Dear brothers and sisters, Let us intently listen to the voice of our Shepherd and we will not go astray... and lead people astray.  Fr. Cielo

1. Welcome to our Bible Study
4th
Sunday of Easter C
Good Shepherd Sunday
17 April 2016
In preparation for this Sunday’s liturgy
In aid of focusing our homilies sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

2. 1st
reading: Acts 13,14.43-52
 14 Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in
Pisidia. On the sabbath they entered (into) the synagogue and took their
seats.
 43 After the congregation had dispersed, many Jews and worshipers who
were converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them
and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God. 44 On the following
sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45
When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with
violent abuse contradicted what Paul said. 46 Both Paul and Barnabas
spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be
spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as
unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has
commanded us, 'I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an
instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 48 The Gentiles were
delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who
were destined for eternal life came to believe, 49 and the word of the Lord
continued to spread through the whole region. 50 The Jews, however,
incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men
of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and
expelled them from their territory. 51 So they shook the dust from their feet
in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52 The disciples were filled
with joy and the holy Spirit.
The focus is on the word of the Lord (its spread)

3. 1st
reading: Acts 13,14.43-52
Paul and Barnabas at the synagogue, on a sabbath
 14 Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On
the sabbath they entered (into) the synagogue and took their seats.
After the evangelization of the Jews and worshippers
 43 After the congregation had dispersed, many Jews and worshipers who were
converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them
to remain faithful to the grace of God.
Paul and Barnabas on the following sabbath (reaction of Jews / Gentiles)
 44 On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the
Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with
violent abuse contradicted what Paul said. 46 Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out
boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but
since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to
the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I have made you a light to the
Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 48
The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord.
All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, 49 and the word of the Lord
continued to spread through the whole region. 50 The Jews, however, incited the
women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred
up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory.
Departure of Paul and Barnabas
 51 So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
52 The disciples were filled with joy and the holy Spirit.
A simple outline!

4. Textual Context of Acts 13,14.43-52
A. The First Missionary Journey (13, 14)
1. The Holy Spirit Set Paul and Barnabas Apart (13:1-3)
2. Cyprus and the Proconsul (13:4-12)
3. Pisidian Antioch: Paul's Sermon & the Reaction (13:13-52)
4. From Iconium to Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe (14:1-7)
5. Lystra: A Lame Man Healed & the Reaction (14:8-20a)
6. The Return to and Stay at Antioch (14:20b-28)

6. 1st
reading: Acts 13,14.43-52
Paul and Barnabas at the
synagogue, on a sabbath
 14 Paul and Barnabas
continued on from Perga
and reached Antioch in
Pisidia. On the sabbath
they entered (into) the
synagogue and took their
seats.
 43 After the congregation
had dispersed, many Jews
and worshipers who were
converts to Judaism
followed Paul and
Barnabas, who spoke to
them and urged them to
remain faithful to the grace
of God.
Commentary
• The Acts tells of the three missionary
journeys of Paul.
• Here we have an excerpt of his 1st
missionary journey, accompanied by
Barnabas.
• V.14 provides the setting for the
evangelization of Paul and Barnabas:
synagogue, sabbath, Antioch in Pisidia.
(There is another Antioch in Syria.)
• V.43 indicates that some hearers (Jews
and worshippers) convert to Judaism are
attracted to Paul and Barnabas.
• Paul and Barnabas encourage them to
stay put in their faith (which is the grace of
God).

