Unity, Protection, and Mission - where the connection begins

Speaker A [00:00:03]:
Welcome to your Catholic Corner. I am your show host, Julie south. Your catholic corner helps Catholics spiritually prepare for each Sunday's mass starting midweek each week. You can listen to your catholic corner@yourcatholiccorner.com today we are uncovering the biblical gems hidden in the books of the Acts of the Apostles, the first letter of John, and the Gospel of John in catholic speak. We're in the 7th Sunday of Easter in year B. The format for today's show is to look at what connects the three bible passages being read on the 7th Sunday of Easter together, so we can better understand why these specific three passages have been selected. Then we'll have a look at what was going on in the world at the time they were written to give us a bit of context and history. We'll pray these passages together, and then I'll share my reflections, what God is saying to me and how I understand God's personal nudge to me.

Speaker A [00:01:13]:
Remember that when two or more are gathered in Jesus name, like we are here right now with you and me, he is here with us today. We are praying from acts, chapter one, verses 1516 and 17, and then 20 through 26, John's first letter, chapter four, verses eleven through 16, and John's Gospel, chapters 17, 11 19.

Speaker B [00:01:43]:
But before that, a quick word about your catholic corner, just in case this is your first time here. Regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, whether you've only just heard of that man called Jesus, you're new to Catholicism or you're a cradle catholic, my prayer is that your catholic corner will help bring God's word to life in your heart through insights, reflections, and practical applications that help deepen your relationship with God. Every Thursday we'll start preparing for mass by uncovering the richness hidden in each Sunday's Bible readings, from Old Testament prophecies to gospel parables. I invite you to join me and the parishioners of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hamilton, New Zealand, sponsors of your catholic corner so that together we can hear God's word in echo. Samuel, speak, lord, your servant is listening. Now let's get back to today's show.

Speaker A [00:02:55]:
So what's the connection, the typological connection, between the specific passages from acts, chapter one, John's first letter, and John's Gospel? Well, they're related to the themes of unity, protection, and mission in the christian faith. In acts, we hear about the in the first reading, we hear about the replacement of Judas Iscariot as one of the twelve apostles. The apostles the disciples chose Matthias through a process of casting lots, and this ensured that the number of disciples remained at twelve. What we have here is the connection to the unity and the continuation of the apostolic ministry as the twelve were chosen to witness and spread Jesus message. Keep in mind that the number twelve is actually very important biblically because remember, in the Old Testament, Jacob, who was later named Israel, had twelve sons. These twelve sons later became head of the twelve tribes of Israel. Then, as we hear today, Jesus originally had twelve disciples. Now in John's first letter, what's the connection? Well, he talks about the importance of love and connection to knowing God and being born of God.

Speaker A [00:04:29]:
What we have here is this passage reinforcing that love comes from God and those who love and know God. And then finally in the last passage in John's gospel, Jesus prays for his disciples before his crucifixion. He asks his father God to protect them and keep them united as it's they who will continue his mission in the world. Jesus also asks for their blessing in truth. So overall, what we have connecting these three Bible passages on this Sunday in Easter is the emphasis on the importance of unity, of protection and mission as Christians. As you hopefully know, love, unity and protection are seen as integral aspects of the christian faith, leading to fulfilment of the mission, to spread the gospel, to spread God's word to all the corners of the world. Now let's get some context to what was happening when each of these passages were written to help us understand better. In acts of the apostles.

Speaker A [00:05:57]:
It describes the selection, as I said before, of Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot as one of the twelve apostles. We're talking about 33 AD here, shortly after Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. At this time, the Roman Empire controlled the region and Judea was under the rule of Pontus Pilate. The early christian church was just beginning to form and the apostles, the disciples, were starting to spread the message of Jesus and God to others. In the second passage, it's part of a letter written by the apostle John to early christian communities. It's likely that historians, biblical theologians, think that this was written sometime between the years 85 to 95 AD, during the reign of emperor Domitian. The early church was facing various challenges, lots of challenges, including false teachings and the need to maintain unity and love among believers. Christians were a minority in the Roman Empire and therefore it meant that they faced huge discrimination and huge persecution.

Speaker A [00:07:15]:
Then, the final reading, John's Gospel, we hear part of Jesus's prayer for his disciples, known as the high priestly prayer. This passage would have been written around 90 to 100 AD, so somewhat later than John's first letter, or maybe about the same time, 1995 or so. And again, it was during the roman emperor Domitian's reign. The Roman Empire was the dominant power in the region. The early christian church was still developing and the teachings of Jesus were being spread by his disciples and his followers. As you could imagine, life would have been so very different from what you and I know today. Society back then was primarily agrarian, with most people working as farmers or in other agricultural type roles. The Roman Empire maintained control through a system of governors and military presence.

Speaker A [00:08:24]:
Travel and communication, where it existed, would have been much slower than today. No such thing as social media or YouTube or Instagram or podcasts, then it's likely that very few people would have had the means to travel much beyond their own towns or villages. And being educated was limited to a very small and a very wealthy segment of the population. However, because of all of that, in all of that, religion played a critical and an important role in daily life. In a way, it's a bit like today. Well, maybe kinda, almost. And I say that in that various beliefs and practices coexisted in the then Roman Empire. They would have included different faiths and religions like we have today, including Judaism, paganism, and the then emerging christian faith.

