Acts 11:1-18 /
John 10:1-10
Jesus talks about life: “I came to give you life in all its
fullness.”
A 50-year-old
man with a terminal illness wrote to a friend: “I suddenly asked myself, ‘What
am I doing? Why am I working at something I don’t enjoy? Why am I building a
bank account that will do me no good when I am dead?’” Then the man told his
friend that he was going to change his approach to life and live the way his
heart dictated he should. That man lived 18 more months. Before he died, he
told someone that the final 18 months of his life were “the best, the fullest,
and the richest” of his entire life. Jesus came to teach us “the best, the
fullest, and the richest” way to live.
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How full
and rich is our present life? How might it become richer and fuller? “Our life
is scarce the twinkle of a star in God’s eternal day.” Bayard Taylor
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The saying that
"one man's meat is another man's poison" may not have the literal
meaning of poison. Rather it means that things liked or enjoyed by one person
may be distasteful to another. The general meaning points to food but it may
also have a broader application.
The vision that
Peter had in the 1st reading was about a sheet that contained all sorts of
animals and wild beasts.
And then the command "kill and eat" obviously meant that the meat of these animals is meant as food. Though Peter initially objected because he thought of the meats of some animals as "profane and unclean", the voice in the vision stated "What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane". But the vision is not just about food and about what is "profane and unclean".
And then the command "kill and eat" obviously meant that the meat of these animals is meant as food. Though Peter initially objected because he thought of the meats of some animals as "profane and unclean", the voice in the vision stated "What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane". But the vision is not just about food and about what is "profane and unclean".
It has a further meaning that applies to people, and for Peter, just as he thought of some meats as profane and unclean, he thought of the pagans as profane and unclean.
We may not think of pagans as "profane and unclean". But in our minds, there are some people, regardless of whether they are pagans or otherwise, that we think are "profane and unclean" in that they irritate us to the marrow of our bones and we think of them as toxic and poisonous.
Through the vision
of Peter, God is also telling us that these people are also created by Him, and
we have no right to call them profane and unclean, or toxic and poisonous.
Let us ask the Lord to cleanse us of these profane and unclean, toxic and poisonous thoughts of our hearts, so that we are able to see these people with the eyes of God and to slowly come to understand them with a heart of love.
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Monday of 4th Week of Easter - LITURGY
OPEN CHURCH: ALL ARE CALLED
Introduction
“I have come that they may have life – life in abundance,” says
Jesus, the Good Shepherd. He is the door to all. In the first reading, Peter
defends his action of baptizing the pagan Cornelius on the same grounds: also
pagans are called to accept the Gospel and the Holy Spirit comes down on them
too, although apparently, the same Christians seem to have understood the case
of Cornelius and his household as an exceptional instance. Is the Church – are
we – open to accept all? What do we do to make this a reality? Remember, Jesus
had come to bring life to all.
Penitential Rite
-You, Lord, our Good Shepherd, open the gates and call each of us by name, when we
don’t answer, LHM
-You, Lord, our Good Shepherd, walk ahead of us for us to follow, yet we are hesitant to
follow you, LHM
-Your voice, Lord, our Good Shepherd, is not what we often recognize and follow the
strangers, CHM
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, Father of all, you sent your Son, Jesus Christ among
us to reveal to us that you care about people and that your love extends to
all, without any distinction of race or culture. Give us a great respect for
all people, whatever way they come, and let your Church embrace all cultures, that
Jesus may truly be the Lord and Shepherd of all, now and forever.
Commentary
In the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel, read in part on Good Shepherd
Sunday, two distinct images appear. One depicts Christ as the Good Shepherd;
the second speaks of him as the sheep gate. It is the latter that appears in
today’s Gospel. To enter the sheepfold through Christ is the sole recognized
way of access; to enter through others ways is the route of deceivers and
robbers. The authentic leaders of the faithful remain faithful to the voice of
Christ. The image certainly underscores the importance of orthodoxy and
authenticity of teaching. But it also points to a willingness to accept change.
The first major issue that early Christianity had to face was the decision to
accept Gentile converts, a question that arises in today’s reading from Acts of
the Apostles. One of the major obstacles to religious homogeneity centered on
the question of the Jewish food laws. A considerable part of the Jewish legal
code distinguished between clean and unclean foods. Therefore, table fellowship
with unbelievers was excluded. In today’s reading, at the direction of the Lord
himself, all foods were declared clean. The full acceptance of the Gentiles is
authenticated with the giving of the Holy Spirit, in a scene often referred to
as the Gentile Pentecost. It was moments such as this that made Christianity a
universal religion. Otherwise it would have withered on the vine or remained a
sect, albeit a fringe one, of Judaism. Both in early Christianity as well as in
later centuries, there were moments of great change. Change is an integral part
of growth and development. It should not cause us dismay. As long as we enter
through die sheep gate, we need have no fear.
Points to Ponder
Christ: Shepherd and sheep gate.
Jew and Gentle, co-equal in the church
Adjusting to change
Intercessions
– Lord Jesus, let our Church keep its gates wide-open for all, from
however far come those who are attracted by your voice, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, make our communities open its bolted doors to
strangers and to people who are different, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, do not allow us to close our ears and hearts to people
who cry out to us their pains and their needs, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, our God, in these signs of bread and wine, we recognize your
care for all and we welcome your Son, Jesus Christ. Give us, the Holy Spirit of
your Son, that our love may become as wide as the world, and that all people
may share in the life and joy you offer to all through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, source of all life, we thank you for the presence of your
Son, Jesus Christ, in our midst. Do not allow us to withhold his Word and his
person from all who hunger for him, whether they know it or not. Let us be his
word and his body to the world of today, that our words and deeds may echo his
voice and that we may be the door to you, our God, for ever and ever.
Blessing
Let Jesus not be a stranger to us but someone whose voice we
recognize when he calls out to us in the needy, in loners, in people who have
not experienced much justice and love. May Almighty God bless you, the Father,
and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
