4th Week of Easter

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Monday, 22 April 2024 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we must always follow the path and way set by the Lord, our loving God and Good Shepherd, and we must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed and tempted by all sorts of worldly temptations and evils, by those desires which may lead us astray into the wrong path, because we trusted more in our own intellect, power and abilities rather than to trust in the Lord and in what He has provided, revealed and explained to us, in all the guidance and path that He has shown us. As Christians, we should always be strongly rooted in faith, in our commitment and dedication to God, at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles, where St. Peter the Apostle was speaking to the assembly of the faithful people of God, which included converts from various origins, from among the Jewish people and also from others, like the Gentiles or the non-Jewish peoples, the Greeks, Romans and many other nationalities who have come to embrace the Christian faith. At that time, the Church was increasingly being divided alongside the differences in practices that each converts from certain communities brought with them, including the linguistic differences and obstacles, as well as the misunderstandings between the Jewish and Gentile communities among the first Christians that almost tore the Church apart.

That was because some among the Jewish converts came from the group of the Pharisees who were well known for their very strict and rigid interpretation of the Law of God, and who continued to live in accordance with their Jewish customs and practices, especially in the manner how they lived as the Pharisees, in being extraordinarily rigorous on the application and enforcement of the Law. And this was extended to the point that even they made efforts to impose these practices, customs and rules upon the new converts to the Christian faith from among the non-Jewish people, or the Gentiles. Quite a number of those rules and practices were problematic and difficult to be practiced by the faithful, but even more so for those who hailed from the non-Jewish populations.

This was because certain practices such as circumcision which was mandatory according to the Jewish customs and practices, was seen as abhorrent and disgusting by the non-Jewish people, particularly by the Greeks and the Romans. Similarly, the strict dietary restrictions and rules practiced by the Jews, especially by the Pharisees might make it difficult for the non-Jewish converts to the faith to live their lives or carry out their livelihood. Therefore, enforcing the full Jewish customs and practices upon all the newly converted Christians from non-Jewish backgrounds is something that the Church decided from early on as something that should not be done. As St. Peter himself made it clear in his explanation, that God revealed to him through the vision he received and the experiences he had with the family of Cornelius, a convert Christian from non-Jewish origin, that the old Jewish customs should not be enforced anymore.

Instead, from then on, based on what the Lord Himself had taught the disciples and revealed to His Church through the Holy Spirit and other revelations, new set of rules that were attuned to the true intention and purpose of God’s Law that Christ Himself had purified and reemphasised, have been given to us all, through the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, which we are all members and parts of. The Lord wanted all of us to follow these instead of the unnecessarily rigorous and strict observances of the Jewish laws and customs, which led to a lot of hardships and difficulties by the people of God when they were burdened greatly by those rules and laws which made it especially difficult for the non-Jewish people to come towards the Lord and His salvation.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the continuation from the Gospel of St. John of the discourse on the Good Shepherd by the Lord Jesus to His disciples and followers. In that discourse we heard today, we are reminded by the Lord Himself that He, as the Good Shepherd, is the One to Whom all the sheep should go towards, just as He also compared to Himself as the Gate of the sheep. He mentioned that how the thieves and robbers would use other means rather than the gate to enter into the sheep’s compound and place, to cause harm to them and to take the sheep away from the flock. Meanwhile, the sheep also would not hearken or respond to the call of the thieves and the robbers, or the false shepherds, as the sheep of the flock respond only to their one true shepherd.