Speaker A [00:09:38]:
With that as the backdrop. Now let's pray together, starting with a reading from the acts of the apostles. One day, Peter stood up to speak to the brothers. There were about 120 persons in the congregation. Brothers, the passage of scripture had to be fulfilled, in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, foretells the fate of Judas, who offered himself as a guide to the men who arrested Jesus. After having been one of our number and actually sharing this ministry of ours. Now, in the book of psalms, it says, let someone else take his office. We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was traveling around with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptizing until the day when he was taken up from us.

Speaker A [00:10:45]:
And he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection. Having nominated two candidates, Joseph, known as Barsabbas, whose surname was justice, and Matthias, they prayed, Lord, you can read everyone's heart. Show us, therefore, which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place. They then drew lots for them. And as the lot fell to Matthias, he was listed as one of the twelve apostles. The word the Lord a reading from the first letter of John. My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another. No one has ever seen God.

Speaker A [00:11:52]:
But as long as we love one another, God will live in us and his love will be complete in us. We can know that we are living in him, and he is living in us because he lets us share his spirit. We ourselves saw and we testify that the father sent his son as saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God, God lives in him and he in God. We ourselves have known and put our faith in God's love towards ourselves. God is love, and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him. The word of the Lord. A reading from John's gospel.

Speaker A [00:12:50]:
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name so that they may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them, and not one is lost, except the one who chose to be lost. And this was to fulfil the scriptures. But now I am coming to you, and while still in the world, I say these things to share my joy with them to the full. I passed your word on to them, and the world hated them because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

Speaker A [00:13:48]:
Consecrate them in truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. And for their sake, I consecrate myself so they too may be consecrated in truth. Gospel. The Lord, what was God saying to you? Remember that what God is saying to me may not be what he is saying to you, because he speaks to each of us differently. Here are three takeaways from those three Bible passages that I think are relevant and simple. Maybe not necessarily easy, but simple to implement for someone who is christian or becoming, considering becoming Christian from a catholic perspective.

Speaker A [00:14:59]:
Firstly, to trust in God's plan. How often have we, have you, have I questioned that God doesn't really know what we want? We ask for one thing, and then God gives us something completely different. Yet here we have the disciples trusting that Judas betrayal was what was meant to be. And they trusted in God's plan while seeking his guidance in selecting a replacement. So how can we apply this today? Well, when faced with challenges or uncertainties, we could turn to prayer and trust that God really does have a plan for us, that he has a plan for your life, for my life, for our life. Maybe something along the lines of praying for the wisdom to discern his will. For me, it could be something like this. Lord, I trust in your divine plan for my life.

Speaker A [00:16:02]:
Please grant me the wisdom and the courage to follow your will, even when it's hard and even when I struggle. Please help me remember that you always have my back and that when I trust you, everything always works out far better than I could ever dream. Help me God, please to trust you. Next, we have to love one another. God's love for us is the bedrock, the foundation of our faith. This means that he's calling us to love one another as he loves us now. That's not always easy, especially when it's somebody that maybe we don't like as much as we could. So how can you do this in your life? Well, maybe it's just smiling at someone that you don't know, or letting someone go ahead of you in the supermarket queue, or putting your phone down and being with those special people in your life so that you can give them your undivided attention.

Speaker A [00:17:11]:
Lord, help me love others as you love me. Help me see you and everyone around me so that I can love them as you love me. And then lastly, the third thing that we could do is we could pray for unity and protection. Remember that Jesus prayed for his disciples to be united and protected from the world's influence as christians. Imagine what a difference there would be in the world today if every single one of us, if we all prayed for unity among all believers, for unity among all christians, all the different types of Christianity. Imagine if all the christians in the world today united. How powerful would that be? Imagine if every single Christian prayed every single day for world peace. Imagine.

Speaker A [00:18:15]:
Imagine what would be happening in the Middle east if we all prayed for world peace today, right now. Imagine what would happen in Russia and Ukraine if we prayed for world peace. If every Christian prayed for world peace. Wherever there is unrest, dissension, hostility with God and prayer, anything is possible, including world peace. I hope you found this helpful. I hope this podcast helps you prepare and maybe even understand, just a teeny, tiny, incy wincy dinky a little bit better, the wonderful word of God and the catholic faith. Thank you for spending the last 20 minutes or so of your life with God and me. If you enjoyed today's show, can you please help me spread God's word about your catholic corner.

Speaker A [00:19:29]:
All you have to do is tell three people what you get out of listening to this podcast so that they can hopefully benefit as well. It's really easy. Just direct them, ask them to visit your catholic corner.com, and they can follow the show from there. It doesn't cost them anything. It's absolutely free. Thank you. Wherever you are, I pray that God's glass of love overflows in your heart and your life, and that when you are ready, you are able to accept God's invitation to you to join him to share in holy communion at your local parish. And finally, I'd like to say thank you to the parishioners of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ann Hamilton, who helped me bring this podcast to you today.

Speaker A [00:20:19]:
This is Julie south signing off until next week. Peace be with you.

Speaker B [00:20:25]:
God bless.