BIBLE STUDY #130


FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

April 21, 2013



READING 1

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 13:14, 43-52



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.



The Word of the Lord



READING 2

REVELATION 7:9, 14B-17



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.”



The Word of the Lord



GOSPEL

JOHN 10:27-30



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.”



The Gospel of the Lord



Reflection



The Gospel begins with a statement from Jesus, which is answering “the Jews” (Jesus is in the temple area, so I am assuming that “the Jews” refers to the Jewish leadership) who want to know if Jesus is the Christ (verse 24). In verse 25 he replies that he has already said so, but they don’t believe because they “do not belong to my sheep.”



Those who do belong to Jesus hear his voice, just as a sheep will follow the shepherd. Sheep are not as dumb as we think. They will follow only the shepherd’s voice. If three flocks of sheep are intermingled, and the three shepherds call out, the sheep will untangle themselves and follow their own shepherd. The shepherd goes ahead of them to show them that everything is alright.



Jesus promises that those who follow him will receive eternal life. His authority to do this comes because “The Father and I are one.” Jesus is the Son of God who suffers, dies, and rises from the dead so we can have eternal life, so we will never perish.



“No one can take them out of my hand.” No one can lead his sheep away because a sheep only follows the shepherd. There are a lot of false shepherds who try to lead us away from the Good Shepherd. False shepherds try to lead s down the path of consumerism, of materialism, of selfishness, of greed ad of immorality.



If we follow Jesus, if we hear his voice, we respond by living as Jesus would have us live. We are forgiving, loving, caring, sacrificing; we are virtuous. Jesus leads the way and strengthens us and nourishes us on our pilgrim journey so we can get home safely. He guards and protects us, nourishes and feeds us. He teaches us to love as he loves us.



By our baptism, we are called to be led by Jesus, but also called to be shepherds in our own right by loving each other.



Here is a story about loving from one of my homily sources called “Sermons .com.” It is a story from “The Promise of Living” by Keith Wagner:



The Rewards of Loving



There once was a young woman who had a baby boy. Just after her son’s baptism, a ragged old man came to her, and offered to grant her one wish on behalf of her son. Thinking only the best for her baby, the woman wished that her son would always be loved by everyone he met. The old man said, "so be it," and vanished. It turned out just as he said.



As the boy grew, everyone loved him so much that he never lacked for anything. Yet, things did not turn out as expected. As adored and admired as the young man was, he experienced a terrible emptiness within him. He could have anything he wanted, just by asking, but he had no real friends. He never knew the joy of a day’s work or an achievement, richly rewarded. His neighbors took care of all his needs. The young man became cynical, jaded and selfish as none of his actions ever brought him any negative consequences.



Finally, the day came when his aged mother died. At the funeral, the same mysterious old man appeared and offered the young man one wish. The young man took him up on his offer and asked that his mother’s original wish for him be changed. Rather than being loved by everyone he met, the young man asked the old wizard to give him the power to love everyone he met. And, the story goes, from that day forward he knew happiness such as no one on this earth has ever known.





Fr. Phil