This is actually an important reminder for all of us that Christ, Our Lord, the Good Shepherd of all the faithful, is the One and only One Whom all the Lord’s flock, that is all of us, should be following and focusing our attention upon. Unfortunately, in this world, there are many of those who claim to know better and spread false teachings and ways, which are contrary to the way that the Lord, our Good Shepherd had shown and taught us. This can be compared to the actions of some of the Pharisees among the early Christians who attempted to spread and enforce the full, strict and extra-rigorous Jewish customs, practices and rules upon all the Christians. But the Lord helped to guide His Church through those shepherds He had appointed, the Apostles and their successors, that just as St. Peter had done, he helped to steer the Church, the flock of the Lord down the right path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through today’s Scripture readings, we are all therefore reminded to focus our attention once again towards our Good Shepherd, our Lord and Saviour. We should heed His call and embrace His path, and we should be vigilant and careful lest the temptations and the allures of worldly glory, fame and all the falsehoods and lies around us, the paths shown by false leaders and false shepherds may end up leading us down the path of ruin and destruction. Let us all therefore seek to follow the Lord, our Good Shepherd ever more faithfully at all times, doing what He has called and entrusted to all to do in our respective parts and areas in life. May He continue to bless us all and guide us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Monday, 22 April 2024 : 4th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 10 : 1-10

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. But the shepherd of the sheep enters by the gate. The keeper opens the gate to him and the sheep hear his voice; he calls each of his sheep by name and leads them out.”

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but rather they will run away from him, because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this comparison, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.

So Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, I am the Gate of the sheep. All who came were thieves and robbers, and the sheep did not hear them. I am the Gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved; he will go in and out freely and find food. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life, life in all its fullness.”

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Monday, 22 April 2024 : 4th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 41 : 2-3 and Psalm 42 : 3, 4

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for You, o God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?

Send forth Your light and Your truth; let them be my guide, let them take me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You reside.

Then will I go to the Altar of God, to God, my gladness and delight. I will praise You with the lyre an harp, o God, my God.

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Monday, 22 April 2024 : 4th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 11 : 1-18

News came to the Apostles and the brothers and sisters in Judea that even foreigners had received the Word of God. So, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, these Jewish believers began to argue with him, “You went to the home of uncircumcised people and ate with them!”

So Peter began to give them the facts as they had happened, “I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when, in a trance, I saw a vision. Something like a large sheet came down from the sky and drew near to me, landing on the ground by its four corners. As I stared at it, I saw four-legged creatures of the earth, wild beasts and reptiles, and birds of the sky.”

“Then I heard a voice saying to me : ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’ I replied, ‘Certainly not, Lord! No common or unclean creature has ever entered my mouth.’ A second time the voice from the heavens spoke, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call unclean.’ This happened three times, and then it was all drawn up into the sky. At that moment three men, who had been sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were staying.”

“The Spirit instructed me to go with them without hesitation; so these six brothers came along with me and we entered into the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an Angel standing in his house and telling him : ‘Send someone to Joppa and fetch Simon, also known as Peter. He will bring you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.”

“I had begun to address them when suddenly the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as it had come upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said : ‘John baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ If, then, God had given them the same gift that He had given us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to resist God?”

When they heard this they set their minds at rest and praised God saying, “Then God has granted life-giving repentance to the pagan nations as well.”

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Sunday, 21 April 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd and Vocation Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday being the fourth Sunday in the season of Easter, we are celebrating the occasion of Good Shepherd Sunday, because of the Scripture readings which highlighted the actions of the Lord in being our Good Shepherd, in everything that He had done in gathering all of us to Himself, and helping us all to find our way back to His loving Presence and embrace. This Sunday we are constantly reminded again that Our Lord’s love for each and every one of us is truly great and ever enduring, and we really should consider ourselves as being really fortunate for having been loved in such a way. Our Lord and Good Shepherd is truly the One that we should be rejoicing about this glorious and most joyful Easter season, because by His love, He has shown us the sure path to eternal life.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the testimony of faith which St. Peter the Apostle mentioned how the healing of a man that had been healed from his affliction came about from the power and authority of the Risen Lord, the One Whom the Jewish authorities had opposed and rejected, persecuted and handed over to the Romans to be judged, sentenced and condemned to death on the Cross, in the most humiliating and painful way possible. And yet, all the proofs, evidences and events of that time pointed out how the Lord Jesus did not remain dead but rose from the dead just as He Himself had predicted it, appearing before many people and from which the belief in His Resurrection and His works began to propagate, as those disciples of the Lord who had witnessed His death and resurrection all went forth to proclaim His truth to more and more people.