7. Paul and Barnabas on the following
sabbath (reaction of Jews / Gentiles)
 44 On the following sabbath almost the
whole city gathered to hear the word of
the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the
crowds, they were filled with jealousy and
with violent abuse contradicted what Paul
said. 46 Both Paul and Barnabas spoke
out boldly and said, "It was necessary
that the word of God be spoken to you
first, but since you reject it and condemn
yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we
now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the
Lord has commanded us, 'I have made
you a light to the Gentiles, that you may
be an instrument of salvation to the ends
of the earth.'" 48 The Gentiles were
delighted when they heard this and
glorified the word of the Lord. All who
were destined for eternal life came to
believe, 49 and the word of the Lord
continued to spread through the whole
region. 50 The Jews, however, incited
the women of prominence who were
worshipers and the leading men of the
city, stirred up a persecution against Paul
and Barnabas, and expelled them from
their territory.
Departure of Paul and Barnabas
 51 So they shook the dust from their feet
in protest against them and went to
Iconium. 52 The disciples were filled
with joy and the holy Spirit.
 In v.44, again on a Sabbath, Paul and
Barnabas preach in the synagogue.
 A much bigger crowd come to hear the
word of God.
 It provokes jealousy among the Jews.
The Jews contradict the preaching of
Paul and Barnabas. V.45
 In v.46, all the more Paul and Barnabas
become bold in stating their mission:
 to preach to the Jews but since they
reject, they now go to the Gentiles.
 V.48 speaks positively of the Gentiles,
because of their favorable response.
 V.49 speaks of the spread of the Word
of the Lord.
 In v.50, the enemies of Paul and
Barnabas incite people to go against
them. They succeed to throw Paul and
Barnabas out of their place.
 In v.51, Paul and Barnabas shake the
dust (like the gospel teaching) and move
to another place.
 V.52 indicates the joy of the disciples.
They are filled with the Holy Spirit.

8. Reflections on the 1Reflections on the 1stst
readingreading
 The Word of God is of prime importance in our faith.
 We must preach it, not ourselves.
 We must not be quiet about it.
 We must not take the Word of God for granted.
 Christians are made and formed by the Word of God.
 Our faith must be nurtured by the Word of God.
 Like Paul and Barnabas, we must be prepared to
evangelize and be persecuted as a result.

9. Responsorial Psalm 100,1-2,3,5
 R. (3c) We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
 1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
2 serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
 3Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
 5 The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.

10. Responsorial Psalm 100,1-2,3,5
 R. (3c) We are his people, the
sheep of his flock.
 1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, all
you lands;
2 serve the LORD with
gladness;
come before him with joyful
song.
 3 Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
 5 The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all
generations.
Commentary
 The psalm is classified as hymn of
praise.
 Vv.1-2 exhort everyone to sing to
the Lord with joy, in three different
ways:
 Sing joyfully
 Serve the Lord with gladness
 Come before him with joyful
song
 Vv.3 and 5 tell the reasons why we
should praise God:
 The Lord is God, he made us;
we are his possession, his
people and his flock.
 The Lord is good, he is kind
and faithful to forever.

11. Reflections on the Psalm
 The psalm exhorts everyone, all creatures, to exalt
God.
 We must approach God with joyful songs and with a
happy disposition.
 We do not praise him with angry hearts.
 We praise him joyfully because we realize that God
loves us all and we belong to his flock.

12. 2nd
reading: Revelation 7,9.14b-17
 9 After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which
no one could count, from every nation, race, people,
and tongue. They stood before the throne and before
the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm
branches in their hands.
 14b He said to me, "These are the ones who have
survived the time of great distress; they have washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb. 15 "For this reason they stand before God's
throne and worship him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne will shelter them. 16
They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the
sun or any heat strike them. 17 For the Lamb who is
in the center of the throne will shepherd them and
lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will
wipe away every tear from their eyes."
The focus is on the martyrs (Christian witnesses who died for their faith.)

13. 2nd
reading: Revelation 7,9.14b-17
Vision of great multitude (martyrs)
 9 After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one
could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
Faithful suffering martyrdom
 They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing
white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
 14b He said to me, "These are the ones who have survived the
time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The reward of the martyrs
 15 "For this reason they stand before God's throne and worship
him day and night in his temple. The one who sits on the throne
will shelter them. 16 They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor
will the sun or any heat strike them. 17 For the Lamb who is in
the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to
springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes."
A simple outline!

14. Textual Context of Rev 7,9.14b-17
Outline by Adela Collins, in HBC, 1996
 I. Prologue (1:1-8)
A. Preface (1:1-3)
B. Opening of a letter (1:4-6)
C. Prophetic sayings (1:7-8)
 II. Vision of Christ with seven messages (1:9—3:22)
A. Vision of Christ (1:9-20)
B. Seven Messages (2:1—3:22)
 III. Visions of heaven and seven seals (4:1—8:5)
A. Vision of God (4:1-11)
B. Vision of the Lamb (5:1-14)
C. Seven seals (6:1—8:5)
 IV. The seven trumpets (8:2—11:19)
 V. Seven unnumbered visions (12:1—15:4)
 VI. The seven bowls and Babylon (15:1—19:10)
A. Seven bowls (15:1—16:20)
B. Babylon (17:1—19:10)
 VII. Seven unnumbered visions and Jerusalem (19:11—22:5)
A. Seven unnumbered visions (19:11-21:8)
B. Jerusalem (21:9-22:5)
 VIII. Epilogue (22:6-21)
A. Sayings (22:6-20)
B. Benediction (22:21)

