Word Wide Open: The Fourth Sunday of Easter (A) - 4/30/23

First Reading (Acts 2:14a, 36-41)

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,

raised his voice, and proclaimed:

"Let the whole house of Israel know for certain

that God has made both Lord and Christ,

this Jesus whom you crucified."

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,

and they asked Peter and the other apostles,

"What are we to do, my brothers?"

Peter said to them,

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,

in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;

and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is made to you and to your children

and to all those far off,

whomever the Lord our God will call."

He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,

"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."

Those who accepted his message were baptized,

and about three thousand persons were added that day.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? When was a moment the Lord convicted you to change? How can we convince others to leave their sins behind?

Second Reading (1 Peter 2:20b-25)

A reading from the First Letter of St. Peter. 

Beloved:

If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,

this is a grace before God.

For to this you have been called,

because Christ also suffered for you,

leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.

He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When he was insulted, he returned no insult;

when he suffered, he did not threaten;

instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.

He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,

so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

For you had gone astray like sheep,

but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions:  Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? What can help us to be better at persevering to do what is good?

Gospel (John 10:1-10)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

Jesus said:

"Amen, amen, I say to you,

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.

The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,

as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has driven out all his own,

he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,

because they recognize his voice.

But they will not follow a stranger;

they will run away from him,

because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."

Although Jesus used this figure of speech,

the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,

I am the gate for the sheep.

All who came before me are thieves and robbers,

but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the gate.

Whoever enters through me will be saved,

and will come in and go out and find pasture.

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? Why is it so easy to stray from the flock? What are the voices of strangers we often listen to? Why is the image of Jesus being the gate so important?

Word Wide Open: The Third Sunday of Easter (A) - 4/23/23

 

First Reading (Acts 2:14, 22-33)

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,

raised his voice, and proclaimed:

"You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.

Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.

You who are Israelites, hear these words.

Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God

with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,

which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.

This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,

you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.

But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,

because it was impossible for him to be held by it.

For David says of him:

I saw the Lord ever before me,

with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;

my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, 

because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,

nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.

"My brothers, one can confidently say to you

about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,

and his tomb is in our midst to this day.

But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him

that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,

he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,

that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld

nor did his flesh see corruption.

God raised this Jesus;

of this we are all witnesses.

Exalted at the right hand of God,

he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father

and poured him forth, as you see and hear."

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? Why was it impossible for Christ to be held by death? Why are we also responsible for His death?

Second Reading (1 Peter 1:17-21)

A reading from the First Letter of St. Peter. 

Beloved:

If you invoke as Father him who judges impartially

according to each one's works,

conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,

realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,

handed on by your ancestors,

not with perishable things like silver or gold

but with the precious blood of Christ

as of a spotless unblemished lamb.

He was known before the foundation of the world 

but revealed in the final time for you,

who through him believe in God

who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,

so that your faith and hope are in God.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions:  Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? What is reverence and how do we live that out?

Gospel (Luke 24:13-35)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke.

That very day, the first day of the week, 

two of Jesus' disciples were going

to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,

and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.

And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,

Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,

but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

He asked them, 

"What are you discussing as you walk along?"

They stopped, looking downcast.

One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,

"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem

who does not know of the things

that have taken place there in these days?"

And he replied to them, "What sort of things?"

They said to him, 

"The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,

who was a prophet mighty in deed and word

before God and all the people,

how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over

to a sentence of death and crucified him.

But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;

and besides all this,

it is now the third day since this took place.

Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:

they were at the tomb early in the morning 

and did not find his body;

they came back and reported

that they had indeed seen a vision of angels

who announced that he was alive.

Then some of those with us went to the tomb

and found things just as the women had described,

but him they did not see."

And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!

How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things

and enter into his glory?"

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,

he interpreted to them what referred to him

in all the Scriptures.

As they approached the village to which they were going,

he gave the impression that he was going on farther.

But they urged him, "Stay with us,

for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over."

So he went in to stay with them.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table,

he took bread, said the blessing,

broke it, and gave it to them.

