Readings for Fifth Sunday of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 9:26-31
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him,
not believing that he was a disciple.
Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles,
and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord,
and that he had spoken to him,
and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.
He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem,
and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord.
He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists,
but they tried to kill him.
And when the brothers learned of this,
they took him down to Caesarea
and sent him on his way to Tarsus.
The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.
It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 9:26-31
This story of St. Paul’s return to Jerusalem, the first of six mentioned in Acts, follows the first account of “Saul’s” conversion. It is the same visit mentioned in Galatians 1:18. We see how the news of his arrival is seen with alarm by the Apostolic College who only meets with him after Barnabas intercedes for him. Even at this early stage, St. Paul’s focus on the Jews who were not from the region (“He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists …”).
St. Paul’s bold preaching earns him the same enmity he had earlier in the same chapter developed in Damascus and he is forced to leave into Galilee headed for his place of birth, Tarsus. St. Luke concludes this episode saying that the newly formed Church was at peace and growing thanks to the efforts of the community.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the LORD.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your hearts live forever!"
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
all the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
Psalm 22 is an individual lament. The psalmist, in unusually passionate terms describes the devotion of the faithful and the trust that God’s rule over all will be just. The final strophe is a pledge of faithfulness for all generations to come.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: 1 John 3:18-24
Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.
Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn,
for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God
and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit he gave us.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Jn 3:18-24
The ending of Chapter 3 from St. John’s first epistle speaks of Christians living a life of faith in Jesus and how, in that faith, they are assured, through mutual love, that we are in the Lord and the Lord also resides in us. In adhering to this most important of commandments the Lord becomes indwelling. As a consequence of our obedience, the love of Christ and love of each other naturally follows.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 15:1-8
We begin the discourse on the vine and the branches – really a monologue on the union of the Christian faithful with Jesus. It is still part of Jesus’ farewell speech. The familiar image of the Vineyard and the Vines is used which has imagery in common with Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 21:33-46 and as a vine at Psalm 80:9-17; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15:2; 17:5-10; 19:10; Hosea 10:1. The identification of the vine as the Son of Man in Psalm 80:15 and Wisdom's description of herself as a vine in Sirach 24:17. This monologue becomes a unifying tie that pulls everything together.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
Jesus uses analogy again for us this week to show us how, without being connected to Him, we will not be able to accomplish the good things that give us the life and peace he wants for us. It is appropriate that we are given this particular analogy on Mother’s Day.
Though it is a secular holiday, it is one we believe the Lord would support. The Lord himself would definitely support a day dedicated to love and respect for mothers, whether biological or acting in that, most Christ-like role of care giver and life giver. He would agree that the love and acceptance our mothers have for us, in spite of our faults and failures, is an example that most closely echoes the Father’s love for all of us. Jesus, who knew the law in both letter and spirit, better than anyone, would definitely support a day that highlighted the importance of following one of the 10 Commandments; "Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.” (Exodus 20 12) And he who sacrificed his very life for us all would support the gift of appreciation for mothers who have sacrificed so much for their children.
“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
Jesus today gives us an image that can be viewed as our family tree. (This is not another treatise on the virtues of motherhood, although you can see them very clearly in Jesus’ analogy) The Lord picked a really good image for us. If you cut a branch off a grape vine – it withers before your eyes. It needs the nourishment it receives from the vine constantly, just as we need to stay connected to Christ. If we separate ourselves from him through sin, our soul starts to wither. If it stays disconnected, cut off, for too long it can die. We would become just a shell of what God wants us to be (Oh, also very flammable, if you get the drift.).
“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
The interesting thing about grape vines is if they are allowed to just grow and spread without care – they become fruitless. That is, they stop bearing fruit. In order for them to bear fruit they must be disciplined (No, kids, this is not about mothers again.) As Jesus says; “You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you…” We follow the word and do not grow in places he does not want. We do not grow in hatred of others – that way lies death. We do not seek pleasure for ourselves without regard for others – hedonism is like a weed that strangles all that is good. We do not grow in material wealth and ignore the poor – that is idol worship. We do not grow in disrespect for the life God gave us and all his creation – doing so, we disrespect the Lord himself.
Because we have been disciplined ourselves, in Jesus, we can bear much fruit and all the good that comes from it. Given that we are still in the sun light of Jesus, our Lenten discipline, self-punning, has just been completed. Our fruit is the very image of Christ’s Church that stands as a beacon of hope for the hopeless. Our fruit is the love and respect we show to all God’s creation that allows good to flourish and causes evil to parish. Our fruit can become like the loaves and fishes that fed the 5,000, it can feed the whole world.
“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
In spite of our best efforts (and in many cases the best efforts of our mother’s as well), we find ourselves too far from the vine. We find that we have grown too wild and the result is the fruit we are expected to bear has diminished. This is where the analogy breaks down. We can reconnect! We can reach back to the vine, unlike the biological branch that once cut off immediately dies. We can revitalize ourselves in the spiritual gift that our vine provides. Just as surely as a branch will die if it is cut off from a vine, we will have life and peace and all good things because we are part of that family tree.
“I am the vine, you are the branches.” Today we celebrate our oneness in Christ and let us not forget to thank the person who, through our life has made that possible – Mom’s, whether you gave us birth or nurturing that brought us here, thank you.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Virgin and Child with a Bunch of Grapes” by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1509-10
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 9:26-31
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him,
not believing that he was a disciple.
Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles,
and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord,
and that he had spoken to him,
and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.
He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem,
and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord.
He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists,
but they tried to kill him.
And when the brothers learned of this,
they took him down to Caesarea
and sent him on his way to Tarsus.
The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.
It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 9:26-31
This story of St. Paul’s return to Jerusalem, the first of six mentioned in Acts, follows the first account of “Saul’s” conversion. It is the same visit mentioned in Galatians 1:18. We see how the news of his arrival is seen with alarm by the Apostolic College who only meets with him after Barnabas intercedes for him. Even at this early stage, St. Paul’s focus on the Jews who were not from the region (“He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists …”).
St. Paul’s bold preaching earns him the same enmity he had earlier in the same chapter developed in Damascus and he is forced to leave into Galilee headed for his place of birth, Tarsus. St. Luke concludes this episode saying that the newly formed Church was at peace and growing thanks to the efforts of the community.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the LORD.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your hearts live forever!"
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
all the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
Psalm 22 is an individual lament. The psalmist, in unusually passionate terms describes the devotion of the faithful and the trust that God’s rule over all will be just. The final strophe is a pledge of faithfulness for all generations to come.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: 1 John 3:18-24
Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.
Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn,
for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God
and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit he gave us.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Jn 3:18-24
The ending of Chapter 3 from St. John’s first epistle speaks of Christians living a life of faith in Jesus and how, in that faith, they are assured, through mutual love, that we are in the Lord and the Lord also resides in us. In adhering to this most important of commandments the Lord becomes indwelling. As a consequence of our obedience, the love of Christ and love of each other naturally follows.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 15:1-8
We begin the discourse on the vine and the branches – really a monologue on the union of the Christian faithful with Jesus. It is still part of Jesus’ farewell speech. The familiar image of the Vineyard and the Vines is used which has imagery in common with Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 21:33-46 and as a vine at Psalm 80:9-17; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15:2; 17:5-10; 19:10; Hosea 10:1. The identification of the vine as the Son of Man in Psalm 80:15 and Wisdom's description of herself as a vine in Sirach 24:17. This monologue becomes a unifying tie that pulls everything together.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
Jesus uses analogy again for us this week to show us how, without being connected to Him, we will not be able to accomplish the good things that give us the life and peace he wants for us. It is appropriate that we are given this particular analogy on Mother’s Day.
Though it is a secular holiday, it is one we believe the Lord would support. The Lord himself would definitely support a day dedicated to love and respect for mothers, whether biological or acting in that, most Christ-like role of care giver and life giver. He would agree that the love and acceptance our mothers have for us, in spite of our faults and failures, is an example that most closely echoes the Father’s love for all of us. Jesus, who knew the law in both letter and spirit, better than anyone, would definitely support a day that highlighted the importance of following one of the 10 Commandments; "Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.” (Exodus 20 12) And he who sacrificed his very life for us all would support the gift of appreciation for mothers who have sacrificed so much for their children.
“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
Jesus today gives us an image that can be viewed as our family tree. (This is not another treatise on the virtues of motherhood, although you can see them very clearly in Jesus’ analogy) The Lord picked a really good image for us. If you cut a branch off a grape vine – it withers before your eyes. It needs the nourishment it receives from the vine constantly, just as we need to stay connected to Christ. If we separate ourselves from him through sin, our soul starts to wither. If it stays disconnected, cut off, for too long it can die. We would become just a shell of what God wants us to be (Oh, also very flammable, if you get the drift.).
“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
The interesting thing about grape vines is if they are allowed to just grow and spread without care – they become fruitless. That is, they stop bearing fruit. In order for them to bear fruit they must be disciplined (No, kids, this is not about mothers again.) As Jesus says; “You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you…” We follow the word and do not grow in places he does not want. We do not grow in hatred of others – that way lies death. We do not seek pleasure for ourselves without regard for others – hedonism is like a weed that strangles all that is good. We do not grow in material wealth and ignore the poor – that is idol worship. We do not grow in disrespect for the life God gave us and all his creation – doing so, we disrespect the Lord himself.
Because we have been disciplined ourselves, in Jesus, we can bear much fruit and all the good that comes from it. Given that we are still in the sun light of Jesus, our Lenten discipline, self-punning, has just been completed. Our fruit is the very image of Christ’s Church that stands as a beacon of hope for the hopeless. Our fruit is the love and respect we show to all God’s creation that allows good to flourish and causes evil to parish. Our fruit can become like the loaves and fishes that fed the 5,000, it can feed the whole world.
“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
In spite of our best efforts (and in many cases the best efforts of our mother’s as well), we find ourselves too far from the vine. We find that we have grown too wild and the result is the fruit we are expected to bear has diminished. This is where the analogy breaks down. We can reconnect! We can reach back to the vine, unlike the biological branch that once cut off immediately dies. We can revitalize ourselves in the spiritual gift that our vine provides. Just as surely as a branch will die if it is cut off from a vine, we will have life and peace and all good things because we are part of that family tree.
“I am the vine, you are the branches.” Today we celebrate our oneness in Christ and let us not forget to thank the person who, through our life has made that possible – Mom’s, whether you gave us birth or nurturing that brought us here, thank you.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Virgin and Child with a Bunch of Grapes” by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1509-10
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
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