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Posts Tagged ‘4th Sunday Easter Year B’
Discussion Guide for 24th December, 4th Sunday Advent, Year B
Reflection Questions
• Advent Story. A Kitten at Christmas. A Catholic couple were celebrating Christmas Eve. The wife invited her husband to Midnight mass, but he declined. He thought he would instead stay at home on this cold night, watch television, and they could have a christmas drink when she returned. His wife left early to attend christmas carols and shortly after he heard a noise at the door. Opening the back door he noticed a cold and wet kitten. He reached toward it but it cried in fear and retreated further away. He pondered to himself how he could help comfort this poor kitten. He got some milk from the fridge, poured it into a plate, showed the kitten and placed it just inside the door. He hoped to welcome the kitten into the warm and dry room of his house. The kitten continued its crying. He tried again to reach out to it. But the kitten interpreted these actions fearfully and moved further away into the
cold. As the man continued to ponder how he could truly communicate positively with this kitten it dawned on him that he would need to become like this kitten. Suddenly he realised what God had done. He jumped into his car to attend midnight mass and whispered to his wife: for the first time Iʼve realised Christmas is God born among us in Jesus to help us! (p.s. he gave the kitten a warm box to curl up in.)
•King David had unified the tribes of Israel by bringing the ‘ark’ (the special wooden box containing the tablets of the 10 commandments) to Jerusalem. He now thought he would build a Temple to give a proper ‘home’ to God. Nathan went along with this plan but God had to intervene. God describes 11 times (I…) what he has done. God has intervened in history – not the other way around! As you approach the end of the year and consider what you would like to do next year have you consulted God in prayer? Is there someone like Nathan who could help you?
• Paul writes of a ‘mystery kept secret for long ages’ but now made public to all nations bringing about obedience of faith. Is your faith in Jesus ‘secret’ or ‘public’? At your own level of comfort, how could you witness to being a believer and follower of Jesus? Could you invite someone to Christmas carols? Midnight Mass? Mention Jesus at your family gathering?
• God zooms in from eternity to a historical place (Galilee), to a town (Nazareth), to a person (Mary),
engaged to a descendant of the King of David (Joseph). Here is a scriptural window into the most significant historical event of eternity. God, through the angel, awaits Mary’s response. What part of Mary’s experience can you identify with the most?
• Mary saying ‘Yes’ to God’s calling and birthing Jesus into the world at Christmas is also symbolic of every disciple. Have you ever had a ‘God’ moment, a sense of a significant job God has planned for you, and then ‘the angel departed’. It was over. Are you living in obedience? Forgetfulness? Laziness? Fear?
• What is one action that you will do to ‘livetheword’ this week?
4th Sunday Easter Yr B – Good Shepherd – Vocation Sunday: does laying down your life frighten you?
Download 4th Sunday Easter Yr B
Reflection Questions
- The Church celebrates ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’ today. It is an opportunity to consider service of Christ in the Church for the World through a vocation in single life, married life, priesthood, religious life. Can you think of people who are good examples for you of each vocation? Spend time in prayer praying for each one.
- Vocation means ‘call’. St Ignatius teaches us that: “God writes his hopes into our deepest desires”. What does that mean God may be calling you to? Imagine the highs and lows of each vocation – what attracts you? What desire is strongest? Are you willing to follow it?
- ‘Laying down one’s life for the sheep’ is contrasted with being a ‘hired man’ who works for pay and has no ‘concern’ for the sheep. What do you think is the difference between Vocation and Career? Does one lead down and the other attempt climbing up?
- St Peter shares a building image. Very large stones were measured and cut to ‘fit’ and be suitable for building upon. Is your life truly ‘built’ upon Jesus or is it merely ‘looking’ at Jesus? Does your lifestyle ‘show’ you are ‘God’s child…’?
- One of the actions done by a good shepherd is to ‘lie down’ in the ‘gateway’ of a small low fenced circle of stones to care for the sheep and protect them from harm. The good shepherd was willing to fight to the death any wolf seeking to harm the sheep. It was an expectation that a child who was looking after the sheep, if attacked, was to show evidence of scratches or wolf fur to the family. Are you willing to fight and protect God’s family? Seek out the lost who have strayed? Stand attentive to warn of dangerous influences?
- ‘Laying down ones life’ is another scriptural picture of the way Jesus lay down his life on the cross – as the good shepherd. Laying down and enduring a sleep-shortened night is something parents do for love of their children. Knowing sheep by name, sharing each day and providing nourishment and shelter. Can you see similarities between parenthood and priesthood? Does ‘laying down your life’ appeal to you or frighten you? Does love lead you – or does fear fill you?
- ‘No-one takes it from me, I lay it down on my own’. A vocation is something freely chosen. We ‘hear’ the call of God through desire and attraction, we give ourselves to walk the journey of discovery and we ‘take up’ what is involved in faithfulness to our personal calling. Fear. I’m not good enough. I feel stuck. I don’t know are all human responses. Consider reflecting on the document ‘Discerning your vocation’ to show your willingness to take a further step into God’s call. Click here or go to http://livingtheword.org.nz/resources/
- What is one action that you will do to ‘livetheword’ this week?