Readings for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 11:19-26
Those who had been scattered by the persecution
that arose because of Stephen
went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,
preaching the word to no one but Jews.
There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however,
who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well,
proclaiming the Lord Jesus.
The hand of the Lord was with them
and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 11:19-26
The story in Acts links back to Acts 8:1-4, the flight from Jerusalem following the death of St. Stephen. It is significant in the life of the Church for a few reasons. First, because, as a consequence of bringing a large number of gentiles to believe in Christ and because they had no historical connection to Judaism, they identified themselves for the first time as Christians – separate from the Judaism. We note the action of the Holy Spirit is credited with this successful evangelization (as did St. John Chrysostom in his Homily on Acts 25 where he said “Notice, that it is grace which does everything. And also reflect on the fact that this work is begun by unknown workers and only when it begins to prosper do the apostles send Barnabas.”[4]). This new vitality attracted not only Barnabas but Saul as well.
The second reason this event is so important is that it tells us Christianity has traveled to Antioch, the third city in the Roman empire (behind Rome and Alexandria) with a population of over a half million. The spread of the Gospel is tremendously accelerated from this point.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (117:1a) All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
His foundation upon the holy mountains
the LORD loves:
The gates of Zion,
more than any dwelling of Jacob.
Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
R. All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I tell of Egypt and Babylon
among those who know the LORD;
Of Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia:
"This man was born there."
And of Zion they shall say:
"One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD."
R. All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
"This man was born there."
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
"My home is within you."
R. All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7
The psalm proclaims the centrality of Jerusalem (Zion) as the source of holiness. Ironically it is positioned after the reading that will lead Christians to understand the New Zion, the Heavenly Jerusalem, a place where those who believe in Christ, the Son of God are favored.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 10:22-30
The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.
It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
"How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father's name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
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."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 10:22-30
We come at last to the conclusion of Jesus debates with the Jewish leadership. He is in the temple precincts now. He came there at a time when many of those from all over the region would be there, the Feast of Hanukkah. They press him to state plainly whether or not he is the Messiah. His final response, again using the “Good Shepherd” analogy, is a chain of logic that leads to his final statement: “The Father and I are one.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Have you ever asked yourself why it is so important that we, as Christians, all work so diligently to understand who Jesus really was and what he was like? After all, the Bible gives us the rules to live by. It provides us with a framework within which we hope to do God’s will.
The short answer to the question posed above is that knowing Christ deeply and personally and having faith in Him separates us from others who are “good people” but who do not believe in God or Christ. A person can be moral but not Christian and we do not practice the faith because it is simply “socially responsible”. There is something more to the faith that just behaving in a civilized way in concert with others and within society.
So often, those who do not practice the faith but who claim to be Christian or Catholic do so because they feel that by following the behavioral precepts of the moral code they have fulfilled the requirements of the faith they claim. We have all heard those who do not practice a faith claim that they are deeply spiritual even though they do not attend Church. This claim is most often based upon the idea that following the moral code constitutes practicing the Christian ethic. It does not.
The reason we, the believing community, work to know Christ, true man and true God, is that the only way to live in him is to try to be like him. There are three principle ways we do this. First we work diligently to understand the written record of his life as true man. This record is the New Testament of the Bible. That record is framed by the Old Testament which not only describes God’s hand in creation but also shows us how the Father revealed himself to the Hebrew people throughout their history. The beliefs and traditions of those ancient people are important to us if we are to understand the society into which Jesus came.
Beyond sacred scripture, we find Christ in the sacraments of the Church. His Holy Spirit uses that avenue to be physically and efficaciously present to us in a special way. It opens divinity to us in these events that mold us and make us aware of God’s loving presence. We get to know Jesus most personally and most intimately in His Body and Blood received in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. It is especially in this way that we are in Him and He is in us.
Finally, we find Jesus in prayer. The grace that we receive in the sacraments provides a relationship in which God hears and responds to us. It was through grace that the faith spreads. As we see in Acts, God uses this relationship; this channel of communication with us, to speak to others through us. It is through prayer that we can discern what God wants from us – beyond simply following his moral code.
Assuming we do these things well, we study scripture, participate in the sacraments, and we are a people of prayer, we come to know Jesus, man and God. And when we know him we can more closely walk with him, be like him, and claim partnership with him as his adopted sons and daughters. And knowing the Son is to know the Father, because as we are told “The Father and I are one."
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Holy Trinity” by Hendrick van Balen, 1620’s
[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.
