Welcome to our Bible
Study
5th Sunday of Easter B
May 6, 2012
In preparation for this Sunday’s Liturgy
As aid in focusing our homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM
1st Reading: Acts 9,26-31

26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the
disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing
that he was a disciple. 27 Then Barnabas took charge
of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported
to them how on the way he had seen the Lord and that
he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had
spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 He moved
about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out
boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He also spoke and
debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. 30
And when the brothers learned of this, they took him
down to Caesarea and sent him on his way to Tarsus.
31The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and
Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked
in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the
holy Spirit it grew in numbers.
The focus is on Paul speaking boldly.
A simple outline!
1st Reading: Acts 9,26-31
Paul
 26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
27 Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the
apostles, and he reported to them how on the way he had seen the
Lord and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had
spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.
 28 He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out
boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He also spoke and debated with
the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. 30 And when the brothers
learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on
his way to Tarsus.
The church
 31The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at
peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and
with the consolation of the holy Spirit it grew in numbers.
1st Reading: Acts 9,26-31
Paul
 26 When Saul arrived
in Jerusalem he tried
to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid
of him, not believing
that he was a disciple.
27 Then Barnabas
took charge of him and
brought him to the
apostles, and he
reported to them how
on the way he had
seen the Lord and that
he had spoken to him,
and how in Damascus
he had spoken out
boldly in the name of
Jesus.
Commentary
 Paul, being a convert, now a
believer in Christ, feels he belongs
to the community (v.26)
 The community, human as it is, is
afraid of Paul, because he was
their former persecutor. They were
not updated of his conversion.
(v.26)
 It takes Barnabas to assure them
that he belongs to them now: the
Lord spoke to him and he boldly
spoke about Jesus (v.27)
 Paul now goes with the disciples in
their preaching ministry.
1st Reading: Acts 9,26-31
Paul
 28 He moved
about freely with
them in Jerusalem,
and spoke out
boldly in the name
of the Lord. 29 He
also spoke and
debated with the
Hellenists, but they
tried to kill him. 30
And when the
brothers learned of
this, they took him
down to Caesarea
and sent him on
his way to Tarsus.
Commentary
 He again speaks boldly about
Jesus. (v.28)
 He even debates with the
Hellenists (Greek speaking Jews)
(v. 29)
 Result of his boldness: they try to
kill him
 In v.30, the brethren help him
escape from Jerusalem to
Caesaria (Maritima) along
Mediterranean and to Tarsus, his
hometown.
1st Reading: Acts 9,26-31
The church
 31The church
throughout all
Judea, Galilee, and
Samaria was at
peace. It was being
built up and walked
in the fear of the
Lord, and with the
consolation of the
holy Spirit it grew in
numbers.

The church is present in all of
Palestine (Judea, Galilee and
Samaria = 3 regions).



The church is founded and
walks in the fear of the Lord
(Risen Lord) (v.31)
It is growing in numbers
through the Holy Spirit. (v.31)
More and more are joining the
church.
Reflections on the 1st reading
Acceptance to a group is not automatic,
even if you think you are somebody,
especially if they know your past.
 Someone, like Barnabas, who guarantees
your good conduct, can help you in.
 If you join the group of committed
Christians, it does not mean, you are free
from danger.

Reflections, con’t
Mission has its own troubles. Some people
will come and get you.
 When they seek your life, you may for a
while get lost and wait for the opportune
time.
 God will make use of you later on, like St.
Paul.

Resp Psalm: Ps 22:26-27,28,30,31-32
R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your
people.
 26b I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the LORD.
 27 The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the LORD
shall praise him: "May your hearts live forever!"
 28 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the
LORD; all the families of the nations shall bow down before
him.
 30 To him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend all who go down into the dust.
 31 And to him my soul shall live; my descendants shall
serve him.
 32 Let the coming generation be told of the LORD that they
may proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice he has
shown.
Resp Psalm: Ps 22:26-27,28,30,31-32
R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the
assembly of your people.
 26b I will fulfill my vows before those
who fear the LORD.
 27 The lowly shall eat their fill; they
who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your hearts live forever!"
 28 All the ends of the earth shall
remember and turn to the LORD; all
the families of the nations shall bow
down before him.
 30 To him alone shall bow down all
who sleep in the earth; before him
shall bend all who go down into the
dust.
 31 And to him my soul shall live; my
descendants shall serve him.
 32 Let the coming generation be told
of the LORD that they may proclaim to
a people yet to be born the justice he
has shown.
Commentary
 Ps 22 is classified as an
individual lament.
 But in v.26, the focus is not so
much on lament but the
fulfillment of vows or making
promises.
 The vows seem to be:





