Sunday

15 May 2011

Fourth Sunday of Easter; Good Shepherd Sunday, Cycle A Click here for all content for this cycle Fourth Sunday of Easter; Good Shepherd Sunday, Cycle A

SUNDAY SUMMARY

Acts of the Apostles 2:14a, 36-41 The summons to repentance draws 3,000 seekers from Jerusalem.

Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 God is the shepherd for those who choose to follow the right paths.

1 Peter 2:20b-25 The suffering servant is transformed by personal sacrifice into the good shepherd.

John 10:1-10 Abundant life is the gift offered to those who hear and recognize the shepherd’s voice.

The inner word image

The inner word

What’s in your heart?

As a preacher and perhaps a pastor, you know a little something about shepherding. Examine that role: Do my sheep know me? Can I call my sheep by name?

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Who

Who's listening?

Who is in your audience?

The Easter season continues, and so does the church's meditation on the risen Christ. On this "Good Shepherd Sunday," we hear the voice of the True Shepherd, Jesus Christ. How do we respond?

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Exploring the word image

Exploring the word

Shepherd of souls

GOD HAS BEEN the shepherd of souls for a long time, biblically speaking. “The Lord is my shepherd,” declares the psalmist. “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock,” adds Deutero-Isaiah. There will be one shepherd whose authority is final, Ezekiel avows.

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Homily stories

Slaves to history?

The lectionary hides a sobering fact about this Sunday's reading from 1 Peter. The apostle was not only talking in general terms about suffering. He was speaking to Christian slaves, advising them about how to conduct themselves given their condition.

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Homily stories

His master's voice

The RCA company was one of the first to develop the phonograph, or, as they called it, the Victrola. Their logo was a dog sitting next to an old-style phonographic speaker with his ear cocked and listening.

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Homily stories

The Porsche experience

JORGE looked with glee at his first big commission check from his interior design company. He decided to buy a Porsche. As he strolled around the car showroom looking at $100,000-plus sports cars, he couldn't find the color he wanted--lapis blue metallic.

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Homily stories image

Homily stories

Who are the robbers of Jesus' sheepfold? False prophets, corrupt leaders, and no-goodniks of all stripes, certainly. But the sheep's own worst enemies are often themselves.

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Prayers

Penitential Act & Prayer of the Faithful

The Lord is our shepherd. We turn to him for forgiveness.

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Homily themes

Notes on the text

I am the gate. In the Gospel of John, Jesus in a number of places uses the words, "I am." "I am the gate for the sheep," he declares today.

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Quotes

Suddenly I heard the words of Christ and understood them, and life and death ceased to seem to be evil, and instead of despair I experienced happiness and the joy of life undisturbed by death. --Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)

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