A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 26)
5th Sunday of Easter, Year A – May 22, 2011 *
“Easter People … God’s Own People”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 6:1-7 // I Pt 2:4-9 // Jn 14:1-12
(N.B. Series 9 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
The Sunday liturgy continues to deepen our identity as Easter people. We are God’s own, redeemed by the precious blood of the paschal lamb Jesus Christ, our Master-Shepherd, and instructed by him who is the way, truth and life (cf. Jn 14:1-12). Jesus revealed to us the Father by radically manifesting the divine saving love. Moreover, he drew us into the fullness of life by fulfilling the Easter mystery of his passion, death and resurrection. By the power of the Spirit, the Risen Lord continues to be present to us, through time and space, as the way, the truth and the life. Indeed, Jesus Christ is the true living way for he leads us to the Father who gives us life in abundance.
In the First Reading (Acts 6:1-7), we could glean the presence of the Risen Lord and the Holy Spirit, the Easter gift, guiding the fledging Church through the challenges of daily living. The early Christian community enlarged its leadership structure to respond to changing needs. Seven reputable men filled with wisdom and the Holy Spirit were chosen and prayed over by the apostles for a special Church ministry. The seven chosen ones would “serve at table” and handle the administrative affairs for the Hellenists who were complaining that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of goods. By being faithful to Christ and receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the Christian disciples in Jerusalem were able to find an equitable solution that permitted them to achieve their main goal of spreading the Word of God.
The Second Reading (I Pt 2:4-9) depicts our identity as Easter people linked to “Christ-foundation stone” and underlines the implication of becoming God’s people. The rich images that we hear in this reading present our dignity as “priestly people, kingly people, holy people chosen by the Lord to sing his praises” as well as the responsibility of holiness resulting from it.
The biblical scholar, Jerome Neyrey explains: “Jesus is the stone which God laid in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious; he is the stone rejected by some but important to God; finally he is the stone which is an obstacle and scandal to some. This Christ-stone is the pattern for the church; like Jesus, we are chosen and precious to God; we are also rejected by pagans and unbelievers. But as Christ is the cornerstone, so we are being made into a household, a holy body of priests … The church is a people of his own and so it is a chosen race, a royal dwelling place, a holy nation (cf. Ex 19:3-6). The church has gone from being not my people to being my people, from not having received mercy to having received mercy. Both the stone and people images speak, then, of our election by God and of our holiness. And they point to what this means in our lives: as a household of priests we offer spiritual sacrifices, that is, a holy life characterized by faithfulness and obedience. And as a holy nation we tell the story of the holy God and his saving deeds. So our priesthood is a way of being called to a holy status before a holy God and an exhortation to do holy things like acting holy and speaking about the holy God. These images, then, do not reject formal worship in the Church, nor do they argue against liturgical leadership for this group. Their sole purpose is to tell the church of its exalted state, as chosen and holy.”
The following prize-winning essay written by a 10th grader at Holy Family High School in Broomfield, Colorado, gives us an insight into our vocation as an Easter people – as God’s holy people, called to live out the Gospel message and proclaim the praises of the Lord in today’s world (cf. Kelly Dempsey, “Living Gospel Message” in MARYKNOLL, May/June 2011, p. 49-50).
Actions speak louder than words. We have all been preached those five words many times throughout our lives, but how many of us truly live by then? In this strange world within which we currently reside, one can easily get caught up in technology such as Facebook, video games and texting. All of these “advancements” in human society make hypocrisy almost effortless. The ability to hide behind a machine greatly facilitates one’s desire to seem as if they are one great, generous person, without any of the inconveniences of actually being one. However, despite our culture of attachment to the many “glowing rectangles” around which our society seems to now revolve – computers, phones, iPods, cameras, televisions – there are the few who rise up despite these distractions and live a life of the Gospels. A wise man known as St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the Gospel always; if necessary, use words.” From the very first time I opened my eyes to now, 16 years later, I have seen and continue to see these words perfectly exemplified through the actions of my older sister and best friend, Erin.
Always strong with her relationship and faith in God, Erin, only three years older than myself, taught me at a very young age that God is always present and will always, no matter what, take care of me. Shortly after she turned 12, my parents finally deemed her old enough to watch over me while they went out, a concept that utterly terrified me. How on earth was my tiny 60-pound sister supposed to protect me when the burglars, who were sure to come in my parents’ absence, broke into our house? However, once I voiced my fears, my sister pulled me into a giant bear hug and softly instructed me to ask God to take away my fears. With that simple prayer, my worries suddenly evaporated into thin air. From that day forth, I viewed my sister as standing in a new light, a light with Christ.
Erin, now a sophomore at Creighton University, a Jesuit school, still stands tall and true to her faith. During her freshman year, a time of trial for many Catholics as to whether they stay true to their faith or convert to sleeping in, Erin not only continued to go to church once a week and pray on a daily basis, but she also upped the ante. Her normal weekly church visit multiplied into going at least three times a week. In addition, she was able to spread the word around campus and single-handedly increased weekday Mass attendance. Furthermore, despite the fact that she rarely is able to hit the sack before four o’clock in the morning, due to her immense workload and jam-packed schedule, Erin miraculously found time to volunteer for many non-profit organizations around Creighton.
Extremely selfless and humble in her actions and never even considering complaining about giving her limited time to those in need around her, Erin can be seen as role model to all those who have witnessed her daily life. Her closeness to God can be witnessed through her gentleness with children, kindness to strangers, and sympathy, comfort and compassion for the less fortunate. Never harsh or slanderous, Erin is a walking example of God’s message in our slightly off-kilter society.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Do we allow Jesus to be the way, truth and life for us? Do we imitate his moral example with the strength of our will, allow the truth of his revelation to penetrate our mind, and let his divine life possess us so that we can declare, It is no longer I who live; Christ lives in me?
Are we sensitive to the presence of the Risen Lord and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when daily challenges confront us? Do we respond to difficulties creatively and with faith?
Are we proud of our vocation as priestly people, kingly people, holy people chosen by God to be his own? Do we respond with holiness to the dignity of our vocation as “Easter people … God’s people” chosen to be his own?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father,
we give you thanks and praise
for Jesus, our Master-Shepherd.
He is the way to follow,
the truth that enlightens
and the life to live.
He assures us of our place in the heavenly dwelling.
He soothes our troubled hearts
and encourages us to put faith in him.
Through the Holy Spirit, the Easter gift,
he continues to be present to us.
Thus we are able to discern your will
and intuit the proper and creative response
to the challenges of daily Christian living.
We are grateful for our dignity
as priestly people, kingly people and holy people
called to be your own.
Help us to live a holy life
and give us the courage to proclaim the Gospel
to all nations, peoples and cultures of the earth.
We give you glory and sing your praise
for you have called us out of darkness into your wonderful light.
Give us the grace to always love you,
obey you and be faithful to you
for we are your Easter people – your chosen people.
We adore you, we worship you and serve you,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (cf. I Pt 2:9)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that we may truly live and witness our being God’s Easter people. By our acts of goodness, justice, compassion and solidarity, let us enable the people around us to feel the love of God who rescued us from darkness and brought us into his wonderful light.
ACTION PLAN: That we may experience deeply the beauty and dignity of being an Easter people – God’s holy people, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 26).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US