The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to evaluate our commitment to contemplation and action in following the prompts of the Spirit to strive for fullness of life for all.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles relates Peter’s Report to the Church at Jerusalem concerning the Baptism of the Gentiles.
* [11:1–18] The Jewish Christians of Jerusalem were scandalized to learn of Peter’s sojourn in the house of the Gentile Cornelius. Nonetheless, they had to accept the divine directions given to both Peter and Cornelius. They concluded that the setting aside of the legal barriers between Jew and Gentile was an exceptional ordinance of God to indicate that the apostolic kerygma was also to be directed to the Gentiles. Only in Acts 15 at the “Council” in Jerusalem does the evangelization of the Gentiles become the official position of the church leadership in Jerusalem.
* [11:3] You entered…: alternatively, this could be punctuated as a question.
* [11:12] These six brothers: companions from the Christian community of Joppa (see Acts 10:23). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 42 expresses longing for God and His Help in Distress.
* [Psalms 42–43] Ps 42–43 form a single lament of three sections, each section ending in an identical refrain (Ps 42:6, 12; 43:5). The psalmist is far from Jerusalem, and longs for the divine presence that Israel experienced in the Temple liturgy. Despite sadness, the psalmist hopes once again to join the worshiping crowds. (Psalms, PSALM 42 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
* [10:1–21] The good shepherd discourse continues the theme of attack on the Pharisees that ends Jn 9. The figure is allegorical: the hired hands are the Pharisees who excommunicated the cured blind man. It serves as a commentary on Jn 9. For the shepherd motif, used of Yahweh in the Old Testament, cf. Ex 34; Gn 48:15; 49:24; Mi 7:14; Ps 23:1–4; 80:1.
* [10:1] Sheepfold: a low stone wall open to the sky.
* [10:4] Recognize his voice: the Pharisees do not recognize Jesus, but the people of God, symbolized by the blind man, do.
* [10:6] Figure of speech: John uses a different word for illustrative speech than the “parable” of the synoptics, but the idea is similar.
* [10:7–10] In Jn 10:7–8, the figure is of a gate for the shepherd to come to the sheep; in Jn 10:9–10, the figure is of a gate for the sheep to come in and go out.
* [10:8] [Before me]: these words are omitted in many good early manuscripts and versions. (John, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)
Joan Blandin Howard comments that some of us are fortunate to have the experience of being loved and nurtured.
Is it possible for all to become one flock? What do we have in common? Above all else we all want to be acceptable, welcomed, respected and valued for our individuality and uniqueness. We all thirst to belong. We all do belong; just haven’t recognized each other yet. Jews, Christians, Muslims, refugees, immigrants, Africans, Asians, LGBTQ+, the proverbial Other, the cherished and the shunned, the feared, the rich, the poor, the marginalized, the prisoner – all of us want to and do belong to God’s one loved flock. Some of us cannot verbalize this desire to belong to Jesus’ one flock. Some of us can only express the pain of exclusion. (Blandin Howard, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Green pastures and still waters,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God, 'How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in my mouth!'" (excerpt from Sermon 366,3,1) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 11:1-18 comments that just as he did with Peter, God wants to help us recognize where our mindsets and our words are inconsistent with his intentions. He has “made clean” everyone who belongs to Jesus. Even if we don’t get along well with some believers, we should remember that they, like us, have been made new. They, too, are heirs of salvation and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Every day offers us opportunities to respond to this choice. How will you think and speak about God’s children today? Can you use your words to encourage, to build up, to declare what God thinks about them? Ask the Spirit to help you think as he does about your fellow believers. As your mind is renewed, you will find it easier to speak words of love, speech that creates spaces of love, unity, and healing.
“Lord, purify my heart and help my words to build up your people!” (Meditation on Acts 11:1-18, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the presentation of Peter to the elders in Jerusalem of his mission to Cornelius and family in which the Spirit leads the Church to include Gentiles. The Good Shepherd calls the sheep by name as was the experience of Mary Magdalene in her encounter with the Risen Jesus in the garden. Friar Jude notes Jesus' reference to the Pharisees and Sadducees as being false shepherds.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Theologian Tony Jones who writes of the gifts available when we encounter God in “wild places”.
The God of wild places has given us companions. We may be hurtling through space … but we’re not alone. We are interdependent on a whole fabric of creation, woven together with beings sentient and non-sentient, animate and inanimate…. I’ve stopped looking up to the sky for help and instead lowered my eyes to the companions around me. My dogs have been my most sacred non-human companions. [My friend] Seth talks to plants. No matter the species with which we commune, the key is keeping the whole web in view—seeing the forest and the trees, for God’s love pulses through the web. (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the truth that our fullness of life is intimately connected to the support we give to life in the people and places that make up our environment.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 22, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/11?1
Blandin Howard, J. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved April 22, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/042224.html
John, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 22, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/10?1
Meditation on Acts 11:1-18. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 22, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/04/22/941225/
Psalms, PSALM 42 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 22, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/42?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Encountering God in Wild Places. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved April 22, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/encountering-god-in-wild-places/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). I Came That They May Have Life Abundantly. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved April 22, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=apr22
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