To feed the lowly, v.27
To help all people turn to the
Lord, v.28
To help all who are going to die
to bow down before the Lord,
v.30
To dedicate the psalmist’s life
to God, including his/her
descendants, v.31
To proclaim justice even to a
generation not yet born, v.32
Reflections on the Psalm


Part of our conversion is to make promises.
Some Christians are afraid to make vows or
promises for fear of breaking them.
 Those people should be helped
psychologically.
 Without building their self-esteem and selfconfidence, they cannot become priests or
religious; they cannot contract marriage; they
cannot get a stable job.
 They cannot be holy. They cannot commit to
anything.
Reflections, con’t



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We, Christians, must realize the importance of
making promises.
Without promises, we cannot change ourselves.
We cannot help others change.
When we promise in the context of prayer, like
the psalmist, we become determined to do not
only small things for ourselves, but also big
things for others.
We make a big difference in our lives, and in the
lives of others, if we are dead serious and
sincere in our promises, unlike some politicians.
nd
2

Reading: 1 John 3,18-24
18 Children, let us love not in word or speech but in
deed and truth. 19 (Now) this is how we shall know
that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts
before him 20 in whatever our hearts condemn, for
God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
21 Beloved, if (our) hearts do not condemn us, we
have confidence in God 22 and receive from him
whatever we ask, because we keep his
commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And
his commandment is this: we should believe in the
name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another
just as he commanded us. 24 Those who keep his
commandments remain in him, and he in them, and
the way we know that he remains in us is from the
Spirit that he gave us.
The focus is on remaining in God / in people.
2nd Reading: 1 John 3,18-24


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18 Children, let us love not in word
or speech but in deed and truth.
19 (Now) this is how we shall
know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before
him 20 in whatever our hearts
condemn, for God is greater than
our hearts and knows everything.
21 Beloved, if (our) hearts do not
condemn us, we have confidence
in God 22 and receive from him
whatever we ask,
 because we keep his
commandments and do what
pleases him.
23 And his commandment is this:
 we should believe in the
name of his Son, Jesus
Christ,
 and love one another just as
he commanded us.
24 Those who keep his
commandments remain in him,
and he in them, and the way we
know that he remains in us is from
the Spirit that he gave us.
Commentary
In v.18, the author exhorts the
Christians to show love concretely
(existentially). Lip-service is
unacceptable.
 How do we know we belong to the
truth (to God)? (vv.19-20)
 Confidence in God (v.21)
 We receive what we ask (v.21)
What are our efforts to show we love in
concrete?
 We keep his commandments.
 Believing in the name of Jesus
 Loving one another (v.23)
 We do what pleases him (v.22)
Signs of those who keep the
commandments
 We remain in Jesus
 Jesus remains in us (v.24)
Reflections on the 2nd reading



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As Christians, we cannot escape from loving.
Loving is not empty words and emotionalism.
Love is to be shown concretely. It must be
relevant.
The one who has love must be responsible. He
must be firmly grounded on love.
Another obligation for Christians is to believe in
the name of Jesus and to love one another.
This is the only way we stay connected with the
Lord.
Gospel: John 15,1-8

Jesus said to his disciples, 1 "I am the true vine, and my Father
is the vine grower. 2 He takes away every branch in me that
does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it
bears more fruit. 3 You are already pruned because of the
word that I spoke to you. 4 Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains
on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I
am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me
and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can
do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me will be
thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them
and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. 7 If you
remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever
you want and it will be done for you. 8 By this is my Father
glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
The focus is on remaining in Jesus.
Gospel: John 15,1-8
The Importance of Pruning
 Jesus said to his disciples, 1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine
grower. 2 He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and
everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. 3 You are
already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Importance of connection
 4 Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on
its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you
remain in me.
 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him
will bear much fruit,
What happens if you are disconnected
 because without me you can do nothing.
 6 Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and
wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be
burned.
What happens if you are connected (see also vv.4-5)
 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you
want and it will be done for you. 8 By this is my Father glorified, that you
bear much fruit and become my disciples.
Gospel: John 15,1-8
The Importance of Pruning

1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine
grower. 2 He takes away every branch in me that
does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he
prunes so that it bears more fruit. 3 You are
already pruned because of the word that I spoke
to you.
Importance of connection

4 Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a
branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it
remains on the vine, so neither can you unless
you remain in me.

5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever
remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
What happens if you are disconnected

because without me you can do nothing.

