Skip to main content

4th Sunday of Easter 2013

By
This 4th Sunday of Advent is referred to as Good Shepherd Sunday, where our readings show Jesus and the Apostles defining their roles as shepherds to the world.

The Word for the 4th Sunday of Easter
        Acts 13:14, 43-52
        Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5
        Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
        John 10:27-30

Our first reading from Acts of the Apostles has us traveling with Paul and Barnabas’ on their first journey to Antioch.  Their first visit to the Synagogue went so well that they are invited to come back the following week.  Our narrative opens with that visit the following week, only this time their reception is mixed.  This rejection by some of the Jews drives Paul to take their message to the Gentiles in Antioch, but the disaffected Jews manage to get the Apostles ejected from the city, thus giving rise to the phrase “shaking the dust from their feet” and moving on.  For our second reading we continue our journey through John’s Revelation, where this week we see Jesus in a vision that both evokes his roll both as the Lamb of God, and that of the Shepherd of the Lord.  This takes us to a rather short but precise Gospel passage from John where Jesus not only sets himself as shepherd of his flock, but at one with God himself (thus our focus on the Divinity of Jesus).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ascension of the Lord - Cycle C

By
Following the traditional calendar, the Solemnity of the Ascension falls on a Thursday, 40 days after the Resurrection, and 10 days before Pentecost.  But since the Ascension is such an important moment for us as Church, many dioceses, including our own, have moved this celebration to this coming Sunday (in place of the 7th Sunday of Easter). The Word for the Ascension of the Lord Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23 Luke 24:46-53 Our first reading is from the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles.  While it might be more appropriate that this reading should follow our Gospel reading for today (as it naturally follows after Luke’s Gospel), the book-end effect of these two readings remains intact, reminding us how this was a pivotal moment for the Church.  Like most sequels, our reading opens with a recap of where we left off at the end of Luke’s Gospel with the Ascension of Jesus.  Also like most sequels, this “recap” of t...
Post a Comment
Read more

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

By
“In the beginning there was the Word…”  These are the dramatic opening lines from the Gospel according to John, and though we will not be reading from John’s Gospel this Sunday, these words ring true for our readings for this 3rd Sunday of Ordinary time.  The people are in the midst of something new, a new beginning that, as our readings will show, begin with The Word… The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 (or 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27) Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Our first reading is from the book of the Prophet Nehemiah.  Nehemiah, along with the priest/prophet Ezra, are the architects of the Restoration of Israel.  Their great Exile in Babylon is over and through the grace of the Persian King, Cyrus the Great, Israel is free to return to their land, to rebuild the Temple and to rebuild their lives as the people of God.  In an effort to guild them in this new beginning, Nehemiah and Ezra g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion - Cycle C

By
How quickly things can change.  One moment we are celebrating, and the next we are brought to shock and grief.  This is Palm Sunday.  The same crowd that cheered as Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem is the same crowd that only a few days later is shouting for his execution.  How can this be?  Our own recent history has similar moments – The stay-at-home orders for the COVID-19 pandemic, the September 11th terror attacks, the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, and for those who are older, the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor.  History defining moments that, for those who lived through them become emblazoned in their memories and can move an entire society to say, “everything is different now.”  This is Palm Sunday: The Word for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Luke 19:28-40 Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 Philippians 2:6-11 Luke 22:14-23:56 As is our tradition, our gospel readings for...
Post a Comment
Read more