Fourth Sunday of Easter
Reflection: Remaining faithful amid turmoil
By SISTER MARY McGLONE
A number of years ago, I was hosting a pastor from El Salvador as he visited his U.S. sister parish. He asked me about parish life, what brought people together and what kinds of conflicts U.S. parishes might have.
I told him that in that particular parish, the great unifiers were in support of its school and a local and international commitment to work for justice.
Nevertheless, I had to admit that we were in the midst of some liturgical controversy. Some leaders had asked parishioners to bake Communion bread. A few people reported to the bishop that the recipe was illegal because it included honey. Suddenly, lots of people were angry. Hearing that, the pastor shook his head and said, “The recipe police allow the devil to go drinking and dancing because they are doing his work so well!”
Today, Acts tells us that Paul and Barnabas had great success preaching in synagogues until some of the “old guard” got jealous. While the disciples urged people to remain faithful to God’s grace, each side had a settled opinion about what that meant. Paul and Barnabas went a bit overboard by denouncing the Jews who could not accept Jesus and loudly lauding the Gentiles who did. Then, some influential matrons and leaders got the disciples banished.
Although Luke may not have intended it, this story depicts divisive attitudes and actions on the part of both parties, enough so that the devil probably found time for a nap or two. Our readings from John and Revelation offer commentary on this drama and what Paul and Barnabas still needed to learn.
The Fourth Sunday of Easter, “Good Shepherd Sunday,” always focuses on Christ, the pastor of all creation. Today’s Gospel makes up in depth what it lacks in length. The first verse tells us that Jesus’ own hear and follow him. In this context, hearing means paying serious attention, allowing a message to move our heart like music moves our feet, allowing it to get deeply into us. Thus, Jesus could claim that those who hear him, follow him. Imbibing his message, they recognize it as so life-giving that any other option seems senseless.
When Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and no one can take them away,” he’s saying that hearing and following induct us into his own life, including his imperishable relationship to the Father. This reiterates John’s basic message: We are made for union with God and one another, and when we enter into that, nothing can destroy it.
Revelation records how John the visionary saw a future innumerable multitude “from every nation, race, people and tongue.” These are people who have remained faithful in times of trial and tribulation, something that would be impossible without an enduring relationship with God. People like this make the devil weep with frustration.
The problem of the religious leaders depicted in Acts was that of risking openness to more than they already knew, of taking in information that challenged cherished beliefs. They’re not hard to understand. In this age of fake news and opposing theologies, how are we to know what comes from God and what impedes God’s reign in our midst?
Reading I
(Acts 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.
Responsorial Psalm
(Psalm 100: 1-3,5)
R: We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
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.
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.
The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R: We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Reading II
(Rev 7: 8, 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.”
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.”