[4] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 790-791
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 11:19-26
Those who had been scattered by the persecution
that arose because of Stephen
went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,
preaching the word to no one but Jews.
There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however,
who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well,
proclaiming the Lord Jesus.
The hand of the Lord was with them
and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 11:19-26
The story in Acts links back to Acts 8:1-4, the flight from Jerusalem following the death of St. Stephen. It is significant in the life of the Church for a few reasons. First, because, as a consequence of bringing a large number of gentiles to believe in Christ and because they had no historical connection to Judaism, they identified themselves for the first time as Christians – separate from the Judaism. We note the action of the Holy Spirit is credited with this successful evangelization (as did St. John Chrysostom in his Homily on Acts 25 where he said “Notice, that it is grace which does everything. And also reflect on the fact that this work is begun by unknown workers and only when it begins to prosper do the apostles send Barnabas.”[4]). This new vitality attracted not only Barnabas but Saul as well.
The second reason this event is so important is that it tells us Christianity has traveled to Antioch, the third city in the Roman empire (behind Rome and Alexandria) with a population of over a half million. The spread of the Gospel is tremendously accelerated from this point.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (117:1a) All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
His foundation upon the holy mountains
the LORD loves:
The gates of Zion,
more than any dwelling of Jacob.
Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
R. All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I tell of Egypt and Babylon
among those who know the LORD;
Of Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia:
"This man was born there."
And of Zion they shall say:
"One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD."
R. All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
"This man was born there."
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
"My home is within you."
R. All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7
The psalm proclaims the centrality of Jerusalem (Zion) as the source of holiness. Ironically it is positioned after the reading that will lead Christians to understand the New Zion, the Heavenly Jerusalem, a place where those who believe in Christ, the Son of God are favored.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 10:22-30
The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.
It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
"How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father's name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
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."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 10:22-30
We come at last to the conclusion of Jesus debates with the Jewish leadership. He is in the temple precincts now. He came there at a time when many of those from all over the region would be there, the Feast of Hanukkah. They press him to state plainly whether or not he is the Messiah. His final response, again using the “Good Shepherd” analogy, is a chain of logic that leads to his final statement: “The Father and I are one.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Have you ever asked yourself why it is so important that we, as Christians, all work so diligently to understand who Jesus really was and what he was like? After all, the Bible gives us the rules to live by. It provides us with a framework within which we hope to do God’s will.
The short answer to the question posed above is that knowing Christ deeply and personally and having faith in Him separates us from others who are “good people” but who do not believe in God or Christ. A person can be moral but not Christian and we do not practice the faith because it is simply “socially responsible”. There is something more to the faith that just behaving in a civilized way in concert with others and within society.
So often, those who do not practice the faith but who claim to be Christian or Catholic do so because they feel that by following the behavioral precepts of the moral code they have fulfilled the requirements of the faith they claim. We have all heard those who do not practice a faith claim that they are deeply spiritual even though they do not attend Church. This claim is most often based upon the idea that following the moral code constitutes practicing the Christian ethic. It does not.
The reason we, the believing community, work to know Christ, true man and true God, is that the only way to live in him is to try to be like him. There are three principle ways we do this. First we work diligently to understand the written record of his life as true man. This record is the New Testament of the Bible. That record is framed by the Old Testament which not only describes God’s hand in creation but also shows us how the Father revealed himself to the Hebrew people throughout their history. The beliefs and traditions of those ancient people are important to us if we are to understand the society into which Jesus came.
Beyond sacred scripture, we find Christ in the sacraments of the Church. His Holy Spirit uses that avenue to be physically and efficaciously present to us in a special way. It opens divinity to us in these events that mold us and make us aware of God’s loving presence. We get to know Jesus most personally and most intimately in His Body and Blood received in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. It is especially in this way that we are in Him and He is in us.
Finally, we find Jesus in prayer. The grace that we receive in the sacraments provides a relationship in which God hears and responds to us. It was through grace that the faith spreads. As we see in Acts, God uses this relationship; this channel of communication with us, to speak to others through us. It is through prayer that we can discern what God wants from us – beyond simply following his moral code.
Assuming we do these things well, we study scripture, participate in the sacraments, and we are a people of prayer, we come to know Jesus, man and God. And when we know him we can more closely walk with him, be like him, and claim partnership with him as his adopted sons and daughters. And knowing the Son is to know the Father, because as we are told “The Father and I are one."
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Holy Trinity” by Hendrick van Balen, 1620’s
[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.
[4] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 790-791
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