Fourth Sunday of Easter
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Mt 11:28-29).
The Lord invites us to find peace and joy in Him this Sabbath as we set aside time to worship and rest.
“Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God.”
Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word “Shabbat”, which means “to stop.” Keeping holy the Sabbath is not just a commandment, but an invitation. An invitation from the Lord to stop our work, stop our worrying, stop our striving. An opportunity to find rest and to be renewed. A chance to refocus on the things that truly matter - the Lord, family, community. In our culture, Sunday has become a day to “catch up” on everything that didn’t get done during the week, and any time left over is often seen as an opportunity just to “get ahead” for next week. But we Christians have a chance now to remember what it means to keep the Sabbath. During this pandemic the Lord is calling us back to Himself, offering us a chance to reclaim the gift of the Sabbath, reminding us again what it means to “keep it holy.”
A basic principle for observing the Sabbath is only to do things that can be considered “rest” or “worship”. Here are a few ideas to consider to begin more to enter into the Sabbath. Maybe pick just one thing to focus on this Sunday, then next Sunday keep that practice in addition to a second one. And then the next Sunday add a third, to slowly over time begin to enter into this great gift of the Sabbath more and more.
Keep the Lord at the center - read the Mass readings ahead of time, participate in Mass, make more time for prayer, spend some extra time in silence focusing on the Lord
Try not to work - resist the urge to check your email, or catch up on a few things, and leave it for Monday
Plan ahead - take care of what needs to be done before Sunday, so plan the rest of your week to make sure you get the laundry done, have gone grocery shopping, etc.so you don’t have to do any of it on Sunday
Spend the day “screen-free” - try to stay off social media, internet news, and your phone as much as possible. If you can’t make it the whole day try to go for at least a few hours
Be intentional with others - if you live with others (ie. family, roommates), is there something you can do together like play a game or go on a hike? If you live alone, can you reach out to a good friend and catch up?
Leisure, not entertainment - try to do life-giving things; binge-watching a favorite show or playing video games for hours rarely leaves anyone with a new zeal for life. Read a good book, go on a long walk, develop a hobby.
PARTICIPATE
MASS READINGS
GIVING
Take a few minutes to give to St. Ann Parish. Please give generously and sacrificially as an act of faith during these difficult times. You can give online:
After giving, offer ways to be generous of your whole self during this trying time for our world.
“Each must do as already determined without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.”
PROCESS
“...I must lead, and they will hear my voice” (John 10:16)
One of the most fundamental aspects of our Christian experience is that “faith seeks understanding” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 158). Jesus speaks this truth to us in the Gospel this Sunday saying, “they will hear my voice”, but with the condition that “I must lead” (John 10:16). This verse hits on the reality that the importance of faith does not come from asserting ourselves, but in following Christ. Jesus not only verbalizes this but makes it incarnate. A few verses before this, Jesus declares that, “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father” (John 10:14-15). Jesus shows us that the Good Shepherd, the Leader of leaders, is one who does not follow His own will but that of God the Father; He places His identity wholly in the knowledge the Father has of Him, and the Father reciprocates.
During this Easter season we are beginning to dive into the ideals of Christian leadership. The three main aspects of this we will be exploring are how christian leaders are teachable, available and contagious (TAC). Jesus shows us that an essential element of Christianity, and leading in a Christian-manner, is the capability to be lead; to be teachable. So often the world around us declares to us the idea that we all are entitled to whatever truth that we make up on our own, that we are comfortable with or that suits us. Many around us have bought into this idea of “my truth” and “your truth” wholesale, and often we unconsciously subscribe to it ourselves. “These people are called wandering stars”, St. Hilary of Arles notes, “because they do not follow the sun of truth” (Introductory Commentary on Jude). When everyone tries to live in this way, we become like planets all drifting in the universe without a sun, all vying for the central gravitational pull, leading to inevitable collisions. Have we not experienced a little of this cosmic chaos? Even those with similar ideals to our own sometimes seem to be searching for intentional ways to cut ties and create divisions, attempting to establish a new center of gravity. But without Jesus, who is “the sun of truth”, such forms of leadership end up becoming black holes. What is needed for trust to be re-established in our day is the willingness to place ourselves under the leadership of the Good Shepherd and to learn, to listen, hear, and be teachable.
The question we ask ourselves this week is, are we teachable? Fulton Sheen commented on the importance of being teachable, saying, “If we are filled with our own importance, then we can never be filled with anything outside of ourselves. If a man thinks he knows everything, then not even God can teach him anything. The discovery of any truth requires docility, or teachableness. He who thinks he knows it all is unteachable… Faith comes from hearing, which also means it comes from being a good listener, or not thinking that one has all truth within himself” (Life Is Worth Living). Lacking the ability to be teachable means lacking the ability to learn, and without the capacity to learn we are also unable to lead. Have we been so unwise as to give into the idea that we do not have anything more to learn? Will we allow ourselves the openness to be able to grow this week? Are there any aspects of our faith which we find confusing or challenging to our personal beliefs? Throughout this week we take up the challenge to live out grace-filled humility, stretching ourselves to grow as disciples and as leaders by sincerely seeking to understand.
Practice
For the next three weeks our practice will look at three aspects of Christian leadership: being teachable, being available, and being contagious (as in a person who models an authentically attractive pursuit of Jesus). This week we will focus on what it means as a leader and disciple to be teachable. We see the necessity of being teachable in our Gospel. Jesus speaks about the importance of knowing and following Him, the Good Shepherd, and how we need to hear His voice. Christian leadership requires grace-filled humility so we can continue to grow and improve as disciples.
And so our practice this week is to do an exercise in humility, to practice an openness to being teachable. You could consider doing this in a few ways:
If you are currently in a ministry or group, ask someone in the group for feedback about your participation or leadership of the group. Invite them to honestly share with you one way you could improve.
If there is an area of Church teaching that you struggle with, take some time to explore why the Catholic Church teaches what she does. This could be by asking someone you know who could explain it, doing some reading in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church), or going to a website like Catholic Answers (www.catholic.com).
Ask someone you are close to if there is an area you could grow in or a way they think you could improve to be a better disciple and witness to Jesus Christ.
Discussion Questions
Think about how you can continue to reflect on God’s word to you this week, and how you can invite others into the conversation. You can use the questions below for personal reflection, or to grow with others. Be creative! You could consider gathering with friends and family, or starting a group text, or a group FaceTime, to discuss the questions below.
What stands out to you from the readings this week? What might God be speaking to you at this time?
Were you able to gather for a meal for more time and reflection on last week’s readings? Did you have any particular insights from that?
In the first reading Peter gives extraordinary witness to Jesus Christ, being quick to point out that it was the Lord who had done the healing. When you are a part of good things, do you find it easy or difficult to give the Lord the glory for it?
When you think of the title of Jesus as the “Good Shepherd” what does that mean to you? Have you experienced Him as a Good Shepherd in your own life?
What are ways that you hear the voice of the Good Shepherd?
How do you see being teachable being important to leaders who want to help make disciples?
Would you consider yourself teachable? What can make it hard?