April 26, 2021Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
2021년 4월 26일 부활 제4주간 월요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
<이제 하느님께서는 다른 민족들에게도 생명에 이르는 회개의 길을 열어 주셨다.>
사도행전. 11,1-18
그 무렵 1 사도들과 유다 지방에 있는 형제들이
다른 민족들도 하느님의 말씀을 받아들였다는 소문을 들었다.
2 그래서 베드로가 예루살렘에 올라갔을 때에 할례 받은 신자들이 그에게 따지며,
3 “당신이 할례 받지 않은 사람들의 집에 들어가
그들과 함께 음식을 먹다니요?” 하고 말하였다.
4 그러자 베드로가 그들에게 차근차근 설명하기 시작하였다.
5 “내가 야포 시에서 기도하다가 무아경 속에서 환시를 보았습니다.
하늘에서 큰 아마포 같은 그릇이 내려와 네 모퉁이로 내려앉는데
내가 있는 곳까지 오는 것이었습니다.
6 내가 그 안을 유심히 바라보며 살피니, 이 세상의 네발 달린 짐승들과
들짐승들과 길짐승들과 하늘의 새들이 보였습니다.
7 그때에 ‘베드로야, 일어나 잡아먹어라.’ 하고
나에게 말하는 소리가 들렸습니다.
8 나는 ‘주님, 절대 안 됩니다. 속된 것이나 더러운 것은
한 번도 제 입속에 들어오지 않았습니다.’ 하고 말하였습니다.
9 그러자 하늘에서 두 번째로 응답하는 목소리가 들렸습니다.
‘하느님께서 깨끗하게 만드신 것을 속되다고 하지 마라.’
10 이러한 일이 세 번 거듭되고 나서
그것들은 모두 하늘로 다시 끌려 올라갔습니다.
11 바로 그때에 세 사람이 우리가 있는 집에 다가와 섰습니다.
카이사리아에서 나에게 심부름 온 이들이었습니다.
12 성령께서는 나에게 주저하지 말고 그들과 함께 가라고 이르셨습니다.
그래서 이 여섯 형제도 나와 함께 갔습니다. 우리가 그 사람 집에 들어가자,
13 그는 천사가 자기 집 안에 서서 이렇게 말하는 것을 보았다고
우리에게 이야기하였습니다.
‘야포로 사람들을 보내어 베드로라고 하는 시몬을 데려오게 하여라.
14 그가 너에게 말씀을 일러 줄 터인데,
그 말씀으로 너와 너의 온 집안이 구원을 받을 것이다.’
15 그리하여 내가 말하기 시작하자,
성령께서 처음에 우리에게 내리셨던 것처럼 그들에게도 내리셨습니다.
16 그때에 나는 ‘요한은 물로 세례를 주었지만
너희는 성령으로 세례를 받을 것이다.’ 하신 주님의 말씀이 생각났습니다.
17 이렇게 하느님께서는 우리가 주 예수 그리스도를 믿게 되었을 때에
우리에게 주신 것과 똑같은 선물을 그들에게도 주셨는데,
내가 무엇이기에 하느님을 막을 수 있었겠습니까?”
18 그들은 이 말을 듣고 잠잠해졌다.
그리고 “이제 하느님께서는 다른 민족들에게도
생명에 이르는 회개의 길을 열어 주셨다.” 하며 하느님을 찬양하였다.
복음
<나는 양들의 문이다.>
요한 10,1-10
그때에 예수님께서 말씀하셨다.
11 “나는 착한 목자다. 착한 목자는 양들을 위하여 자기 목숨을 내놓는다.
12 삯꾼은 목자가 아니고 양도 자기 것이 아니기 때문에,
이리가 오는 것을 보면 양들을 버리고 달아난다.
그러면 이리는 양들을 물어 가고 양 떼를 흩어 버린다.
13 그는 삯꾼이어서 양들에게 관심이 없기 때문이다.
14 나는 착한 목자다. 나는 내 양들을 알고 내 양들은 나를 안다.
15 이는 아버지께서 나를 아시고 내가 아버지를 아는 것과 같다.
나는 양들을 위하여 목숨을 내놓는다.
