Welcome Back to Banquet of the Word!
Find this weekend’s readings here.
Our mission is simple: We want to help everyone in “pew-land” get more out of mass. Because it’s fun to feel smart about scripture.
Today’s theme? The Way.
Happy Mother’s Day! Today we see readings that reflect “homes” or “houses.” It’s pretty cool, especially since that’s where we are spending so much of our time these days!
- In R1 we see The Church “house” grow. It adds another “room.” Now we have more than priests, we have deacons too.
- In R2 Peter tells us to “let yourselves be built in to a spiritual house.” That house must be built on Christ, our cornerstone.
- In the Gospel we are told that God has built a room for us in His Heavenly house. In order to find our way to that dwelling place, we must follow Jesus, who leads us to The Father.
R1: ACTS 6:1-7
(The 1st Reading is Old Testament. It always links to the Gospel. During the Easter season the 1st reading is Acts of the Apostles.)
Today we are in Acts chapter 6 and we are introduced to St. Stephen. He was the first martyr after the resurrection. He is also one of the deacons that had been ordained due to the growth of the church at this point.
Similar to today, the priests were in the churches and cities for the purpose of performing the sacraments and presiding over mass. The deacons were ordained to be helpers, to serve the growing church.
Deacons devoted themselves to 1) prayer and 2) the ministry of the word. That doesn’t just mean learning scripture, it means ministering The Word (The Word = Jesus) to the community.
As the number of disciples continued to grow,
the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews
because their widows
were being neglected in the daily distribution.
So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said,
“It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.
Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men,
filled with the Spirit and wisdom,
whom we shall appoint to this task,
whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer
and to the ministry of the word.”
The proposal was acceptable to the whole community,
so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit,
also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,
and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
They presented these men to the apostles
who prayed and laid hands on them.
The word of God continued to spread,
and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly;
even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
We all have a role in the Church. How are we “ministers of “The Word” in our lives?
From whom do we learn how to do this? How is God calling us to minister to Him this week?
Psalm 33: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
(The Psalm is a “response” to what we heard in the 1st Reading)
Listen to these verses as they respond to the first reading and its call to minister to The Word:
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
Reading 2: 1 PT 2:4-9
(The 2nd reading is usually one of Paul’s letters. During Easter we hear from St. Peter. The 2nd reading speaks to how the early church built The Church after the, death and resurrection).
Here, Peter addresses a group who is being challenged to keep the faith. The environment is hostile to their way of life and they need strength, which Peter provides.
It is the well-known reading, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” The stone of course is Christ – the hard and strong foundation of our faith lives. Though he has been rejected (killed and hung on a tree), he remains the cornerstone – the Alpha and the Omega.
The last few lines are a wonderful summary of the beautiful faith into which we have been baptized. Spoken to us too in our current lives, we ought to pay heed to these words:
Beloved:
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For it says in Scripture:
Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone, chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.
Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,
and
A stone that will make people stumble,
and a rock that will make them fall.
They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny.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.
Gospel: John 14:1-12
(The Gospel is the highest point of the Liturgy of the Word. That’s why we stand.
We are about to hear from and be instructed by Christ Himself.)
Why are we in John’s Gospel?
We are in John this week, and have been for a most of Eastertide. John is NOT one of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).
Matthew, Mark and Luke pave our liturgical years and are heard over and over as Year A (Matthew), Year B (Mark) and Year C (Luke). We are currently in Year A, but in Eastertide we often hear from John. He is in a category all his own because of 2 key pieces:
- The Bread of Life discourse (Chapter 6)
- So much of John’s gospel talks about the relationship between Jesus and The Father.
Today’s Gospel:
Today’s reading is all about #2 above. We can just listen to the gospel and take to heart what we hear. We can also note that at the time of Jesus, those who followed Him were called “The Way.” (Jesus often said, I am “The Way.”) This phrase is also part of the Road to Emmaus gospel from 2 weeks ago:
“…Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.”
Back to the followers… they were called “The Way”, and it again gives added meaning to the phrase when we hear it in the Gospel. Today we hear that there is a dwelling place – a room in His house for us all – in Heaven. Isn’t that cool?
That place is there right now, prepared for us by God himself. He wants us there with Him when we depart this Earth. Jesus says the only way there is through Jesus to the Father.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.”
1. Are we following the way – the path – to our Heavenly home? If so, how? If not, how are we veering away?
2. How are our earthly homes models of the heavenly home we aim to live in someday? How can we improve that house (our families, our homes, our communities)?
May God bless your week!
Banquet of the Word 