Sunday, April 22, 2018

God loves us with an active, watchful, love; He offers us refuge (readings for April 22, 2018)

Key:
What these passages tell us about God
What these passages tell us to do
Commentary
Hyperlink

Reading 1 ACTS 4:8-12                                                                                                        
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: "Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healedHe is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved."

R. (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to 
take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
It is better to 
take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
R. 
The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
I will 
give thanks to you, for you have answered me and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderfulin our eyes.
R. 
The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD; we bless you from the house of the LORD. I will 
give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior. 
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.
R. 
The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

Reading 2 1 JN 3:1-2
Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
 We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Alleluia JN 10:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. 
Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel JN 10:11-18
Jesus said:
"I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and 
mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my lifein order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father."


1.    God loves us with an active, watchful, love. He knows our situations and cares about and for us (gospel, second reading). 

2.    That love causes Him to hear and to lead us (gospel, psalm). This wonderful dynamic is further described in the scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles—God Loves and Calls Us to Him, In Spite of our Sin.

3.    That love is sacrificial (gospel); remember the cross and all that came before it.

4.    That love extends to those in all cultures and times. It extends to people that society rejects (gospel, second reading).

5.    So how should we respond to that wonderful love?

A.   “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good” (psalm).

B.    “Know” Him (gospel). Indeed, regular, specific, thanksgiving helps us to know Him better by becoming more aware of His actions and nature.


C.    [T]ake refuge in the LORD” (psalm). Go to Him in prayer. Spend time with him in adoration and/or the scriptures. He wants to engage you and will meet you there, providing refuge from your troubles.  That dynamic runs throughout the scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles—God is a Refuge for Those Who Love Him.

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