16 그러나 나에게는 이 우리 안에 들지 않은 양들도 있다.
나는 그들도 데려와야 한다.
그들도 내 목소리를 알아듣고 마침내 한 목자 아래 한 양 떼가 될 것이다.
17 아버지께서는 내가 목숨을 내놓기 때문에 나를 사랑하신다.
그렇게 하여 나는 목숨을 다시 얻는다.
18 아무도 나에게서 목숨을 빼앗지 못한다. 내가 스스로 그것을 내놓는 것이다.
나는 목숨을 내놓을 권한도 있고 그것을 다시 얻을 권한도 있다.
이것이 내가 내 아버지에게서 받은 명령이다.”
April 26, 2021
Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Acts 11:1-18
The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea
heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem
the circumcised believers confronted him, saying,
‘You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.”
Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,
“I was at prayer in the city of Joppa
when in a trance I had a vision,
something resembling a large sheet coming down,
lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.
Looking intently into it,
I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,
the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.
I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’
But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir,
because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
But a second time a voice from heaven answered,
‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’
This happened three times,
and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.
Just then three men appeared at the house where we were,
who had been sent to me from Caesarea.
The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.
These six brothers also went with me,
and we entered the man’s house.
He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,
‘Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,
who will speak words to you
by which you and all your household will be saved.’
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
‘John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?”
When they heard this,
they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,
“God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 3a) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Today’s readings speak of division, separation, and conflict, as well as a path to reconciliation. Our Lord shows us the way.
In the first reading, distinctions between Jews and Gentiles divided the early believers in our Lord, who are together called Christians for the first time later in this chapter (Acts 11:26). “Circumcised believers” corner Peter (who is one of them, after all) and confront him about his fellowship with the uncircumcised believers. What’s up with that, our brother?
Circumcision was a physical sign of membership in a covenant people, rooted in scripture and passed on through venerable tradition. Their people also carefully observed dietary restrictions, which likewise came from the scriptures. Following those rules confirmed one’s membership in a covenant people devoted to God. Their questions were fair: how could a covenant people violate the boundaries of these guiding traditions without losing their identity and even losing their way?
Peter treats them and their questions with respect. He “explained it to them step by step”, working through these issues with them. His answer depended on the Spirit’s work in guiding the Apostles, thereby assisting the Church through the processes of discerning how to follow their resurrected Lord. Peter and his fellow Apostles later took a similar approach regarding the matter of circumcision, agreeing not to impose this obligation on other Gentile believers – much to their relief, I suppose! See Acts 15.
Peter concluded his explanation with these words: “If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” The response he received is heartening: “[T]hey stopped objecting and glorified God, saying ‘God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.’” That last word is key – too! Distinctions crumbled in the face of their common need for repentance and salvation. Their common separation from God – and the Savior to bridge that separation -- was bigger than their differences.
There were still issues to work out, but the path forward was lit up for them. They would have to struggle down that path together with the help of the Spirit and the guidance of the Apostles. Recognizing the shared gift of grace from God – and cooperating with that gift through repentance – had bridged not only their separation from God, but their separation from one another.
Today’s Gospel restates this centrality of Jesus as the Good Shepherd as well as the Gate through which all are invited to pass if we are to be saved from our sins. Indeed, there are important distinctions that matter – a true Savior bringing abundant life versus thieves and robbers peddling falsehoods that slaughter and destroy the sheep. But there are other distinctions that are not important, even though humans are prone to cling to them at times. We are marvelously different in many small ways, but those differences should not divide us when we pass through the Gate together. I suppose one could say, not only is Jesus the Gate, but he is also the Bridge.
Lord, help us to be grateful for the path of salvation you provide for us. As we journey together, we can rejoice along the way, knowing that through the Gate we will find good pasture, where the Good Shepherd will provide food for our souls and abundant life that cannot be extinguished. Let us receive your good gift of mercy that saves us from our sinful brokenness, which divides us from you and from others. Thanks be to God.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
THE THROUGH-WAY
“My solemn word is this: I am the Sheepgate.” —John 10:7
Jesus is not only the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11); He is also the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29) and even the Sheepgate. Don’t marry anyone who tries to enter your life apart from Jesus through mere friendship or sexual attraction. Don’t let people into your life just because of business or money. TV personalities, athletes, and entertainers have a major influence in millions of people’s lives, but have they entered through the Sheepgate, Jesus? “Whoever does not enter the sheepfold through the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a marauder” (Jn 10:1).