15. 2nd
reading: Revelation 7,9.14b-17
Vision of great multitude (martyrs)
 9 After this I had a vision of a great
multitude, which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and
tongue.
Faithful suffering martyrdom
 They stood before the throne and
before the Lamb, wearing white
robes and holding palm branches in
their hands.
 14b He said to me, "These are the
ones who have survived the time of
great distress; they have washed
their robes and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb.
The reward of the martyrs
 15 "For this reason they stand before
God's throne and worship him day
and night in his temple. The one who
sits on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will not hunger or thirst
anymore, nor will the sun or any heat
strike them. 17 For the Lamb who is
in the center of the throne will
shepherd them and lead them to
springs of life-giving water, and God
will wipe away every tear from their
eyes."
Commentary
 The text describes the destiny of the
faithful ones who suffer martyrdom
because of their faith.
 They are a great multitude (v.9), from all
kinds of nations, races, peoples and
languages.
 They stand before the throne and the
Lamb (Jesus). (beatific vision)
 V.14b indicates their heroism, the
reason for standing before the throne.
Great is the reward: heaven
 They will be sheltered by the Lamb.
V.15
 No more hunger and thirst. V.16
 The sun or heat will not affect them.
V.16
 They will be shepherded and led to life-
giving waters. V. 17
 No more sadness. V.17

16. Reflections on the 2Reflections on the 2ndnd
readingreading
 It pays to die as martyrs to our faith.
 The reading assures us of the great reward.
 The reading consoles those sincere Christians who are
suffering from persecution because they take to heart
the Christian message.
 The martyrs will share in the victory of Christ.
 A Christian follower is not authentic and true when
he/she avoids sufferings, conflicts, inconveniences and
the like.
 Comfort will come only after we have accomplished our
mission.
 Take note of the increase of Christian martyrs (through
the preaching of the word of God, not through gimmickry).

17. Gospel reading: John 10,27-30
 27 My sheep hear my voice; I know them,
and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. No one can
take them out of my hand. 29 My Father,
who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father's
hand. 30 The Father and I are one."
The focus is on listening God’s voice.

18. Gospel reading: John 10,27-30
 27 My sheep hear
my voice; I know
them, and they
follow me. 28 I give
them eternal life,
and they shall never
perish. No one can
take them out of my
hand. 29 My Father,
who has given them
to me, is greater
than all, and no one
can take them out of
the Father's hand.
30 The Father and I
are one."
Commentary
 The few verses come from the discourse
on the Good Shepherd.
 V.27 gives a description of Jesus’ sheep
(God’s people):
 They hear his voice; they follow him.
 In v.28, Jesus enumerates the rewards of
those who follow him (hear his voice):
 Eternal life (v.28)
 Can never be lost (v.28)
 V.29 adds one more detail
 They will always be in God’s hands
(protection).
 Vv.29-30 give a glimpse of the mysterious
relationship of Jesus and his Father.

19. Reflections on the gospel reading
 A true Christian is able to recognize the voice of God
(of Jesus, of the pastor).
 Hearing his voice is not a casual hearing, like leisurely
listening to sounds and rock music, but attentive
listening.
 If truly we are followers of Christ, then we can
immediately recognize his voice and understand what
he means.
 The voice of God leads to pasture (satisfaction, direction and
security) and eternal life.
 Do you listen to the voice of God or to your own self
and instincts?

20. Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm
 The first reading tells us of the importance of listening
to the Word of God (to gain eternal life).
 The psalm enjoins us to know the Lord (listen to his
voice).
 The second reading tells us of the reward of
Christians, who undergo martyrdom (as a result of
listening to the Word of God).
 The gospel reading tells us that Jesus gives us
eternal life, if we listen to his voice as our shepherd.

