Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 279
Lectionary: 279
The Apostles and
the brothers who were in Judea
heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem
the circumcised believers confronted him, saying,
‘You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.”
Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,
“I was at prayer in the city of Joppa
when in a trance I had a vision,
something resembling a large sheet coming down,
lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.
Looking intently into it,
I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,
the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.
I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’
But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir,
because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
But a second time a voice from heaven answered,
‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’
This happened three times,
and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.
Just then three men appeared at the house where we were,
who had been sent to me from Caesarea.
The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.
These six brothers also went with me,
and we entered the man’s house.
He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,
‘Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,
who will speak words to you
by which you and all your household will be saved.’
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
‘John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?”
When they heard this,
they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,
“God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem
the circumcised believers confronted him, saying,
‘You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.”
Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,
“I was at prayer in the city of Joppa
when in a trance I had a vision,
something resembling a large sheet coming down,
lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.
Looking intently into it,
I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,
the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.
I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’
But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir,
because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
But a second time a voice from heaven answered,
‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’
This happened three times,
and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.
Just then three men appeared at the house where we were,
who had been sent to me from Caesarea.
The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.
These six brothers also went with me,
and we entered the man’s house.
He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,
‘Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,
who will speak words to you
by which you and all your household will be saved.’
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
‘John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?”
When they heard this,
they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,
“God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 42:2-3; 43:3, 4
R. (see 3a) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel JN 10:11-18
Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”
Meditation: "I
am the Good Shepherd"
Do you know the peace and security of the Good
Shepherd who watches over his own? The Old Testament often speaks of God as
shepherd of his people, Israel. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
want(Psalm 23:1). Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead
Joseph like a flock! (Psalm 80:1) We are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3). The Messiah is also pictured as
the shepherd of God's people: He will feed his flock like a shepherd,
he will gather the lambs in his arms (Isaiah 40:11). Jesus says he is
the Good Shepherd who will risk his life to seek out and save
the stray sheep (Matthew 18:12, Luke 15:4). He is the Shepherd and
Guardian of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).
Jesus made three promises to his followers. He
promised them everlasting life. If they accept him and follow him, they will
have the life of God in them. Jesus also promised them a life that would know
no end. Death would not be the end but the beginning; they would know the glory
of indestructible life. Jesus promised a life that was secure. Jesus said that
nothing would snatch them out of his hand, not even sorrow and death, since he
is everlasting life itself. Our lives are safe in his hands.
The words which Jesus spoke upset many of the
Jewish leaders. How could he speak with the same authority which God spoke and
claim to be equal with God? He must either be insane or divine. Unfortunately
some thought he was mad even though he cured a man who was blind from birth. We
are faced with the same choice. Either Jesus is who he claims to be - the Son
of God and Savior of the world - or the world's greatest deluder! We cannot be
indifferent to his claim. For those who accept him as Lord and Savior he offers
the peace and security of unending life and joy with God. Do you know the peace
and security of a life fully submitted to Christ?
Cyril of Alexander, a 5th century church father
comments on Jesus as our Good Shepherd:
"He shows in what
manner a shepherd may be proved good; and He teaches that he must be prepared
to give up his life fighting in defense of his sheep, which was fulfilled in
Christ. For man has departed from the love of God, and fallen into sin,
and because of this was, I say, excluded from the divine abode of paradise, and
when he was weakened by that disaster, he yielded to the devil tempting him to
sin, and death following that sin he became the prey of fierce and ravenous
wolves. But after Christ was announced as the True Shepherd of all men, He
laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16), fighting for us against that
pack of inhuman beasts. He bore the Cross for us, that by His own death
he might destroy death. He was condemned for us, that He might deliver
all of us from the sentence of punishment: the tyranny of sin being overthrown
by our faith: fastening to the Cross the decree that stood against us, as it is
written (Colossians 2:14). Therefore as the father of sin had as it were shut
up the sheep in hell, giving them to death to feed on, as it is written in the
psalms (Ps. Xlviii.16), He died for us as truly Good, and truly our Shepherd,
so that the dark shadow of death driven away He might join us to the company of
the blessed in heaven; and in exchange for abodes that lie far in the depths of
the pit, and in the hidden places of the sea, grant us mansions in His Father’s
House above. Because of this he says to us in another place:Fear not,
little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you a kingdom (Luke
12:32)."