St. Peter told everyone of the salvation in this same Messiah, the One through Whom everyone shall receive justification and liberation from the tyranny of sin, evil and death, because of everything that He had done out of love for us, truly our Good Shepherd, Who knows us all and loves each one of us, and Who does not want any one of us to be lost to Him or to be separated from Him. That is why He went out all the way to seek us, His lost sheep, calling upon us, the ones who have been lost to the darkness of this world and sin, so that we may find our way back to Him, and His light may help lead us on the way back to the right path towards salvation and eternal life. As our Lord and Good Shepherd, He wants us to listen to His call, that we may not wander off anymore in this world, and be found by Him.

In our second reading this Sunday, we then heard of the words of the St. John the Apostle in his Epistle or letter to the Church and the faithful in which he reminded and encouraged everyone that God has truly loved and cared for all of them because He has considered all of us to be His own children, whom He truly loved, because we share in the humanity of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Who is both the Son of God and Son of Man. Therefore, we are all considered to be sons and daughters of God, and having been loved as such, naturally He wants us all to be like Him and to follow Him, in doing His will and living our lives worthily as Christians, that is as all those whom the Lord had called and chosen from this world. By our membership in the Church, we have been made partakers of God’s love and made to be His own adopted children.

And to gather all of us, He sent us His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, as mentioned. He is our Good Shepherd and Guide, the One through Whom we can find the one and only way to our Heavenly Father, helping us to reconcile ourselves with the Lord, so that despite our rebelliousness and sins, we may be gathered once again to live with Him, through the patient and loving hands of Our Lord and Good Shepherd, Who has reached out to us sinners, the lost sheep of the Lord, to find us and to help us reunite with God, our loving Father, Master and Creator. He knows all of us, and He has given us all His love and compassion, that even the greatest of sinners are not beyond the reach of His generous offer of mercy and redemption. As long as one is willing to commit himself or herself to repent from his or her sins, there is a path forward and an assurance of a new life in God.

In that same passage, the Lord Jesus also highlighted how He would do this, as He hinted that He would lay down His life for His sheep. In another account of this parable of the Good Shepherd, the Lord clearly mentioned that ‘The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep’, referring to any good shepherds out there in general, who have cared for their flock even at the cost of their own sufferings and even lives, and specifically at His own case and example, as He would lay down His own life on the Cross, suffering and dying for the sake of all the beloved people of God, for all mankind without exception. He suffered and died for all, even for all those who have persecuted, oppressed and condemned Him to death, asking His Father to forgive them from their mistakes and sins.

Through what we have heard in our Scripture readings today, therefore we are all presented with the Lord in His Aspect as our Good Shepherd, reminding us first of all of how fortunate we are having been beloved in such a way by our Lord, as we receive this most generous and constant offer of love and kindness from Him. And then we are also reminded of how we have been wayward in our way of life, not following and obeying Him as we all should. Like lost sheep, we have chosen to do everything other than what our Lord and Good Shepherd had told us to do. We sought for the pleasures of worldly glory, fame and satisfaction that we have ended up being misguided and misled down the path of darkness and sin. And yet, the Lord still continued to love us all regardless, and made all the efforts to save us and to bring us back to Himself.

That was why He, as our Good Shepherd, chose to come into our midst, in seeking all of us, the ones who had been lost to Him, so that we will not end up being lost forever from Him. He has called us all by name, calling on all of us to embrace His love, mercy and forgiveness. Our Lord and Good Shepherd wanted to show us that we are truly precious to Him, and He did not mind to bear the grievous sufferings, hardships and trials for our sake. It is through His loving sacrifice for us, out of His ever enduring love that He stood between us and the power of death. Through Him, His wounds and His Body and Blood, which had been broken and outpoured upon us, we have been brought to the assurance of this new life and existence, reconciliation and reunion with God.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we going to respond to the call that Our Lord and Good Shepherd had made to us, as He called upon us to follow Him? Or are we going to continue to ignore Him and walking down our own path, which may lead us into the wrong path in life? Are we going to embrace the Light and Hope shown by our Lord and good Shepherd, or are we going to continue to seek the pleasures and the darkness of this world, and all the temptations and pleasures of life? We have all been given the freedom to choose and to decide for ourselves what we want to do with our lives and the path we are to choose. It is thus really up to us if we want to embrace God’s love and guidance, or whether we want to continue to go down the path of rebellion and sin agaist God.