21. How to develop your homily and sharing
 We, Christians, should be reminded of the
importance of listening to the Word of God.
 Many of us boast of being Christians and Catholics,
but we know nothing about the Word of God (Bible).
 The readings encourage us to pay attention
to the Word of God, because it brings salvation.

22.  The first reading tells us how Paul and Barnabas
preach in the synagogue.
 They draw a lot of people to listen to them.
 People are hungry for the Word of God.
 We presume that they talk about Jesus Christ, not so
much about the Old Testament, which is customarily
read in the synagogues on the Sabbaths.
 We Christians must be first of all listeners of the
Word of God.
 Like Paul and Barnabas, we too must transmit the
message to others.

23.  The second reading talks about the Christian martyrs.
 They are now in heaven, because they shed their
blood for the sake of Christ, the Word of God.
 Jesus himself acknowledges them in heaven.
 They listened to his Word and died for it.
 Are you ready to die as martyr for your faith?
 You can only go to heaven if you have a good
witnessing here on earth.
 Forget heaven if you have no time to listen to the
Word of God.

24.  The gospel reading tells us of the reward of listening to
the voice of the shepherd.
 Eternal life
 Listening to his voice is also following it.
 Listening to the Word of God is not done in one sitting.
 It is a constant listening and following.
 No Christian should be tired of listening to the voice of
God.
 Each time we pay attention to his voice, we are fed with
his wisdom; we get a new insight; we get a new
strength.
 When we listen to God’s voice, we allow ourselves to
be shepherded by him.

25.  Do we, Christians / Catholics, have time to
listen to the Word of God?
 Many of us Catholics shamelessly lag behind
the Protestants in terms of Bible Study, and we
are not ashamed of it.
 Others join the bible study of the
fundamentalist groups, bringing them more
confusion.
 Catholics should listen to their own pastors, not
to the televangelists of other denominations.
 Ang mga katoliko ay dapat magsisipag mag-aral ng
Biblia.

26.  What keeps the Christian from studying the Word of
God (Bible)?
 Does not know how to manage time
 Afraid of committing mistakes when interpreting
 Cannot connect the Bible with his/her faith.
 Too proud and pretentious. Pretends he/she knows
everything or he/she does not feel the need of it.
 Thinks that going to church is enough.
 A Christian who has time to read and study the Bible
is a smart Christian. There is more possibility that
he/she is transformed by the Word of God.

27.  In our parishes, we need to prioritize now listening to the Word
of God.
 We cannot go deeper into our relationship with God and with
one another as a church, without the Word of God.
 Without ongoing formation and reflecting on the sacred
scriptures, evangelization process cannot take off. No
conversion takes place.
 We cannot go on mission if we are not interested in the Word of
God. We would be ill-equipped.

28.  People who are not interested in attending bible
studies, in reading the bible, and in reflecting on the
readings, should not be allowed to lead in the Church
(in the PPC).
 They will impose their own will, un-dialogued with or
un-critiqued by the Word of God.
 Only those who are docile to the Word of God should
be involved in the building of the BECs and are
allowed to give formation talks to the people.
 Parish priests must encourage their parishioners to
study the Bible, especially the Youth.

29.  The eucharist is for those who willingly listen to the
voice of their Shepherd.
 When we receive the eucharist, we are making a
statement that we love to hear the voice of God.
 In the eucharist, Jesus, our shepherd, gives eternal
life to those who listen to and receive him.

30. Our Context of Sin and Grace
 Impaired hearing
 Refusal to read the Bible
 Afraid to handle the Bible
 Lazy to attend bible studies
 Failure to realize God’s voice
in the Holy Scriptures.
 Fundamentalism
 Bible Study
 Bible Sharing
 National Bible Week
 ECBA (Episcopal Commission on
Biblical Apostolate)
 CBAP (Catholic Biblical
Association of the Philippines)
 Bible commentaries
 Bible Study Facilitators
 Weekly Encounter with the
Word of God
 Verbum Domini
 Lectio Divina

31. Suggested Songs
 Speak, Lord
 The Lord is my Shepherd
 My Light and My Salvation
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ekQdpjS4VA
 Seek the Lord
Help yourselves. Find materials from the religious
bookstores of Don Bosco, Claretians, SVDs and St. Paul’s.

32.  Dear brothers and sisters,
 Let us intently listen to the voice of our
Shepherd and we will not go astray... and
lead people astray.

 Fr. Cielo