Contents: Volume 2

4th & 5th SUNDAYS of EASTER (B)

- Good Shepherd Sunday

- Fifth Sunday of Easter

04/21/2024 - 4/28/2024

1. -- Lanie LeBlanc OP - Fifth Sunday of Easter
2. -- Dennis Keller - Fifth Sunday of Easter
3. -- John Boll, OP - Fifth Sunday of Easter
4. --
5. --(Your reflection can be here!)

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4th Sunday of Easter

I love the Gospel about the Good Shepherd! This image speaks strongly to the warmth of unconditional love that we all so desperately need in our lives. Even the closest of the close waiver in comparison to the inner strength and comfort the Good Shepherd provides.

I see a bit of a dilemma between the first reading and the gospel, however. In the age of ecumenism, is the way to salvation only through direct belief in Jesus or will Jesus find a way to connect all to "one flock, one shepherd"? Scholars of different religions and denominations certainly weigh in on that one!

In current times, probing one's legitimate questions is so very easy through the internet ... and often so very harmful. (There is a 15 year old in my household!!) Some of Christianity's past stance is less than admirable and actually rather harsh. I remember the pain of missing a favorite cousin's wedding long ago because she was to be married in a Protestant church not a Catholic one in a "mixed marriage". It is still painful to recall, even though Jesus is the center of both practices/beliefs. I took great pleasure in participating in their 50th wedding anniversary gathering though!!

I also recall an extraordinarily kind Muslim family in our neighborhood as well. They were people who exhibited much better character and behavior than some Christian counterparts, then and now. Some character discrepancies still exist if we view our neighbors and some people in the news now. Sometimes I just cringe at what has been done in the name of Christianity!

Well, I do believe that there is only One who is omniscient so I will not even try to unravel this any further. Rather, I will evoke the mystery of faith and the blessing I feel in knowing the Good Shepherd. I trust that the Good Shepherd and the One who is also all-powerful will work out whatever it takes to complete their difficult task. In the meantime, let us all help by imitating the virtues we recognize as being "good" in the eyes of the One who graciously calls us "beloved" rather than acting "holier than thou".

Blessings,
Dr. Lanie LeBlanc OP
Southern Dominican Laity
lanie@leblanc.one

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Fifth Sunday of Easter

April 28, 2024

Acts 9:26-31; Responsorial Psalm 22; 1^st John 3:18-24;
Gospel Acclamation John 15:4, 5; John 15:1-8

Whenever we move to a new city, start a new job, begin a course of study, register at a new parish, there is a period of time when we struggle to gain acceptance and become a trusted person. In the first reading this Sunday from Acts of the Apostles, Paul had that very experience. He must have been grateful to Barnabas who introduced him around and vouched for him. The community in Jerusalem accepted him and eventually held him dear. When the Hellenists wanted to kill him, his newfound friends spirited him away to Caesarea and from there to his birthplace of Tarsus in Turkey. After this threat, Luke writes that the church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria were at peace and the church grew in numbers with the consolation of the Holy Spirit. That is an amazing statement. Judeans looked down on Galileans. Galileans and Judeans looked down on Samaritans. What a seismic change when cultures lose their power to control human behavior. Is this a post-resurrection miracle? This is certainly a result of the teaching, healing, and death and resurrection. Love removed the violence of competition and pursuit of wealth, power, and fame – well for a while.

The second reading is from John’s first letter. It speaks of having confidence in God and following God’s commandments. He spells out what God commands: we are to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ and love one another in deed and truth.

Those two readings set up the gospel selected for this fifth Sunday of Easter. This is the Sunday of the Vine and the Branches. Jesus names himself the vine on which all branches adhere. The Father is the vinedresser. We are the branches.

The branches we are, form a community of branches – of persons. Paul, with his reputation of being a persecutor of Christians, remade his reputation after hearing the voice of the Lord calling him to repentance. He studied, fasted, prayed, and took the teaching and experience of Ananias and the community in Damascus. After three years he traveled to Jerusalem to check if his understanding and teaching to the community in Damacus was true to the teaching of Jesus. The followers of Jesus in Jerusalem were fearful of him, remembering his witness to the death of the deacon Stephen. Only when Barnabas vouched for him did he become part of the community in Jerusalem. When he became part of that community, they supported him and protected him from the Hellenists.