This Sunday, we also celebrate the occasion of Vocation Sunday, as we remember and especially pray for all those people who had answered God’s call to be His servants and disciples, to be the ones who live their lives and carry out their actions as the shepherds of the flock of the Lord, in the model of the Good Shepherd Himself, namely our priests and bishops, and of course, our Pope Francis. Each and every one of them had committed themselves to the good works of the Lord, dedicating themselves wholly to the ministry of priesthood, by which they truly showed the same love and care that our Lord and Good Shepherd had shown us, and this Sunday in particular we pray for all of them that the Lord will continue to guide them and strengthen them all in all their works.

However we must not forget that each and every one of us as Christians also have our own unique vocations in life. Vocation in the Church is not just the vocation to priesthood only, as there are also those who continue to live in the world and living our own respective and diverse ways of life as members of the laity, as people who build up faithful Christian families and societies, as well as all those who also give themselves into consecrated life to God, or those who commit themselves to a life of singlehood and purity, all in the service of God. Each and every one of these vocations are truly important, and we are hence reminded that as Christians we must always be active in living our Christian faith and life at all times.

As Christians, we too should also be good role models and inspirations for one another, that we can truly live our lives and faith being just like Our Lord, the Good Shepherd Himself. As Christians, we should help one another to come ever closer to God, and hence, we should live our lives worthily and in accordance to God’s will, and in the way that He has taught and shown us so that by our own good examples we may truly inspire and help more and more people to come ever closer to the Lord and to His salvation. We should be the beacons of Christ’s light, hope and truth to the whole world, in all of our whole lives, actions and deeds, so that more and more people may come to believe in God through us. Let us all go forth in faith, and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to serve the Lord, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 21 April 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd and Vocation Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 10 : 11-18

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. Not so the hired hand, or any other person who is not the shepherd, and to whom the sheep do not belong. They abandon the sheep as soon as they see the wolf coming; then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep. This is because the hired hand works for pay and cares nothing for the sheep.”

“I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. Because of this, I give My life for My sheep. I have other sheep which are not of this fold. These I have to lead as well, and they shall listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, since there is one Shepherd.”

“The Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down freely. It is Mine to lay down and to take up again : this mission I received from My Father.”

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Sunday, 21 April 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd and Vocation Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 1-2

See what singular love the Father has for us : we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children, and what we shall be has not, yet, been shown. Yet, when He appears in His glory, we know, that we shall be like Him, for, then, we shall see Him as He is.

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Sunday, 21 April 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd and Vocation Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 1 and 8-9, 21-23, 26 and 28-29

Alleluia! Give thanks to YHVH, for He is good, His loving kindness endures forever. It is better to take refuge in YHVH than to trust in the help of humans. It is better to take refuge in YHVH than to trust in the might of princes.

I thank You for having answered me, for having rescued me. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. This was YHVH’s doing and we marvel at it.

Blessed is He Who comes in YHVH’s Name! We praise You from the house of YHVH. You are my God, and I give You thanks. You are my God, and I give You praise. Give thanks to YHVH, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever!

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Sunday, 21 April 2024 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd and Vocation Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 4 : 8-12

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke up, “Leaders of the people! Elders! It is a fact, that we are being examined today for a good deed done to a cripple. How was he healed? You and all the people of Israel, must know, that this man stands before you cured, through the Name of Jesus Christ, the Nazorean.”

“You had Him crucified. But God raised Him from the dead. Jesus is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other Name given to humankind, all over the world, by which we may be saved.”

