2022-May-8: Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 13:14, 43-52
God commissioned Paul to be the apostle to the "Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15). When Paul and Barnabas come to Pisidian Antioch almost 900 miles away from Jerusalem - the Jews scattered in that part of the Roman Empire and the Gentiles come to hear his message of Salvation. When Paul explains God's salvation has come through Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, the listeners realize formal worship at the Temple in Jerusalem is no longer needed. God will meet them where they are and be with them without sacrifices or ritual. The Jews don't have to travel almost 900 miles thrice each year to sacrifice, and the Gentiles too are fully welcomed. Some of the Jews break away from their tradition and accept Jesus. Many more Gentiles enthusiastically accept the invitation to be welcomed into God's family forming the foundation of the church. But the local Jewish synagogue leaders, elders, and scribes jealous that Paul and Barnabas have become so popular sway public opinion against Paul and Barnabas to the point of being stoned at Lystra (Acts 14:19). Paul would subsequently return again to Pisidian Antioch and affirm that Gentiles do not have to follow Jewish law including circumcision to be followers of Christ (Acts 16:1–5).
Psalm 100
Psalm 100 extorts us to praise Yahweh in song - loud and proud. The second verse calls us to know Yahweh intimately - not just intellectually but a deep intimate awareness of God's identity. This recognition is embodied by the ritual of procession and worship involving praising, singing and celebrating God as a community.
Revelations 7:9, 14b-17
Revelation is a visionary text targeted to churches made up of poor and marginalized people trying to resist assimilation into the Roman empire. To contrast the state-sponsored imagery of Roman grandeur, John paints an alternate vision of a community of believers in the splendid presence of God.
To grasp this passage’s fuller meaning we need to go to chapter 6, where the first six seals on the scroll are opened. After the sixth seal is opened (verse 12), the physical foundations of creation are rattled. Destruction reaches such a pitch that all people hide.
We detect a pattern of John hearing one thing and then seeing another. John hears the twelve tribes of Israel being described, but then sees something far bigger, far more inclusive and global: the multitude which is countless and made up of “every nation, all tribes, all people, all languages" - not just Jews and Gentiles from the Roman Empire but everyone under the sun.
John describes not only their current actions but the results of their actions. They remain loyal to the Lamb, they wash their robes, and they worship in the temple (verses 13-15). As a result, they are sheltered, they are fed, they are quenched, they are protected (verses 15-17).
The lamb—as a symbol of resistance against the Roman Empire—is the center of the church’s liturgy, offering an alternative to what Rome's empire. In an amazing combination of imagery, the Lamb Jesus now becomes also the shepherd, tending the flock, leading people to springs of water, and wiping away all their tears
Gospel John 10:27-30
This event happened on the feast of the Dedication (today Hannukah) when some Jews gather around Jesus and ask him to put an end to the debate concerning his identity once and for all: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (10:24).
The problem, of course, is that regardless of what Jesus says or does, the debate does not end. Jesus responds that he has already told them, and that the works he has done in his Father’s name testify to him, but they do not believe, because they do not belong to his sheep (10:25-26).
This problem exists even today. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him (3:16-17). At the same time, the result of Jesus’ coming into the world is that those who hear the word of God but do not believe they are subject to salvation and ultimately of judgment (3:18-19).
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