Furthermore…

They asked me to prepare some comments on Sunday’s Readings for the men’s prayer breakfast this morning. The readings are those for the the 4th Sunday of Easter, Cycle B. After mulling things over, I decided to base my remarks on aspects of the readings which might be of particular interest or encouragement to men.
St. Peter’s speech in Acts is a good example of action a man may be called on to do at some time in his life, to stand up and speak out for Jesus or some cause that he believes in, especially a defense of his family, neighborhood, church or country.
From Psalm 118 I picked out the words ‘cornerstone’ and ‘building,’ the sorts of things men might recognize as fitting into their domain – hard work, construction, providing shelter, and community structures.
John’s first epistle has a phrase “the future has not been revealed,” refering to our eternal destiny. I spoke about how in a man’s life he is faced with the question, “what will it be like to”… enter college, serve in the military, get married, become a father, start a business, move to a new town, and the many other challenges that loom.
The Gospel of John reading is about Jesus telling us he is the Good Shepherd. I talked about how, like the sheep, we have to keep “on message,” hearing and keeping in mind God’s intentions, and not, like wayward sheep, wander off in ways not planned by Him.