Loss Becomes New Life

Homily for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

In Acts 11, something remarkable happens: the Gospel spreads not because everything is going well, but because persecution scattered the early believers. What looked like loss became the very path God used to bring new life. In Antioch—far from Jerusalem, far from familiarity—the disciples discovered a new identity. It’s where they were first called Christians. God was shaping them through circumstances they never would have chosen.

Psalm 87 echoes that same surprising wideness of God’s plan. Nations once seen as outsiders—“Rahab and Babylon,” “Philistia and Tyre”—are suddenly counted as citizens of God’s own city. God keeps rewriting the boundaries of who belongs.

Then Jesus, in John 10, makes the heart of it clear: “My sheep hear my voice… and no one can take them out of my hand.” Belonging to Christ is not about geography, background, or status. It’s about hearing His voice and trusting His care.

Put together, the readings tell us this: God’s work is often bigger, wider, and more surprising than our expectations. He brings good out of hardship. He calls people we never imagined. And He holds us securely even when life feels scattered or uncertain.