People's Prayers: Prayers of the People: Through the Open Gate ~ 4th Sunday of Easter '26 RCL Yr A

For Sunday, April 26, 2026, Readings: Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10

Those who had been baptized devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [Acts 2:42]

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake. [Psalm 23:1-2]

But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps...When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten...by his wounds you have been healed...For you were going astray like sheep but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. [1 Peter 2:20b-21, 23, 24b-25]

Jesus said, "...the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name...and the sheep follow him because they know his voice...Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep...Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. [John 10:2-3a, 4b, 7, 9]

Psalm 23 is, most likely, the best-known piece of Scripture in the world among multiple religions, denominations, and sects, for the believers and for those who have no faith affiliation or belief. The origin is ascribed to King David, a shepherd in his youth, and even through many and various older and more modern translations, this psalm gives us the moving pastoral image, line-by-line, of the everyday activities of shepherds*, describing in detail how God cares for us. We heard this Psalm recently on the 4^th Sunday in Lent and may hear it again in a later reading during this Church year.

It is also true that sometimes the familiar is so comfortable that we don’t really hear the phrasing as we repeat syllables by rote. Are we contemplating the meaning and call to personal response and action behind the words, whether in this Psalm or any Scripture reading in the Liturgy/Service? We must listen again with fresh ears, minds, and hearts. The beauty and comfort of the Shepherd in Psalm 23 is easily zoned in on while the other readings seem more easily left behind. But even this calming pastoral narrative comes with a price. We, who want to know ourselves as true and faithful Christians, must rouse ourselves from complacency, listen closely for the Voice that calls, and then follow in earnest and in confidence. All that we believe we "have" on this earthly plain is temporary, which is never clearer than in times of economic downturns and international conflicts.

For Episcopalians/Anglicans, the reading from Acts this week is infused with one of the promises made by us or for us in our Baptismal and/or Confirmation Covenants: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers..." The statements of belief and the promises of the Covenant are a quick refresher and guide to the basics of true Christian living, and always worth reviewing regularly, whether or not you are of this denominational heritage and practice. [for more information click here:

BCPonline for the US version of the Book of Common Prayer - Holy Baptism - and scroll to pages 304-5 for the promises]

The rise of online Liturgy/Worship since COVID-19 lockdowns have made regular attendance available to many who are unable to participate in the usual in-person fellowship and the breaking and receiving of sacred bread. Prayer and the Apostles’ teachings are always available to us any time of day or day of the week through online streaming of services and sermons of Sundays and for many parishes that offer the Daily Office broadcasts of the prayers and readings for each weekday. For fellowship most of us can meet and greet each other in person and in many other ways by text, phone, a quick email, or online chat. As for the breaking of the bread, last week’s Gospel gave us a moment in the story of Jesus meeting two people on the road to Emmaus, after the Resurrection. It was when Jesus took bread and broke it at supper that the two disciples recognized who had been in their midst [Luke 24:30-31]. Whether we are able to receive the sacred Eucharist on a Sunday or weekday or not, for those of us who are fortunate to have several meals each day, let us endeavor to remember to say a brief prayer of gratitude for what we have as we sit down to eat, and for hope that others may also be able to receive.

In the lesson from 1st Peter, we are given the difficult and all-too-current reminder that although we are to suffer what we must, as Jesus in his Passion, we are not to return abuse in kind. We are to realize that by the wounds of Jesus we are healed as we were going astray like sheep, but...have now returned...

Somedays are easier than others with political fervor and terrible violence at a daily high pitch. Yet the Gospel of John this week also carries the Shepherd theme and comforts us with another serene image, that of Christ as the divine Gate to salvation in a safe and abundant pasture.

Let us not go astray like sheep but flock together through the Open Gate to dwell with the Lamb of God now in this life, and forever in the next.

*I commend to you a charming and interesting little book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller, for an eye- and soul-opening look at the amazing connections between the Psalm's imagery and real-life sheep farming.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Shepherd of our Souls, our Holy Gate, Your calming pasture is always open for spiritual shelter and encouragement in this life each minute, each hour, each day. As You call us by name, kindle our desire to hear Your voice deep within us and follow Your call to salvation and abundant life, now and for ever.