Deacon Tom Anthony

Fourth Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 49

Reading 1 Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
"Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified."

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,
and they asked Peter and the other apostles,
"What are we to do, my brothers?"
Peter said to them,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your children
and to all those far off,
whomever the Lord our God will call."
He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,
"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand persons were added that day.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2 1 Pt 2:20b-25

Beloved:
If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,
this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When he was insulted, he returned no insult;
when he suffered, he did not threaten;
instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.
For you had gone astray like sheep,
but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Alleluia Jn 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 10:1-10

Jesus said:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 We as Christians have been baptized in Jesus Christ and now are sharers in His manifold grace. Not only are we given that Sanctifying Grace necessary for salvation but we also have the opportunity to experience the presence of His love continuously if only we recognize Him for what He is: The True Shepherd and our savior. Even though most of us received this baptism when we were younger, we are now at the age where we can fully understand its implications and importance. We have received a birthright, protection, and membership into Jesus’ church. We are part of His flock and we follow Him for He provides the way to a joyful life and salvation. Broken though we may be, we have already been forgiven. He is only waiting for us to ask. The gate stands before us. We only have to walk through it.

Each of us is an individual person whom Jesus recognizes as special and important. We are unique and special in the eyes of Jesus Christ. Our joviality in this life and our peace of mind is important to Him. He wants us to experience this life to its fullest the proper way in order that He can be revealed to us through His creation and that our ultimate goal to be one with Him can be realized. A sheep is lost without its shepherd and faces starvation and death while there is safety, security, and love with him. I can safely say that we all have experienced being lost; wandering in the wilderness. While there, we all have probably cultivated a resume of misfortune based on bad decisions that led to disappointment. Jesus sends the message that, regardless of where we find ourselves, we can always be led out of that loneliness to a place where we can be reborn by rediscovering what we have always had through our baptism. We just need to listen to the sound of His voice calling to us.

The past is behind us. It is a record of where we have been and is an intricate part of who we are today. Yet, the only impact it really has on the person we can be today through Jesus Christ is to the extend we allow it to influence our thoughts and actions. We have the ability to be transformed every day and with that we become a new creation. Our thoughts should be centered on the present with an intent on the future. Christ dwells with us now, in the moment, and He longs to walk with us into the future. He stands before us to protect us and love us as much as we will allow Him to do so. The only thing preventing us from embracing Him is us and our selfishness. We struggle with ourselves to let go of everything, good and bad, and be with Him. We need to take a moment and ask ourselves, “Why are we struggling so much against something that is good for us and for all of creation?”

Jesus Christ wants us to enter Him, the gate, so that we may be rescued from ourselves. He then describes in the Gospel Reading how we will then go out from the gate and find pasture. Entering the gate elevates us to a higher awareness of spirituality which then enables us to reenter the physical world more united to Him and more ready for the joy offered to us. He mentions life and having it more abundantly. Without Jesus Christ there is no life. Without Jesus Christ there is nothing. Uniting ourselves with Him gives us purpose and maximizes all that we will experience today and throughout all the tomorrows forever.

Deacon Tom

Deacon Tom