With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,

but he vanished from their sight.

Then they said to each other,

"Were not our hearts burning within us

while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"

So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem

where they found gathered together

the eleven and those with them who were saying,

"The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"

Then the two recounted 

what had taken place on the way

and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? Why is it so easy to get discouraged when it comes to our faith? Why is Christ always in our midst when we gather as a faith community? How does Jesus reveal His glory to us today?

Word Wide Open: Sunday of Divine Mercy (A) - 4/16/23

First Reading (Acts 2:42-47)

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

They devoted themselves

to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life,

to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

Awe came upon everyone,

and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

All who believed were together and had all things in common;

they would sell their property and possessions

and divide them among all according to each one’s need.

Every day they devoted themselves

to meeting together in the temple area

and to breaking bread in their homes.

They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,

praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.

And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? Why is the Mass and a communal life so important to our faith? 

Second Reading (1 Peter 1:3-9)

A reading from the First Letter of St. Peter. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,

kept in heaven for you

who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith,

to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.

In this you rejoice, although now for a little while

you may have to suffer through various trials,

so that the genuineness of your faith,

more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,

may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor

at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Although you have not seen him you love him;

even though you do not see him now yet believe in him,

you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions:  Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How do we know if our faith is genuine?

Gospel (John 20:19-31)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

On the evening of that first day of the week,

when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,

for fear of the Jews,

Jesus came and stood in their midst

and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,

and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,

was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

But he said to them,

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands

and put my finger into the nailmarks

and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside

and Thomas was with them.

Jesus came, although the doors were locked,

and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,

and bring your hand and put it into my side,

and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples

that are not written in this book.

But these are written that you may come to believe

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? Why is it so easy to let fear and doubt dampen our faith? How does this passage establish reconciliation? Why are people more blessed if they believe without seeing?

Word Wide Open: Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper (A) - 4/6/23

First Reading (Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14)

A reading from the Book of Exodus.

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

“This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;

you shall reckon it the first month of the year.

Tell the whole community of Israel:

On the tenth of this month every one of your families

must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.

If a family is too small for a whole lamb,

it shall join the nearest household in procuring one

and shall share in the lamb

in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.

The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish.

You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.

You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month,

and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present,

it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.

They shall take some of its blood

and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel

of every house in which they partake of the lamb.

That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh

with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

“This is how you are to eat it:

with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand,

you shall eat like those who are in flight.

It is the Passover of the LORD.

For on this same night I will go through Egypt,

striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast,

and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD!

But the blood will mark the houses where you are.

Seeing the blood, I will pass over you;

thus, when I strike the land of Egypt,

no destructive blow will come upon you.

“This day shall be a memorial feast for you,

which all your generations shall celebrate

with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.”

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How does Jesus fulfill/change passover? Why did they have to prepare to leave this meal every time they celebrated it?

Second Reading (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. 

Brothers and sisters:

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,

that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,

took bread, and, after he had given thanks,

broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,

you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

The word of the Lord.

Asking the big questions:  Is there anything that stuck out to you from this reading? How does the Mass always connect to the passion?

Gospel (John 13:1-15)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come

to pass from this world to the Father.

He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.

So, during supper,

fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power

and that he had come from God and was returning to God,

he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.

He took a towel and tied it around his waist.

Then he poured water into a basin

and began to wash the disciples’ feet

and dry them with the towel around his waist.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,

“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus answered and said to him,

“What I am doing, you do not understand now,

but you will understand later.”

Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered him,

“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”

Simon Peter said to him,

“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”

Jesus said to him,

“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,

            for he is clean all over;

so you are clean, but not all.”

For he knew who would betray him;

for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

So when he had washed their feet

and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,

he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?

You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’  and rightly so, for indeed I am.

If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,

you ought to wash one another’s feet.

I have given you a model to follow,

so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Asking the big questions: Is there anything that stuck out to you from this Gospel reading? Why did Jesus wash the apostles' feet? What does it mean to be a servant leader? How can we model Jesus washing feet in our own lives?