THE WORD BECAME FLESH

Tuesday of fourth week of Easter, 2021

Acts 11:19-26

Ps 87

John 10:22-30

Listen to what the Lord says

In today’s gospel reading (Jn 10:22-30), Jesus declares, ‘the sheep that belong to me listen to my voice. 

An essential element of following Jesus is listening to his voice. We are to be constantly asking ourselves, ‘What is the Lord saying to us? What is he saying to me?’ This is the action of discernment. We try to discern, in the circumstances of our day to day lives, what the Lord is asking of us, the path he wants us to take. 

The first reading (Acts 11:19-26) suggests that Barnabas knew how to listen to the voice of the shepherd. When the gospel was first preached to non-Jews in the city of Antioch, and a new kind of local church began to be formed consisting of both Jews and pagans, the church in Jerusalem decided to send Barnabas to Antioch to investigate this new development. When he got there, according to the reading, ‘he could see for himself that God had given grace’. He discerned that this unexpected development was from God and that the Lord was asking him to support what was happening in Antioch. This Barnabas proceeded to do, urging the whole church to remain faithful to the Lord. Barnabas continued to listen to what the Lord was saying to him. He discerned that Paul who had recently encountered the risen Lord just outside Damascus would be the ideal person to give leadership to the church in Antioch. After all, Paul knew the Lord was calling him to be the apostle to the Gentiles and here was a church with a significant number of Gentile converts. So, Barnabas went to Tarsus and brought Paul with him back to Antioch, where Paul became a significant presence in that church. 

Barnabas inspires us to keep listening to what the Lord may be saying to us in and through the circumstances of our daily lives. It is said of Barnabas in that reading that he was ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us to discern what the Lord is saying to us. If we really listen to the Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will work through us in ways that build up the church and enrich our world, just as he worked through Barnabas. 

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, you are the Good shepherd who secures what is best for us. I place all my hope and trust in you. Open my ears to hear your voice today and to follow your commands. Amen.