is.

Two lines carry the weight at a funeral. First, the witness: "God raised him up the third day... to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead." Christian hope in the face of a casket is not a mood or a metaphor; it rests on the testimony of people who ate breakfast with a man who had been dead. Second, the office: Jesus is "appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead." The one who will judge our beloved dead is the same one who died for them — the judge is the redeemer.

The closing line is the reason this reading consoles: "through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins." A funeral congregation always contains people quietly worried about the deceased's failings, and their own. Peter's sermon answers that worry with the heart of the gospel.

Choose this reading for a funeral in the fifty days of Easter, especially when the family wants the day anchored explicitly to the resurrection rather than to grief.

Best for

·Funerals during Easter Time (the season for which the Lectionary appoints it)
·Families who want the resurrection preached plainly and centrally
·Funerals for a person of straightforward, sturdy faith
·Congregations with many guests who have never heard the gospel summarized

In the liturgy

One of the Easter Time first readings (Lectionary no. 1012), which replace the Old Testament reading at funerals celebrated during the fifty days from Easter to Pentecost. An official short form (Acts 10:34-36, 42-43) is available when a briefer reading serves the liturgy better.

Pairs well with

Frequently asked questions

Can we use this reading outside of Easter Time?: The Lectionary appoints the Acts and Revelation readings specifically for Easter Time, when the first reading is customarily taken from the New Testament. Outside the season, choose one of the Old Testament options; your celebrant can advise on what his parish practices.
Why does a funeral reading talk about judgment?: Because the judge it names is Jesus, "who went about doing good and healing all" — the same Lord who laid down his life for the person being buried. The reading pairs judgment with the promise of forgiveness for everyone who believes, which is precisely the consolation a funeral needs.

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