Not only are others trying to enter our lives, but we are entering their lives and worlds. Jesus promises: “I am the Gate. Whoever enters through Me will be safe. He will go in and out, and find pasture” (Jn 10:9). Whatever you get into, make sure it’s Jesus’ idea. Live in, with, and through Jesus. Then you will be safe rather than hurt, fed rather than drained. If we enter things through our pride, desires, intellect, or selfishness, we will be ripped off, slaughtered, and destroyed (Jn 10:10). If we make Jesus our only Gate, our only Way (Jn 14:6), we will have the fullness of life (Jn 10:10). Jesus is the Through-Way.
Prayer: Father, draw me so close to Your Son Jesus that nothing I desire would ever distract me from His love.
Promise: “God has granted life-giving repentance even to the Gentiles.” —Acts 11:18
Praise: Every day, Rosemary prays that someone in her family will be called to the religious life.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
Do you know the peace and security of the Good Shepherd who watches over his own? The Old Testament often speaks of God as shepherd of his people, Israel. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1). Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! (Psalm 80:1) We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3). The Messiah is also pictured as the shepherd of God's people: He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms (Isaiah 40:11). Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd who will risk his life to seek out and save the stray sheep (Matthew 18:12, Luke 15:4). He is the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).
Jesus is the Good Shepherd and Guardian of our souls
Jesus made three promises to his followers. He promised them everlasting life. If they accept him and follow him, they will have the life of God in them. Jesus also promised them a life that would know no end. Death would not be the end but the beginning; they would know the glory of indestructible life. Jesus promised a life that was secure. Jesus said that nothing would snatch them out of his hand, not even sorrow and death, since he is everlasting life itself. Our lives are safe in his hands.
Do you listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd who calls you to himself?
The words which Jesus spoke upset many of the Jewish leaders. How could he speak with the same authority which God spoke and claim to be equal with God? He must either be insane or divine. Unfortunately some thought he was mad even though he cured a man who was blind from birth. We are faced with the same choice. Either Jesus is who he claims to be - the Son of God and Savior of the world - or the world's greatest deluder! We cannot be indifferent to his claim. For those who accept him as Lord and Savior he offers the peace and security of unending life and joy with God. Do you know the peace and security of a life fully submitted to Christ?
Cyril of Alexander, a 5th century church father comments on Jesus as our Good Shepherd:
"He shows in what manner a shepherd may be proved good; and He teaches that he must be prepared to give up his life fighting in defense of his sheep, which was fulfilled in Christ. For man has departed from the love of God, and fallen into sin, and because of this was, I say, excluded from the divine abode of paradise, and when he was weakened by that disaster, he yielded to the devil tempting him to sin, and death following that sin he became the prey of fierce and ravenous wolves. But after Christ was announced as the True Shepherd of all men, He laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16), fighting for us against that pack of inhuman beasts.
"He bore the Cross for us, that by His own death he might destroy death. He was condemned for us, that He might deliver all of us from the sentence of punishment: the tyranny of sin being overthrown by our faith: fastening to the Cross the decree that stood against us, as it is written (Colossians 2:14). Therefore as the father of sin had as it were shut up the sheep in hell, giving them to death to feed on, as it is written in the psalms (Ps. Xlviii.16), He died for us as truly Good, and truly our Shepherd, so that the dark shadow of death driven away He might join us to the company of the blessed in heaven; and in exchange for abodes that lie far in the depths of the pit, and in the hidden places of the sea, grant us mansions in His Father's House above. Because of this he says to us in another place: Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you a kingdom (Luke 12:32)."
Do you listen attentively to the voice of the Good Shepherd and obey his word?
Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd who keeps watch over our lives. May I be ever attentive to your voice and submit fully to your wise rule for my life. Draw me near to you that I may always find peace and joy in your presence.
Psalm 23:1-6
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
2 he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: 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)
More Homilies
May 4, 2020 Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
