The Better Part

John 10:1-10 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection Here it is, our favourite parable! On the fourth Sunday of Easter each year, the church listens to Jesus tell us all that he is the Good Shepherd. It is a long parable, so each year we look very closely at just one part of it. What does the Good Shepherd do? He calls his own sheep The Good Shepherd has sheep of his own—they belong to him. He calls them, and they are his. How does he call them? He calls his own sheep by name He

John 10:1-10 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection Here it is, one of the best loved parables! Or, at least, here is one part of the parable. It is interesting that the church picks this part of the parable to proclaim this Sunday, because in it we hear trouble seven times. In the Bible, seven means perfect. In this reading then, we have the perfect storm of trouble. Three times Jesus mentions thieves, twice he mentions bandits, and twice he mentions strangers. A thief might st

John 10:1-10 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection Many of us are very familiar with the image of the Good Shepherd. The Gospel for this Sunday, however, includes an image that may not be as familiar. Jesus says, I am the gate for the sheep. The gate? How can he be both gate and shepherd?? Some scripture scholars—people who study the Holy Bible—suggest that this is a mini-parable inserted into the bigger parable of the Good Shepherd. We can look at the parables separately or to

Luke 24.13-35 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection The feast continues! We celebrate the feast of Jesus dying and rising to new life, never to die again, for seven Sundays! On this third Sunday of Easter, the Gospel again takes place in the afternoon of the very day that Jesus rises from the dead, full of the new life of God. Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these thi

Luke 24.13-35 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel for this Sunday again takes place on the day that Jesus rises from the dead, full of the new life of God. This moment in Jesus' life, his birth into the Risen life of God, is so important that the Church returns again and again to the events of that day. This reading takes place in the afternoon of that day. Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and

Luke 24.13-35 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection On this third Sunday of Easter, we hear an account of people meeting Jesus raised from the dead. It occurs on the afternoon of the Resurrection, after the women who find the tomb empty proclaim that Jesus is Risen. Only St. Luke records this event. Take a moment to read or listen to the Word of God. Then we can think about what St. Luke might want us to understand. What happens in this account? Two disciples leave Jerusalem

John 20:19- 22    (full reading John 20:19-31) Listen to the Gospel and Reflection We know that early in the morning, after Jesus rises from the dead, Mary Magdalene sees Jesus in the garden. He calls her by name and then she knows—Jesus is Risen to new life, never to die again. Jesus tells her to go and tell the disciples, so she does. The Gospel reading for this  Sunday begins in the evening of that very same day that Jesus rises from the dead never to die again. When it wa

John 20:19- 23 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel for this Sunday actually begins on the evening of the day that Jesus rises from the dead, so full of the Risen Life that he can never die again. Although Mary Magdalene knows that Jesus is Risen and told the disciples, they hide in a house with all the doors locked. Fear fills them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘ Peace  be with you.’   After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the

John 20:19-31 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel reading for this second Sunday of Easter has two parts. It begins on the first Easter Sunday, the evening of the day that Jesus rises from the dead, and continues exactly one week later, on the second Sunday of the first Easter. St. John dictating the Gospel, looking over his shoulder for inspiration from the Holy Spirit St. John begins the reading with, When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week We