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Saturday, 6 May 2023 : 4th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the need for us all to have faith in the Lord and to be humble in listening to Him and allowing Him to speak to us in the depth of our hearts and minds. Sometimes we have allowed our ego and pride to get the better of us, and those things prevented us from being able to come close to the Lord and becoming His true disciples and followers. We are all reminded to have this strong and genuine faith in the Lord, committing ourselves and our efforts, time and attention to glorify Him in all of the moments of our lives. As Christians, all of us should be great role models and inspirations for others all around us in how we live our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the works of St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who preached and spoke courageously and zealously about the salvation in God which have been made available to all the people, be it to the Jewish people or the non-Jewish ones, also known as the Gentiles among the Jews then. The word Gentile itself came from the Latin word ‘gentes’ which means clan and family, that in the context of the then relationship between the Jewish and non-Jewish people became associated with the non-Jewish people, and that was how the Jews called those who did not belong to their race and to their beliefs, with some considering the Gentiles as being pagans, impure, evil and wicked, being unworthy of God, while they viewed themselves as being superior, better and more worthy of God.

This stemmed forth from the beliefs of some amongst the Jews that being descended from the ancient people of Israel, the people that God had first called and chosen to be His people, then they had exclusive privileges and access to the Lord, while the Gentiles were barred from similar access because they did not believe in the Lord in the same way as the Jewish people had done, especially referring to the way how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done, in their very extensive and strict observance of the Jewish Law and customs as passed down unto them from the time of Moses, and which was modified further with numerous rules and regulations. All those things unfortunately made the Law becoming more and more cumbersome, and losing its initial meaning and purpose of bringing the people of God closer to their Lord and Master.

In truth, God did not want to save only His people Israel exclusively, as it has always been His intent to save every one of us, all the children of mankind, regardless of our race and origins, because He loves each and every single one of us all the same. The Jewish people and their ancestors, the Israelites, were merely the ones who have been called by the Lord first, and it was through them that the salvation of God, made manifest in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, came through from. He wants everyone to realise that His love is ever enduring and universal, and everyone has the same chance to come to His love, to be reunited and reconciled with our most loving God, Father and Creator. And our Risen Lord is the Way through Whom all of us can find the sure path to this salvation and grace, the path of eternal life and redemption.

The Gospel passage today made it even clearer of this love of God that has been manifested and made real for us through Christ, the Son of God incarnate in the flesh, has indeed come into our midst, and He has shown us all the true love that God has always kept for each and every one of us. This same love is carried on all the way to the Cross, promising and guaranteeing for all of us who are faithful to the Lord, the promise of eternal life and grace with God. The Lord has reached out to us through His Son, gathering all of us who have been lost to His Father, because of our sins, as our Good Shepherd and Guide, leading and guiding us so that we may find our path and our way to our loving Father. Through Christ, all of us have received the pardon and forgiveness, and yet, one that requires us to embrace Him and His love and mercy wholeheartedly and fully.

However, the problem facing many of us today, is just like that of the Jewish people in the past, that many of us think that we are all alright and have no need for God or His mercy. Many of us are too preoccupied with our many worldly desires, concerns and attachments, all of our pursuits for fame, glory and worldly pleasures among other things which prevented us from finding our path towards the Lord and His salvation. Worse still, we also tend to become judgmental of others and thinking that we are better and more worthy, while the fact is that many of us are in need of God’s healing and mercy, and many of us have also become lukewarm and wayward in our way of life, as many of us have forgotten about God’s Law and precepts, no longer obeying Him and His commandments as we should, living our lives the way we want it to be. Today hence all of us are reminded to purge from ourselves all traces of this ego and pride barring us from God and the fullness of His love.

All of us have been given the chance and the time for us to turn once again towards the Lord with renewed faith and zeal, with the devotion and commitment to serve Him once again. We have been given many opportunities to return to the Lord and to His path, and we have been shown many guidance and help along the way. But it is truly up to us to make the commitment and the conscious effort to seek the Lord wholeheartedly, and we have many good examples in the Apostles, the innumerable saints and martyrs, our holy predecessors, who should be good role models and inspirations for all of us to follow, so that hopefully we ourselves will be good Christians and disciples of the Lord ourselves.

Let us remember the mission that each and every one of us as Christians have in our lives to be exemplary disciples and role models for one another, for our fellow brothers and sisters. And may the Risen Lord, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and King continue to guide and bless us in all things, and may He help each and every one of us to persevere through the challenges facing us in how we live our Christians lives with faith. Amen.