The Stone Rejected by the Builders – Thoughts on the Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

“The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.” (Psalm 119:22).

As I reflect on the readings for this week, two feelings are dominant: shame at the ways in which I reject the Lord, and gratitude for His redeeming love and power to transform those mistakes. In the first reading from the Acts of the apostles, St. Luke brings us back to the fact that we were the ones who handed Christ over to be crucified – yes, the Lord is risen and it’s glorious, but you cannot ignore your role in His passion. “All of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in His name this man stands before you healed,” he tells us.

Reading this causes me to be aware of my own failures, and the ways in which I, like the apostles, offend Christ. The events of the Gospels are not disconnected from my life, and while I celebrate like Catholics the world over the Risen Christ during this Easter season, my sin is ever before my eyes. Like turning on a bright light in a messy room, there is both clarity and joy at being able to see, and yet the undeniable mess that tells us we’re not done – there is still so much work to do. It is better than fumbling in the dark, but it shows us that there is still much to accomplish.

And yet, the readings don’t leave us there. In the second reading, St. Paul quotes Peter, who betrayed Jesus in the most profound way and yet still was transformed by the Holy Spirit. This is such a powerful witness to me, because it shows me how Christ’s glory brings everything into the light so that I can be better. More importantly it reminds me that, like Peter, I can’t hope to do it on my own: it is only in Christ that I can place my hope. And thus shame fades away, and hope enters.

It is in pondering what for me was the most challenging line in all of these readings however, that these scriptures were truly opened up. In the final line of the second reading, St. John writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him how He is.” I came back to this a few times, wondering what it could really mean. At first it seemed a bit cryptic, until I continued reading the Gospel, and considered it against the events of my life this week.

The Gospel this week is the very familiar “I am the Good Shepherd” scripture, in which Christ reminds us that we did not take His life, but He laid it down willingly. When I first read this, coupled with the sadness I felt from the first reading at the offenses I have committed against Him, it made me feel even worse. “I did this for you,” I heard Him say, and I mistook it as a rebuke. “What a terrible sinner I am,” I thought, “that Christ laid down His life for me willingly and I still offend Him, again and again.”

Upon further prayer however, I don’t think this is necessarily the case. And that cryptic line in the second reading for me brings it all together. When what we are meant to be has been revealed, we shall be like Him. We’re not like Him now, and so we stumble. His recalling us back to the sacrifice He made for us is not to kick us while we are down, but to give us a reminder of what we are striving for. He willingly gives His life for us, even though we continue to hurt Him. This is the kind of person we aspire to be, and this is what He desires of us – that we would lay down our lives for each other just as He did.

How does this play out in my own life? As I write this, I am in the midst of the busiest time of my school year, hands down. I have been broken with trying to keep up, feeling like I am lost in my life, feeling invisible, like at the end of the day my needs are the ones that fall off the list. I am daily confronted with my inability to do everything that is placed in front of me, my inadequacy at being all things to all people, and the crushing feeling of being so desperate to make everyone happy and knowing I never will. And the readings remind me that any good I accomplish under these circumstances is not because of my own effort, but because of Christ. They remind me in the beautiful second reading, that I am first and foremost a child of God, who sent His only Son to die for me even though I am not perfect, and fail so often in my floundering inability to keep up with the pace of my life.

Most especially for me though, was the realization that Christ gives me an example with which to push through these trials – because He did it for me. He willingly lays down His life. And as my aim in life is to be more like Him, it naturally follows that I must take the path He forged ahead. In order to become truly like Him, I must lay down my life for my family, for my friends, for the Body of Christ. I can’t lay my life down and cling to myself. And I can’t lay my life down, and beat myself up for the things I’m not getting done. The only way I can truly lay my life down is the same way He did – with my eyes fixed on Heaven. Where I can truly, as St. John says in the second reading, “see what love the Father has bestowed on us, that we may be called the children of God.” Only when I go forth from this love, will I ever truly be able to become more like Christ.

If you would like to dive even deeper into this week's readings, check out what Bishop Robert Barron has to say about them, here: https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/homily/getting-st-peters-sermon-right/5758/