Wednesday - April 28, 2021
TODAY'S READINGS
April 28, 2021
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 281
Reading I
The word of God continued to spread and grow.
After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission,
they returned to Jerusalem,
taking with them John, who is called Mark.
Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.
So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit,
went down to Seleucia
and from there sailed to Cyprus.
When they arrived in Salamis,
they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus cried out and said,
“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.
And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.
Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words
has something to judge him: the word that I spoke,
it will condemn him on the last day,
because I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.
And I know that his commandment is eternal life.
So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”
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Sharing the Light
In today's Gospel, Jesus describes himself as the light of the world and explains why he came: "to keep anyone who believes in me from remaining in the dark." In our first reading today, we see Barnabas and Saul (the Jewish name for St. Paul) being called by the Holy Spirit and commissioned by the community (the Church) to take the light of Christ into a dark world.
Today, the Holy Spirit still calls and the Church still commissions: You and I (yes, you too!) are being sent into the darkness to share the light of Christ. It's not just the ordained clergy who are commissioned; in the Vatican II document, the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, the bishops wrote:
"The laity accomplish the Church's mission in the world principally by that blending of conduct and faith which makes them the light of the world..." (para. 13).
We spread the light of Jesus by conducting ourselves the way Jesus would -- with love, forgiveness, patience, going the extra mile, etc. -- and by speaking up to explain who it is we're imitating and why.
Jesus says elsewhere (see Matt. 5:14-16) that a light hidden under a basket is worthless. Faith becomes an occasion of sin if we limit it to a private experience. Faith is what forms us into the image of Christ who came to earth to bring others to the kingdom of God. If we have true faith, we are motivated to be like Jesus in our dealings with others so that they, too, experience God's love.
"The laity should, by the light of faith, try to find the higher motives that should govern their behavior in the home and in professional, cultural and social life; they should too, given the opportunity, let these motives be seen by others, conscious that by so doing they become cooperators with God the creator, redeemer and sanctifier, and give him glory" (para. 16).
We can change the world, starting in our homes but also in the workplace and in social settings, when the reason for our kind, good, and loving behavior is clearly and visibly tied to our faith in Jesus.
When problems arise, we are witnesses of the light of Christ if we, as this document points out, "learn ... to see all things in the light of faith, to judge and act always in its light, to improve and perfect oneself by working with others [loving them generously no matter how difficult], and in this manner to enter actively into the service of the Church. Inasmuch as the human person is continuously developing, and new problems are forever arising, this education should be steadily perfected" (para. 29).
We are beacons of the light of Christ when we learn from our problems and grow from our trials.
How bright is your light? Whose darkness is it illuminating?
Today's Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into my life with Your Word. May I receive It and let myself be transformed by It. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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