We become part of a community with Baptism. Becoming part of the community brings us in contact with Jesus. By staying connected to the vine we have access to drink and food for healing, for nourishment, and for remaining connected to the vine. The vine keeper, the Father, prunes us from time to time, using the forces that strike us from nature, from wild beasts, from storms and hail. Pruning teaches us obedience. Obedience keeps us attached to the vine. Suffering is a pruning that helps us bear much fruit. What does this much fruit mean? The fruit can be applied to the spread and growth of the Kingdom of God. By our actions – in deed and in truth – we bring to our place and time the message of love and righteousness.

But that cannot happen unless we remain on the vine, unless we remain in Jesus. We remain with Jesus by our prayers, by acceptance of suffering that comes to us because of nature or because of the actions of bad willed persons. Such suffering is being pruned and being supported by the Father in finding solutions and in enduring pain and anxiety as a joining with Jesus in his suffering. We stay connected by worshipping with the community of branches. The juice that fosters and supports our healing, our growth, and strengthening our attachment to the vine is from the Holy Spirit – what we commonly identify as grace. Jesus maintained his union with the Father in love and keeping to the Will of the Father. When branches remain in Jesus, disciples are grafted into the love of Jesus for the Father; disciples share in that love by obeying the commands of God and practicing love of others.

In the first reading this Sunday, John tells how we love others. This is no mere feeling, no mere emotional connection. This love is in deeds done for others and in truth of what and who we are. Wondering what John means when he attaches “truth” to love of others by doing for them, this “truth” is about right behavior. When humanity was created, there was no sin, only “right” living. With the envy of Satan, there came evil as a choice for humans. Evil is wrong living and a lie.

To love in deeds and in truth makes the Glory of the Father present in time and place. The Glory of God is what is experienced when God is present. When we are grafted onto the vine that is the Lord, we are included into the Christ. We become cells in the Mystical Body of the Christ. We belong, we share, we gain strength and vitality from that association. We are no longer strangers to each other. We are then children of God and sisters and brothers to one another.

Dennis Keller Dennis@PreacherExchange.com

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2024-04-21 Homily 4th SUNDAY OF EASTER Year C
Acts 13:14,43-52; Psalm 100; Rev. 7:9,14-17; John 10:27-30

We are just a few weeks out from Graduation

So Graduates to be ...
I bet you hear a lot of,
“So what comes next?”
“Where are you going from here?”

You may be asking yourself the same questions.
After all, Life IS a journey ...

So graduates to be, My question is,
What have you found the most valuable
of all your college journey?
What do you think is the most lasting and important gift
that college has brought into your life?

I am sure you will find
the skills and knowledge you gained, is valuable.

But what about the friendships that have begun here?

I was reflecting on my own college experience,
and certainly appreciate the knowledge and skills I gained.
And many of the other experiences as well,
even some of the difficult ones.

But my most valued, are the friendships I received.

I was overjoyed recently
when I reconnected with my best friend T. J.
And it was a delight a few years back to catch up with Margie. – we had dated our freshmen year.
And Teresa, who, along with T. J. and Me,
loved to sing and create music together.

One class mate and friend of mine, Bobbie,
along with Janice and Mary, college friends of my sisters.
Are now considered members of our family
and gather with us often and vacation with us.
We all stay connected on our weekly Zoom.

Would you agree with me that the most important element of our Journey in life might be the relationships we build?

In the Gospel,
this is exactly the journey that Jesus presents to us.
It is a journey of relationship,
into “The Relationship” who is God.

He says:
My Sheep hear my voice
I know them, and they follow me
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish
and finally, Jesus points out that
we are secure in him, because “I and the Father are one.”

Jesus did not come
to simply teach us and guide us along the way,

He did not come
to simply free us from sin and death,

He became one of us,
a member of our human family
that we might become one in His divine family:

He came to bring us into the life-giving relatioship of the Father, Son and Spirit.

In Jesus, As we choose to listen and follow,
making our relationship with him central and primary,
our earthly relationships are transformed
and become part of our journey in Christ
and our the family of heaven,

Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, the Life.”
He is the path for our journey,
as well as our companion and friend upon it.

Fr. John Boll, OP <JBoll@opsouth.org>

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Volume 2 is for you. Your thoughts, reflections, and insights on the next Sundays readings can influence the preaching you hear. Send them to preacherexchange@att.net.  Deadline is Wednesday Noon. Include your Name, and Email Address.

-- Fr. John

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