Commentary
Sunday, 5/3/2020 Fourth Sunday of Easter
Called to Repent and Believe
First Reading Commentary: Acts 2:14a, 36-41
In today’s first reading, which is a continuation, from last Sunday’s first reading, Peter says, “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” As I said last week, it sounds like Peter is giving the Jews a real piece of his mind. But Peter was not attempting to chastise or discipline. Peter’s real intent was to evangelize and his method was to shake them up and get them to pay attention.
The people were cut to their hearts and asked, “What should we do, my brothers?” This reaction shows that the people were filled with remorse and had accepted the Eleven Apostles enough to call them brothers.
Can you imagine that happening in today’s world? Can you imagine someone preaching the Gospel, telling it like it is and talking about a whole lot of serious sins that you don’t want to hear about because of your guilt? And if that is not bad enough, they are calling you on the carpet very directly, so much so, that they just as well call your name and say, “You John or you Sarah. You did this.” Would your response be, “What shall I do my brother?” In today’s world, I think not.
But with remorse, that is exactly how these people reacted. It goes to show that in spite of their mistakes and sins, love of God was in their hearts and that is why Peter and the other Apostles were able to reach them that day. If our love for God is real, He will touch us too!
Peter told the people to repent and be baptized so that they could save themselves from their corrupt generation because forgiveness and the Holy Spirit were promised to those whom God would call.
Peter’s proclamation was delivered to the house of Israel but he was actually speaking to the entire world in the same way that Pope Francis speaks to the entire world when making a public address. The message from Peter is just as timely today as it was on the day that he delivered it.
First, Peter told the people that they had crucified Christ. We have to consider this question again this week: What part do we play in the crucifixion of Christ? Some people will say nothing because they were not there. This is a worldly way of thinking and completely out of touch with the truth.
If we switch our thinking to a spiritual sense, we will realize and consider the fact that every time we sin, we add to the burden that Christ carried when He carried the Cross. Christ carried that burden for the salvation of all mankind. Therefore, Christ carried every single sin, past present and yet to be committed and of every single person, past, present and yet to be born.
What goes through our hearts when we think about the crucifixion of Christ? Do we have any remorse and do we feel any guilt? Our hearts should be filled with joy and gratitude beyond explanation because Christ took the sins of the world to the cross but we should never loose touch with the fact that the sins which Christ took to the cross were our sins—we committed those sins. Not one sin was of His doing. Yes, we should accept the blame and be thankful.
But the crucifixion of Christ does not excuse us from having to repent for the sins that we commit. So, Peter told the people to repent and be baptized reminding the people of the promise of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit.
Peter was obeying the command given to him and all of the Apostles in Matthew 28:19 when Jesus said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
In Baptism, the Holy Spirit comes to us and we are freed from original sin. In Confession, we are freed from the sins that we commit. In both sacraments, the promise of God’s forgiveness is fulfilled. When Peter gave his answer to the people, he was telling them to be baptized and to go to Confession.
We cannot overlook Peter saying that the promise was for those who God would call. This does not mean that God only wants some of us. God actually calls out to all of us. But it is only those who listen and answer God’s call who will receive His forgiveness. Those of us, who want to be forgiven, will be forgiven. Those are the ones who are referred to as called by God in Peter’s speech and they are among the three thousand that joined the Church that day.
If We Belong to Him, We Will Follow Him
Second Reading Commentary: 1 Peter 2:20b-25
In this part of Peter’s first letter, we are reminded that when Christ willingly allowed Himself to suffer on our behalf, He set an example for us to follow. Christ did not return insult nor did He threaten. Instead, He handed Himself over to the Father.
Peter is telling us that when we are persecuted by others because of our faith, we should be patient, remain silent and pray for them. Remember what Jesus told us when He gave us the Beatitudes: "Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you…because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” Matthew 5:11-12
The Beatitudes are hard to follow, this one because most of us are quick to return insult with insult and violence with violence. But that is not God’s way and will therefore serve us no purpose or do us any good in God's eye.
That brings about a deeper message and a lesson for us all. God does not want us to argue, fight or go to war because of our faith and religion. When we do, we fail to follow the example that Christ set for us and worse yet, we fail to follow the Second Greatest Commandment.
With that in mind, we are reminded that Christ took our sins to the cross so that we might live for righteousness so that together, we might follow Christ who is our shepherd and guardian of our souls. We are His sheep and when we go astray, He calls us. If we belong to Him, we answer the call and follow Him. That is the message behind all of today’s liturgy.
I am the Gate
Gospel Commentary: John 10:1-10
In today’s gospel, Jesus said. “…whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.” Jesus also said, “I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers…whoever enters through me will be saved…”
Jesus is the one who first entered through the gate with His death and Resurrection to open it for all of us and therefore He is the gatekeeper and the shepherd of us all. Jesus, as the Second person of the Trinity, came down from heaven as a man and gave His life on the Cross for our salvation. He then ascended back into heaven opening the gate for all of us, His sheep, to follow.
But I see something else here. I see the pope, the bishops and priests beginning with the Apostles as shepherds as well. I see the teachings and instructions of Jesus to us as being the voice that His sheep listen to and I see the clergy as the shepherds who bear the responsibility of being the instruments through which that voice is proclaimed by virtue of the Spirit. Indeed, we see this in a powerful way as the Apostles conduct their ministries in Acts of the Apostles.
Our clergy is made up of men who are not perfect. But none of the Apostles were perfect either. Yet, they were chosen by Jesus to be our spiritual leaders (shepherds) and the clergy today are their descendants and we should listen to them.
So, who are the thieves and robbers? That’s simple. The devil and his demons are the thieves and robbers. Anyone who we allow to talk us into sin is not listening to the Shepherd and neither are we if we follow them. We are following the devil and his demons if we do.
False prophets are also thieves and robbers because they do not preach the truth of the Gospels and if they do preach any truth at all; it is incomplete. They pick and choose what they want people to hear and as a result, they rob the people of the rest of God’s Word.
I am not talking about all ministers outside of Catholicism. I am speaking about those ministers and preachers who know and understand the truth but refuse to accept it and preach in such a way as to get others to reject the complete truth. These preachers are like the Pharisees and are false prophets.
Jesus said that the thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy. That means that the thief will lead us into hell. Jesus came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. That means that Jesus came to lead us into heaven. Question is: Who do we listen to and who do we follow?