6 Anyone who does not remain in me will be
thrown out like a branch and wither; people will
gather them and throw them into a fire and they
will be burned.
What happens if you are connected (see also vv.45)

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for
you. 8 By this is my Father glorified, that you bear
much fruit and become my disciples.
Commentary
 The metaphors used:



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
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Jesus = true vine
Father = vine grower
We = branches
The gospel states the purpose
of pruning and its connection
with the vine: to bear
more/much fruit.v.2
To bear fruit means to be
productive, to give life to
others, to give delight, to
satisfy others.
Not to bear any fruit invites the
Father to “take you away,” to
throw you to fire. V.6
There is an extra benefit of
being connected: ask what
you want and it will be given…
(efficacious prayer), v.7

To remain means to stay put,
to keep connected, to cling to,
to keep alive. Negatively, not
to abandon, not to renounce
faith in Jesus. Vv.4-5
Reflections on the gospel reading



To drive a point, the gospel writer uses
metaphors. Metaphors accomplish a lot of
things more than using plain language.
Metaphors evoke our imagination and feelings.
We, the branches, draw our sustenance from
our connection with Jesus, the vine. We cannot
survive if we are cut off from him.
We, the branches, are expected to bear much
fruit, for the benefit of others.
Reflections, con’t



The Father prunes to make us bear fruits, many fruits,
not just some fruits. God is not minimalistic.
God wants something superlative and impressive, God
does not want that mediocre results.
The reading reminds us to “remain” in Jesus, not to
betray him, not to live independently from him, or to
graft ourselves to another plant / person / teacher to
infuse ourselves with a different blood (non-Christian
culture, non-Christian belief, non-Christian community, nonChristian God and values)
Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm

St. Paul, nurtured by his faith in Jesus and
connected with his fellow Christians, speaks
boldly in his name. He is bearing fruit abundantly
(1st reading)


The psalmist makes connection with the poor and
humanity by his vows and promises.
St. John advises the Christian believers to love, in
deed, (to keep the commandments of love) to be
interconnected with Jesus and fellow
Christians.(2nd reading)

The gospel enjoins Christians to remain
connected with Jesus to bear much fruit (gospel
reading)
How to develop your homily / sharing


Share an experience of disconnectedness
(running away from home, break up of
relationship, no communication, no load in
cellphones, no power, no water, etc) and its
consequences.
Recall when there was connection and its benefits
(can do a lot, easy to get things done, happy always to
communicate, not feeling deprived, etc.)


Now develop the importance of being connected
(to remain) with Jesus according to the readings.
We are connected with God through his words.


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The gospel says we have to remain in Jesus to
bear much fruit.
We allow ourselves to be taken cared of by the
Father. He is the vine grower.
We submit to his way of making us productive.
We don’t insist on our own.
The second reading says our faith
(connectedness with Jesus) must be shown in
concretely loving one another.
We remain connected with Jesus by keeping
God’s commandments.
The first reading demonstrates Paul bearing
fruit because of his connection with Jesus.
 Now, he is boldly preaching his name even
in the midst of opposition and threats.
 Through his conversion, Paul is also
connected with his fellow believers.
 His fellow Christians are sympathetic to him
when he is in danger.
 This is the by-product of his connectedness
with his brothers.

We, Christians, are called to establish
connections (relationships).
 We improve our relationship with God to be
more productive, and so with our fellow
believers.
 We cannot do much if we are isolated from
others.
 If we cut ourselves off from our community, we
will stagnate and disappear in oblivion.
 Cutting off from the vine (from Christ and the
Church) means no updating, no involvement,
detached from the life of the community, no
commitment, no growth, no glory.

The psalm, which is a prayer, helps us in
being connected with God and with one
another.
 In the form of this prayer, we seek relationship
with God and with our fellow human beings.
 In this psalm, we are helped to be relevant in
our prayer and in our relationships.
 We become liberative.
 We are led to promise and vow to be
committed and to be engaged


helping the poor, giving justice to all and
praise to God.
The eucharist is the sacrament of our
relationship with God.
 In the eucharist, we connect ourselves with
Christ and vice versa.
 Through the participation of the eucharist,
we connect ourselves with one another.
 When we come to the eucharist, we fulfill
our vows to be holy.
 In this eucharist, Jesus comes to nourish us.
 We cannot be productive in the vineyard of
the Lord if we are cut off from the eucharist.

Our Context of Sin and Grace
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Isolated
Has his/her own world
No community life
No friends
No authority
Trying to prove
oneself
Not docile
Abuse of technology
Wrong connections
Unable to commit

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Coordination
Linkages
Frequent communion
Open communications
Improved communications
Speech or hearing defect,
overcome
Use of high technology to
connect
Confident and unafraid,
mature
With word of honor
Suggested Songs

Sharing (communion)


Sino ba ang Diyos? (for reflection)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1ij6D6EyeI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8glIv39uKA
Thank you, Lord (recessional)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HwEPS3f6UA