The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for the Easter Season
The first three Sundays of Easter are focused on resurrection appearances – a reminder that Christ is alive and still with us! Today marks a shift into a different emphasis: our ongoing mission in the world.
Today is commonly called “Good Shepherd Sunday” because we read from John’s “Good Shepherd Discourse” this Sunday every year.
At the Easter Vigil, catechumens are baptized. The Sundays of Easter then provide instruction in the Christian life. Something to ask of each reading, then, is what does it tell us about how to live the Christian life with eyes of newness and wonder?
Acts 13:14, 43-52
On his missionary journeys, Paul follows a set framework and pattern:
- Go to the synagogue and proclaim the word, even though there is little hope of success
- Experience rejection (see Ezekiel 3:1-9 where the great prophet was told this exact thing would happen because “the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.”)
- Go to the Gentiles
At the beginning of chapter 13, we see that Paul is with Barnabus, a key figure early in the gospel. Gradually he recedes into the background and Paul takes precedence. They are in Antioch where, according to Acts 11:26, the disciples were first called Christians. It is the church there in Antioch that commissions Barnabas and Saul to go preach the gospel. They begin their mission in Cyprus, with John as an assistant. Their first stop is Salamis, where they have an interesting encounter with Elymas the magician (see 13:4-12).
From Salamis, they travel to Perga and it is here that their assistant John leaves them. Acts 12:25 gives his name as “John, also called Mark,” and tradition holds him as the one who wrote the gospel of Mark. Later, at the end of Acts 15, Paul and Barnabus part ways over the missionary involvement of John / Mark.
In v14 Paul and Barnabas continue on to Antioch in Pisidia – a different place than the Antioch which sent them out. This was an administrative center for the Roman province of Galatia.
It was common for a synagogue to invite visiting men to preach (or comment on the reading), and we see this happen in v15. Never one to pass up the opportunity to speak, Paul jumps up and begins a long sermon. His speech demonstrates God’s fidelity to his promises. It is a succinct summary of the Old Testament, an era of promise. V16 mentions God-fearing men. These were Gentiles somewhere in the conversion process to Judaism.
The lectionary skips the sermon entirely and picks up with the response in v43. We get the impression that most of the congregation had a favorable response to the message and encouraged Paul and Barnabas to keep on preaching. Indeed, in v44, almost the entire city turns out the next week to hear them.
Imagine for a moment that you are a priest in a small church. Your congregation is sparse in attendance, but you work hard to nourish them and shepherd them. One day you invite a charismatic preacher for a 3 week sermon series. The second week your congregation is double the size and the third week there is standing room only.
We might feel a little charity for “the Jews” in v45, which we should take to mean the religious leaders. Paul did what they could not: attract people into the building.
Luke brings out this pattern over and over again: the religious leaders persecuted the nascent Christian movement just as they had persecuted Jesus because they were jealous of the common people’s response. This is part of Luke’s purpose in showing that the Gentiles were always part of God’s plan. One of the objections likely was that if that were true, why didn’t the Jewish leaders recognize it and embrace Christ? Luke’s explanation is that the religious leaders were driven less by love of God and more by human greed and jealousy.
This is emphasized in v46 when Paul says that God always had this plan of including the Gentiles. This is a divine schedule of salvation. In v47 he quotes Isaiah 49:6. The Gentiles, particularly, respond to this message in vv48-49.
But v50 reminds us that the religious leaders are jealous of the popularity of Paul. It’s interesting that women play a role here. Back in the homeland, especially in the capital Jerusalem, women were likely not a prominent part of synagogue life or religious worship. But this is a story set in far-flung reaches of the Roman empire. The Greek culture allowed women more freedom and this practice likely had seeped into the Jews who lived in that city. Over time, women gained power. And it is those women that the religious leaders mobilize to oppose Paul.
In Luke 9:1-6 and 10:1-12, Jesus sent people out on mission, and one of the instructions was, if they were not received, to shake the dust from their feet. This Paul and Barnabas do in v51. Even in the midst of rejection, however, there is JOY! It is Easter! Christ is risen! And we are called to spread that good news.
Paul and Barnabus had a particular calling and mission which put them on the road sharing the gospel. We all have the call to share the gospel, but few of us are called to hit the road. Most of us are in the midst of our own unique mission fields: the people we encounter day in and day. Think about some people you have crossed paths with recently. In what ways have you imparted a message to them? What was the message they received?
Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
Chp 4 set the stage for today’s scene; we are privy to a heavenly council. Last week we were drawn into the worship of that council and, this week, the vision expands.
Above all, the book of Revelation was meant to be performed and experienced by the audience. This book almost demands imaginative prayer, sometimes very imaginative! Most of the images in this book outstrip descriptive logic. The author is going for a paradoxical symbolism. The challenge to us moderns is to visualize, but not get caught up in the visuals. The descriptions invite us into something far deeper.
This chapter begins with a vision of 144,000 who had been marked. Angels were given power to destroy the earth, but instructed to pass over those who had been marked. This evokes the Passover in Egypt, where every house marked with blood would be passed over by the angel of death. The number 12 in the Bible symbolizes divine order and completeness. There are 12 tribes of Israel and 12,000 from each tribe equals 144,000. Some Christian denominations preach that there will only be 144,000 people in heaven (because the Bible says so!) but a less literal interpretation is that this symbolizes a completeness of Israelites saved.
Chps 4-8 are visions of scrolls with seven seals in which the seals are broken and the scrolls read. All of chp 7 is an insert or parenthesis to this bigger vision, and it deals with the ultimate salvation of the righteous.
vv1-8 are set on the earth and are the sealing of the faithful. Vv9-17 is a song of victory in heaven. The author invites us to imagine that these two scenes are happening parallel, at the same time, which serves to really give us that feeling of “now but not yet,” a hallmark of eschatology. The end is coming and it’s sort of here but not yet.
In the very midst of her tribulations on earth, the church already sings the songs of victory in her liturgy!
7:3 talks about the sealing of the faithful. Marking of the elect with a sign or a seal is common throughout apocalyptic literature and is very similar to Ezekiel 9. This sealing doesn’t protect from death; rather it protects the soul of the sealed through the great tribulation, which may include death. The sacrament of confirmation was originally known as “the sealing.” A person would be baptized and then they would be sealed in that baptism. For Catholics, this imagery of being sealed puts us in mind of the sacraments. Usually, we associate this book with visions of the future at the expense of the present. This overlooks the preparation that is happening now for those future events. The present is a time when judgment has been put off, while we are prepared.
In v9 the vision then shifts to a great, uncountable multitude. The fullness of souls saved out of Israel now join those of every nation, race, people, and tongue: the whole world. For Jews, this scene might call to mind God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 22:17 that he would be the father of a multitude too numerous to count.
Everyone is wearing white robes which symbolize purity. And each person holds a palm branch, which was the badge of victory throughout the ancient world.
Vv10-14 is used for the Feast of All Saints. We see this great multitude engaged in worship, in liturgy. In vv11-12, all the angels are surrounding the throne and they, too, are engaged in worship.
The great distress in v14 is a time of tribulation and testing, and the great multitude standing before the throne are the ones who have survived it. Some Christians see this as a literal tribulation at the end of time. More true to the genre, however, is to understand this as a time of testing that has already happened. What exactly is hard to say, but is it ever difficult to name times of testing for those who follow the Lord?
In v15 the great crowd is standing, the posture of Jewish prayer. And God “shelters” them. This is a rich word meaning to dwell, to tabernacle, to pitch a tent. The Hebrew equivalent, shekhinah, often refers to God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. This word is far deeper than a mere roof over our heads. God’s very self will dwell with us and we with God.
Vv15-17 are a poetic description of salvation that draws on various metaphors to express the meaning of salvation. For example, the satisfaction of physical and emotional needs symbolizes the fulfillment of the whole person. And, of course, all this is fulfilled in the presence of God.
Recall one or two of the great distresses of your past. How do you know God was with you? What signs point to God’s deliverance? How can you take strength from that for the great distresses of the present and future?
The author paints a poetic picture of what salvation might look like, and some of this likely comes from their own personal experience. For example, perhaps the author knew a time of famine when food was scarce. In light of that, salvation means plenty of food and freedom from fear of starvation. What does salvation look like for you?
John 10:27-30
Today is commonly called “Good Shepherd Sunday” because we read from John’s “Good Shepherd Discourse” this Sunday every year. You might want to take some time and read the discourse in its entirety in John 10:1-30.
The imagery in this passage is about sheep and shepherds. It’s not something we readily connect with today, but this was definitely something very familiar to Jesus’ audience. As always, he uses images to make his point that were familiar and in terms of something that was all around them.
The image of God as Shepherd runs throughout Scripture, especially the prophetic literature. Ezekiel 34 talks about the bad shepherds of Israel and God’s promise to shepherd his people himself as a good shepherd. That whole chapter has eschatological overtones – looking to the end of time.
Jeremiah 31 talks about the time of God’s new covenant. It speaks of the time of the new covenant as being a time when the people would know God intimately.
One thing we stress over and over again is that most people wanted Jesus to fit in their picture of a Messiah as someone who would conquer Rome. The imagery Jesus gives here is sheep and shepherding – not exactly coming with a conquering army! Rather, he’s a Messiah who loves and tenderly cares for those in the flock. He is a Messiah who loves so much and so deeply that he would and did pay the ultimate price of that love.
Another thing to note about this chapter is that Jesus is offering up some metaphors about who he is, who God is, and how he acts in the world. First, he uses the metaphor of being a shepherd. But then v6 says they didn’t understand Jesus. So he switches to say, okay… I’m the gate for the sheep. How about that one? He’s using different metaphors for himself to help us understand more about who he is.
Since it’s the Easter season we’re not reading from the Old Testament. But if we were, we might have seen a pairing of this passage with Ezekiel 34.
The passage begins by saying that the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd. My sheep hear my voice. Have you ever been aware of hearing Jesus’ voice? What does it sound like? If you don’t think you’ve heard his voice, I would offer this: my experience is that Jesus’ voice is usually far more subtle than I would like it to be. Some days I wish that it was my Marine father’s voice, especially when he was angry. There was absolutely no doubt you were hearing his voice and also no doubt about what he wanted you to do!
Jesus, in my experience, speaks far more gently. It’s usually more of a nudge that I am free to ignore if I so wish. And sometimes I do because I have my own agenda. Instead of telling me what to do, the voice of Jesus will often direct my attention to something. And usually, it’s something I need to sit with and ponder before I figure out why. Jesus sometimes brings a person into my mind. I’ve learned that this often means that person needs a prayer or a phone call. I’ve experienced this enough to know it’s not a “coincidence;” it’s the voice of Jesus. I think we all hear the voice of Jesus far more than we credit. Too often fear and a false humility get in the way. “Who am I to hear the voice of Jesus?” Who are you?! No less than the beloved of God. Can imagine someone loving you without communicating with you?
Jesus says that he knows the sheep. He knows us. This word means far more than intellectual knowledge. This word implies intimacy and depth. It’s an experiential knowledge. Jesus doesn’t just know that we like our morning cup of coffee. Jesus knows what it’s like as we sit and sip and enjoy that coffee because Jesus is intimately present to us in that moment. Incidentally, this is the same word used by Mary in Luke 1 when she asked, “How will this be since I do not know a man?”
Why does a sheep know the shepherd’s voice? One reason is because they spend so much time in close proximity to one another. Another is that the sheep are utterly dependent on the shepherd for protection; to hear and know the shepherd’s voice is a survival mechanism.
Jesus makes two promises in v28. The first is the promise of the gift of eternal life, and the second is the promise that no one can take this gift away. Some in the audience might have questioned Jesus’ authority – the Pharisees did so on many occasions. Jesus directly answers that question in v29: God the Father has given the sheep into the hands of the shepherd and God alone has ultimate authority.
The passage ends with Jesus saying that he and the Father are one. Remember that John’s gospel was written towards the end of the 1st century. “Who is Jesus?” was a question asked from the beginning, but the church took centuries to flesh out a theological answer. We tend to read scripture back through the lens of that resulting theology, and, in this verse, we hear it saying that Jesus is God. We know that to be true, but this verse is not a proof text for that theological maxim. Taken in context, it’s more likely that this verse refers to the care of the sheep by the shepherd. Jesus is saying that he and the Father are on the same page in knowing and caring for the sheep.
As you move through your day, listen to what comes, either through the spoken word, the written word, through art, and through the mundane experiences of life. Ask God to give you ears to hear what God is saying through all these things.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
© 2023 Kelly Sollinger