DAILY GOSPEL: 25/04/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts of the Apostles 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.
After the congregation had dispersed, 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.
Psalms 100:2.3.5.
Worship the LORD with cries of gladness; come before him with joyful song.
Know that the LORD is God, our maker to whom we belong, whosepeople we are, God's well-tended flock.
good indeed is the LORD, Whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age.
Book of Revelation 7:9.14-17.
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.
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows." He 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."
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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."
After the congregation had dispersed, 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.
Psalms 100:2.3.5.
Worship the LORD with cries of gladness; come before him with joyful song.
Know that the LORD is God, our maker to whom we belong, whosepeople we are, God's well-tended flock.
good indeed is the LORD, Whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age.
Book of Revelation 7:9.14-17.
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.
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows." He 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."
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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."
Jn 10,27-30
Saint Basil of Seleucia (?-c.468), bishop
Homily 26 on the Good Shepherd ; PG 85, 299-308
"I am the good shepherd, the true shepherd" (Jn 10,11)
Abel, the first shepherd, was pleasing to the Lord, who willingly accepted his sacrifice and looked with even more favor on the giver as on the gift he made (Gn 4,4). Scripture also draws attention to Jacob, the shepherd of Laban's flocks, noting the care he took for his sheep: «How often the scorching heat ravaged me by day, and the frost by night!» (Gn 31,40); and God rewarded this man for his labor. Moses, too, was a shepherd on the mountains of Midian, preferring to be ill-treated with God's people than to know rejoicing [in the palace of Pharaoh]. And God, pleased at his choice, as a reward allowed him to see him (Ex 3,2). After this vision Moses did not abandon his shepherd's office but with his staff commanded the elements (Ex 14,16) and pastured the people of Israel. David was also a shepherd but his shepherd's staff was changed to a royal sceptre and he received a crown. Now, do not be astonished if all these shepherds were close to God. The Lord himself was not ashamed to be called «shepherd» (Pss 23[22]; 80[79]). God was no more ashamed of pasturing men than he was of having created them.
But let us now consider our own shepherd, Christ. Let us see his love for humanity and his gentleness in leading them to pasture. He takes pleasure in the sheep who surround him just as he searches for those who stray. Hills or forests are no obstacle to him; he runs down into the valley of shadow (Ps 23[22],4) to reach the place where the lost sheep is to be found... He is seen in hell; he gives the command to come out; thus he seeks for the love of his sheep. Someone who loves Christ is someone who listens to his voice.
But let us now consider our own shepherd, Christ. Let us see his love for humanity and his gentleness in leading them to pasture. He takes pleasure in the sheep who surround him just as he searches for those who stray. Hills or forests are no obstacle to him; he runs down into the valley of shadow (Ps 23[22],4) to reach the place where the lost sheep is to be found... He is seen in hell; he gives the command to come out; thus he seeks for the love of his sheep. Someone who loves Christ is someone who listens to his voice.
St Mark, Evangelist
SAINT MARK
Evangelist
(1st century)
Evangelist
(1st century)
St. Mark was converted to the faith by the Prince of the Apostles, whom he afterwards accompanied to Rome, acting there as his secretary or interpreter. When St. Peter was writing his first epistle to the churches of Asia, he affectionately joins with his own salutation that of his faithful companion, whom he calls "my son Mark."
The Roman people entreated St. Mark to put in writing for them the substance of St. Peter's frequent discourses on Our Lord's life. This the Evangelist did under the eye and with the express sanction of the apostle, and every page of his brief but graphic gospel so bore the impress of St. Peter's character, that the Fathers used to name it "Peter's Gospel"
St. Mark was now sent to Egypt to found the Church of Alexandria. Here his disciples became the wonder of the world for their piety and asceticism, so that St. Jerome speaks of St. Mark as the father of the anchorites, who at a later time thronged the Egyptian deserts. Here, too, he set up the first Christian school, the fruitful mother of many illustrious doctors and bishops.
After governing his see for many years, St. Mark was one day seized by the heathen, dragged by ropes over stones, and thrown into prison. On the morrow the torture was repeated, and having been consoled by a vision of angels and the voice of Jesus, St. Mark went to his reward.
It is to St. Mark that we owe the many slight touches which often give such vivid coloring to the Gospel scenes, and help us to picture to ourselves the very gestures and looks of our blessed Lord.
It is he alone who notes that in the temptation Jesus was "with the beasts;" that he slept in the boat "on a pillow;" that he "embraced" the little children.
He alone preserves for us the commanding words "Peace, be still!" by which the storm was quelled; or even the very sounds of his voice, the "Ephpheta" and "Talitha cumi," by which the dumb were made to speak and the dead to rise.
So, too, the "looking round about with anger," and the "sighing deeply," long treasured in the memory of the penitent apostle, who was himself converted by his Saviour's look, are here recorded by his faithful interpreter.
It is he alone who notes that in the temptation Jesus was "with the beasts;" that he slept in the boat "on a pillow;" that he "embraced" the little children.
He alone preserves for us the commanding words "Peace, be still!" by which the storm was quelled; or even the very sounds of his voice, the "Ephpheta" and "Talitha cumi," by which the dumb were made to speak and the dead to rise.
So, too, the "looking round about with anger," and the "sighing deeply," long treasured in the memory of the penitent apostle, who was himself converted by his Saviour's look, are here recorded by his faithful interpreter.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
