Parishioner's Gospel reflection
The Risen Jesus appears
18 April 2021: 3rd Sunday of Easter (Cycle B)
Parishioner’s Gospel
Contributor: Branwen Jones
Luke 24: 35 – 48
The disciples have so much to take in at this point in the Resurrection story. A great deal has happened in so short a space of time. The conflicting emotions of grief, shock and bewilderment must have overpowered them. First the reports from the women of the empty tomb and now, on the very same day, two of their number return from journeying to Emmaus full of their encounter with the Risen Lord. It is a great deal to assimilate.
Into the midst of this fraught scene Jesus quietly appears with His message of peace. Just as He rebuked the wind and waves and calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, He dispels the disciples’ agitation by proving that He is not a ghost and urging them to look at His hands and feet, to touch Him, to see that He is real and not an illusion. The proof is taken one stage further when Our Lord asks if they have anything to eat. The God that feeds us with His own flesh and blood asks for nourishment! A spirit does not require physical sustenance.
What is noteworthy is that the Risen Christ does not come to condemn those who abandoned Him when He was arrested and executed. There are no recriminations for their all too human reactions, just a message of peace.
Having allayed the disciples’ fears, Jesus then ‘opened their minds to understand the scriptures.’ He explains to them how all that had been written about Him ‘in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.’ In this manner He equips them for the task that lies ahead – of preaching the Gospel to ‘all nations’, of being His witnesses.
Two thousand years later we too need to allow God to open our minds to greater understanding in order to be better witnesses to His message of repentance and forgiveness.
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25 April 2021: 4th Sunday of Easter (Cycle B)
Parishioner’s Gospel
Contributor: Cecilia Skudder (Cjs.)
Gospel: John 10: 11 to 18.
“I am the one Good Shepherd, who cares for all His sheep.
My life I do lay down, for all that I do keep.
A hired man would just flee, if a wolf came on the scene,
leaving sheep unguarded, at the mercy of the mean.
Because he is but hired, he has no concern.
He only cares for them, so money he will earn.
I know each of Mine, and they surely know Me too.
Just as the Father knows, and cares for what I do.
I know the Father well, and I have another flock.
Soon there’ll be just one, which none should ever mock.
I lay down My life, for this is in My power,
and then I take it back, at My chosen hour.
Of My own free will, I choose to take this path.
This is My Father’s way, I foresee the aftermath.
Because I do His will, the Father loves Me so.
I tell you all this now, so that all the world will know.”
We know You care dear Lord, for each and every one.
Whoever we might be, or whatever we have done.
‘Tis easy to forget, in the bustle of today,
You gave Your life for us, suffering in the most dreadful way.
Help us shape our lives, in the path that You have taught.
To improve another’s plight, in deed and not just thought. Cjs.
Christ is the only Shepherd, there is no other way for He is the Way the Truth and the Life. We’ll always place our trust in Him, knowing that whatever happens He is there for us.
Parishioner’s Gospel
Contributor: Branwen Jones
Luke 24: 35 – 48
The disciples have so much to take in at this point in the Resurrection story. A great deal has happened in so short a space of time. The conflicting emotions of grief, shock and bewilderment must have overpowered them. First the reports from the women of the empty tomb and now, on the very same day, two of their number return from journeying to Emmaus full of their encounter with the Risen Lord. It is a great deal to assimilate.
Into the midst of this fraught scene Jesus quietly appears with His message of peace. Just as He rebuked the wind and waves and calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, He dispels the disciples’ agitation by proving that He is not a ghost and urging them to look at His hands and feet, to touch Him, to see that He is real and not an illusion. The proof is taken one stage further when Our Lord asks if they have anything to eat. The God that feeds us with His own flesh and blood asks for nourishment! A spirit does not require physical sustenance.
What is noteworthy is that the Risen Christ does not come to condemn those who abandoned Him when He was arrested and executed. There are no recriminations for their all too human reactions, just a message of peace.
Having allayed the disciples’ fears, Jesus then ‘opened their minds to understand the scriptures.’ He explains to them how all that had been written about Him ‘in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.’ In this manner He equips them for the task that lies ahead – of preaching the Gospel to ‘all nations’, of being His witnesses.
Two thousand years later we too need to allow God to open our minds to greater understanding in order to be better witnesses to His message of repentance and forgiveness.
***********************************
25 April 2021: 4th Sunday of Easter (Cycle B)
Parishioner’s Gospel
Contributor: Cecilia Skudder (Cjs.)
Gospel: John 10: 11 to 18.
“I am the one Good Shepherd, who cares for all His sheep.
My life I do lay down, for all that I do keep.
A hired man would just flee, if a wolf came on the scene,
leaving sheep unguarded, at the mercy of the mean.
Because he is but hired, he has no concern.
He only cares for them, so money he will earn.
I know each of Mine, and they surely know Me too.
Just as the Father knows, and cares for what I do.
I know the Father well, and I have another flock.
Soon there’ll be just one, which none should ever mock.
I lay down My life, for this is in My power,
and then I take it back, at My chosen hour.
Of My own free will, I choose to take this path.
This is My Father’s way, I foresee the aftermath.
Because I do His will, the Father loves Me so.
I tell you all this now, so that all the world will know.”
We know You care dear Lord, for each and every one.
Whoever we might be, or whatever we have done.
‘Tis easy to forget, in the bustle of today,
You gave Your life for us, suffering in the most dreadful way.
Help us shape our lives, in the path that You have taught.
To improve another’s plight, in deed and not just thought. Cjs.
Christ is the only Shepherd, there is no other way for He is the Way the Truth and the Life. We’ll always place our trust in Him, knowing that whatever happens He is there for us.