Fourth Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 51
Reading I
Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga
and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered the synagogue and took their seats.
Many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them
and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.
On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered
to hear the word of the Lord.
When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy
and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.
Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,
“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,
but since you reject it
and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,
we now turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us,
I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
that you may be an instrument of salvation
to the ends of the earth.”
The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this
and glorified the word of the Lord.
All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,
and the word of the Lord continued to spread
through the whole region.
The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers
and the leading men of the city,
stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them from their territory.
So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them,
and went to Iconium.
The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm
R (3c) We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R Alleluia.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the
LORD with gladness;
come before
him with joyful song.
R We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R Alleluia.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us,
his we are;
his people,
the flock he tends.
R We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R Alleluia.
The LORD is good:
his kindness
endures forever,
and his
faithfulness, to all generations.
R We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R Alleluia.
Reading II
I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
Then one of the elders said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
“For this
reason they stand before God’s throne
and worship him day and night in his temple.
The one who
sits on the throne will shelter them.
They will
not hunger or thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
For the Lamb
who is in the center of the throne
will shepherd them
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
We will all face a great distress in our lives. As Christians, we are destined to encounter this, for our God welcomed His own distress in order that we may experience eternal life. We are created in His image, so it is inevitable that we are going to experience what He experienced and endure what He endured. We cannot avoid the coming persecutions. We cannot avoid being put to the test, entering our own personal crucibles in order to be strengthened and purified as a result. We need to understand that there will be suffering, but at the same time, there will be relief and an experience of ultimate joy as a result.
The foundation of our faith is Jesus Christ. We are encouraged to realize this and embrace it as a tenant of our lives. So, we begin our day with Jesus. We then continue our day walking with Him and looking to Him for advice and counsel. We then end our day as we began it, with Jesus. As long as we listen to His voice and guide our thoughts and actions by what He says instead of what we want, then everything will be better as a result. We cannot think that what we want or know is better than what our God wants and knows. We are born in His image but that doesn’t mean we are equal or superior to Him. Time and time again the results of this folly are presented to us as evidence that we should constantly seek a better way, guided by Jesus Christ instead of our own needs, wants, and desires.
The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles today emphasizes this point. The Apostle Paul and Barnabas were expelled from Antioch and were forced to leave, yet they rejoiced in this persecution knowing that The Word of God would be triumphant against all that opposed them. They knew, without any doubt, that what they had to say was coming from God Himself and that what they were professing would be planted as a seed into the hearts of those who would receive it. This seed would then be nourished by God and grow regardless of what human forces would oppose it. We are encouraged to have the same confidence as they had, even when we are confronted with obstacles and forces that may appear to be overwhelming at times. Nothing can overwhelm us if we walk with Jesus Christ, recognizing His presence with us.
The Prayer of Saint Patrick’s Breastplate is a beautiful prayer:
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
It exemplifies the Gospel Reading today about Jesus professing that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. We are indeed the sheep, and He is our shepherd. Recognizing this fact is the first step in a transformative experience that will indeed lead us into a better place in our lives. If we recognize Jesus Christ as the predominant force in our lives, we will be okay regardless of what we face or what circumstances we find ourselves in.
Control. That is one of the roots of all of our problems. We tend to think of ourselves as the masters of our own destinies instead of Jesus Christ. We do indeed have a choice: whether to let Jesus Christ guide us with tender love and care or to wrest control back from Him, trying to dictate our lives according to our needs, wants, and desire which are constantly rooted in earthly desires. These things, as we already know, will lead to despair. The Divine Mercy Prayer can be a guiding force in how we can surrender our life and will over to God: “Jesus I trust in you.” Simple words. A very simple thing that can bring about tremendous results.
Deacon Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment