20 April 2027 · Latin Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” John 10:27–28
After the martyrdom of Stephen a persecution broke out in Jerusalem, and many believers fled. What looked like a disaster became a sowing. Those who were scattered “traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,” and wherever they went they spoke the word. At first they spoke only to fellow Jews. Then some men from Cyprus and Cyrene, whose names we do not even know, did something new at Antioch: they “spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.” Here the word means Greek-speaking Gentiles. And “the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord.” The first great mission to the Gentiles was not planned by a committee. It was begun by refugees who could not keep silent about Jesus.
The Church in Jerusalem sends Barnabas to see what is happening. Luke gives him one of the finest descriptions in the New Testament: “he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” When he arrives, he does not look for faults. He “saw the grace of God” and “he rejoiced.” He encourages them to stay faithful. Then he does something humble and wise: he goes to Tarsus to fetch Saul, a converted persecutor whom many still feared, and brings him to Antioch. For a whole year they teach together. And “it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’” The name means “Christ's people,” the people who belong to the Anointed One. Antioch, a great city of many nations, became the mother church of the missions. The Psalm sings of Zion as the mother of all peoples: “Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God,” and of people from Egypt, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia, it says, “This one was born there.” In the Church, every nation is born again.
The Gospel takes us to the Temple in winter, at the festival of the Dedication, the feast we know as Hanukkah, which remembers the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabees. Jesus is walking in the portico of Solomon. Some of the Temple crowd gather around him: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answers that his works already speak. And then he gives one of the most consoling promises in the Gospel: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” The security of the sheep does not rest on their strength but on the hand that holds them, and that hand is one with the Father's: “no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one.” At the feast that celebrated the dedication of the Temple, Jesus reveals himself as the true dwelling of God among us. The Church has always heard in these words the mystery of the Holy Trinity: the Son is one in being with the Father.
Theme: “My sheep hear my voice.”
Scattered believers who sowed the word, Barnabas who rejoiced in grace, and the Shepherd's hand that no one can open.
“I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6
“The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord.” Acts 11:21
Apply: Wherever you live or work, say one word about Jesus this week to someone who has never heard it from you.
“Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up.” Proverbs 12:25
“When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion;” Acts 11:23
Apply: Send a message of encouragement today to someone serving in your parish.
“For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.” Ezekiel 34:11
“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27
Apply: Each night this week, place your biggest worry in the hand of Jesus with one sentence of trust.
God turned the scattering of his people into the sowing of his word, and at Antioch they were first called Christians.
Christ, one with the Father, holds his sheep so firmly that no one can snatch them from his hand.
Take-home resolution: Live this week so that your name, Christian, is true.
Dear friends, after Stephen was killed, the believers ran away from Jerusalem. It looked like the end. But Luke tells us that wherever they went, they spoke about Jesus. They were scattered like seed, and the seed grew.
In Antioch some unnamed believers did something new: they told the Greeks about the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them (Acts 11:21). Many of us, too, have been scattered, to the Gulf, to Europe, to other states. God can use our scattering to sow his word.
Then the Church sends Barnabas. Luke says he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. When he saw the grace of God, he rejoiced (Acts 11:23). He did not complain that things were done without his permission. He rejoiced, and he encouraged.
And he went to look for Saul, a man others were afraid of. He gave him a place. Together they taught for a whole year, and in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. That is our name too. Do we live up to it?
In the Gospel Jesus says: my sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand (John 10:27–28). Whatever storms we face, we are held. And the hand that holds us is the Father's hand, for Jesus says: the Father and I are one.
Today let us be Barnabas for someone: let us see grace and rejoice. And let us rest in the hand of the Shepherd, from which no one can snatch us. Alleluia. Amen.
Children, Jesus says he holds his sheep in his hand, so tightly that no one can take them away. You are in Jesus' hand!
At Antioch the friends of Jesus were first called Christians. That is your name too. Let us say: Jesus, I belong to you!
Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd, one with the Father, you know your sheep and give them eternal life, and no one can snatch them out of your hand. Make us worthy of the name Christian, which we have received from you. Give us the courage of the scattered disciples who spoke of you wherever they went, and the generous heart of Barnabas, who rejoiced to see your grace at work in others. Keep us in your hand in every danger, and bring us at last into the joy of the Father, with whom you live and reign in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Alleluia. Amen.