Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A (2026)
Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 (1)
1 Peter 2:20b-25
John 10:1-10
April 26, 2026
Peter proclaims, “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
“Whom you crucified…” Who do you blame for the Crucifixion of Jesus? Do you blame Pilate? His fault lies only in consenting to the crucifixion of a man he knew to be innocent to appease the crowd.
Do you blame the Pharisees, the scribes, or the Sanhedrin? Some, but not all, of them sought Jesus’ execution but they could not have had Jesus crucified without God’s consent.
Do you blame the Jews? Realize that all of the Jews are not to blame. Some had accepted Jesus. Some probably never heard of him. They are innocent.
For those who had sought the crucifixion of Jesus and now hear Peter’s words, “they were cut to the heart.” They now come to know who Jesus really is. They come to realize the real reason Jesus was crucified.
We read in our second reading today, “He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed.”
Jesus was crucified because we are sinners who have gone astray. Jesus willingly sacrificed his life so that our sins can be forgiven and can return to the “shepherd and guardian” of our souls.
When those who heard Peter’s speech realized their wrongdoing, they asked, “What are we do to do my brothers?”
Peter calls them to repent and to be baptized. Most of us are already baptized and have received the Holy Spirit. What are we to do? Repent and confess our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We need to give our sins over to God. Only Jesus can free us from our sins. It is Jesus who can save us from the present “corrupt generation.”
We need to give our sins over to Jesus and open ourselves to the grace to follow Jesus as “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). We must seek to enter Heaven through the gate and not by climbing over the fence like thieves and robbers.
Jesus speaks of sheep knowing the voice of their shepherd. Do you recognize the voice of Jesus? Do you pray enough to recognize his voice above others or is Jesus just one voice among many?
I am afraid that many people today do not know the voice of Jesus. Instead, they follow the voice of a stranger, a stranger who does not have their best interests in mind. God does.
Strangers tell us how they think things should be. They speak of what is pleasing to them. God speaks to us of what is good for us so that we might have life and “have it more abundantly.”
We need to follow Jesus. We need to trust Jesus. When we trust Jesus, we can honestly say, “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.”
When we trust our Lord, He will lead us and guide us in “right paths.” He will refresh our souls with His Word, His Body and Blood, and with the Holy Spirit.
When we follow our Lord, even when we suffer, we know that the Lord is at our side.
Jesus shows us how we are to respond to suffering. “When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.”
I do not know about you but I know that I do not always respond well to suffering. I am tempted to fight back when what I need to do is to hand it over to God. When we are patient in suffering, it is “a grace before God.”
I am not talking about passivity here. God may be calling us to resist the suffering by standing for the Truth. Jesus did not hand himself over to his enemies. No, He handed himself over to his Father’s Will.
Are you willing to suffer in the name of the Lord? Or do you choose to hide your faith? When you suffer, do you even think of your faith?
Do you ask the Holy Spirit to tell you if you are to speak, what to speak, and when to speak it? Or do you blurt out what is on your mind from your negative emotions?
Peace,
Fr. Jeff