Do you
listen attentively to the voice of the Good Shepherd and obey his word?
"Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd who
keeps watch over our lives. May I be ever attentive to your voice and submit
fully to your wise rule for my life. Draw me near to you that I may
always find peace and joy in your presence.”
 I Lay Down My Life |
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Monday of the Fourth
Week of Easter
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John 10:11-18
Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A
good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a
shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because
he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do
not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from
me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to
take it up again. This command I have received from my Father."
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for this opportunity
to be with you in prayer. My heart is ready to listen to your words of
eternal life so that I may choose to follow you more closely on the path of
true love.
Petition:Lord, may I be faithful to your will in my life.
1. I Lay It Down: The Father entrusted Christ with a
mission: Christ was to bring about our salvation through a life of unlimited
self-giving, even to the point of giving his own life. Being God he could
repay the Father for our sins; being man he could identify with our fallen
humanity and raise its dignity so that we might become the Father’s children.
Christ was the perfect bridge between fallen man and an infinitely holy God.
His mission of bridging this chasm came about through freely accepting the
Father’s will. Our Lord would receive nothing in return, yet he was faithful
even to the point of death.
2. On My Own: Jesus was not ordered to give himself for
our sins. He offered himself. Freedom is best used when it willingly embraces
God’s will, whatever the cost might be. We have to remember that Jesus knew
what lay beyond his preaching and his miracles: the road to Calvary. He spent
many nights in prayer on the Mount of Olives in preparation for his hour. He
foretold his fate to his disciples and continued forward towards this end
despite their misunderstanding. And in the end, when the hour came, he proved
faithful. When the hour of darkness sought him, he stepped forward to say, “I
am he” (John 18:5). Christ never flinched in front of God’s will. He felt its
weight. Sorrow flooded his heart. An easier path tugged at his humanity. But
he proved that love is stronger than death, that true freedom can defeat sin
and master it.
3. A Life of Love: Perhaps offering ourselves to God frightens
us. What will he ask? What will I have to leave behind? Will I be able to do
it? However, fear vanishes when we live out of love, like Christ. We need to
remember that the Father asked him to die for us – and look at the fruits
this bore! Taking on our humanity, Christ left behind the splendor of his
divinity and raised us to a new level. He did the impossible by bearing the
weight of all our sins. He trusted in the Father to give him strength. Today
we might be asked to die more to our self-love, to leave behind a vice we
have been struggling with, or to trust that with grace we can live a truly
Christian life in a world hostile to Christianity. In the end, if we love
Christ, we will not be frightened because he has already shown us the way –
and he has already conquered.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, give me the courage to be a faithful
Christian at all times and in all places, with whomever I meet and in
whatever I say. Help me to give testimony to who you are.
Resolution: I will offer one concrete act of
self-mastery for love of Christ today.
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EASTER WEEKDAY, MONDAY, MAY 12, JOHN 10:11-18
(Acts 11:1-18; Psalm 42)
(Acts 11:1-18; Psalm 42)
KEY VERSE: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (v 11).
READING: Throughout the Old Testament, God's loving care for the people had been portrayed as a shepherd guiding the flock (Ps 23). God's servants Moses and David were once shepherds. Jeremiah and Ezekiel indicted Israel's blind leaders, the shepherds who looked out for their own interests rather than those of their flocks. God would appoint "one shepherd" like David to lead them (Jer 23:1-4; Ez 34:23). Jesus, the "good shepherd,” knew his sheep personally by name. He protected them from harm, even willing to lay down his life for the sake of the flock. No one could be hired to care for his sheep that way. Jesus prayed that one day there would be "one flock, one shepherd" (v 16) united in his saving love, a prayer that is yet to be realized.
REFLECTING: What can I do to help work for Church unity?
PRAYING: Risen Lord, thank you for being my guiding shepherd.
Optional Memorial of Nereus and Achilleus,
martyrs, or Pancras, martyr
Nereus was a soldier in the imperial Roman army, and a member of the Praetorian Guard. He was a convert to Christianity, and allegedly baptized by St. Peter the Apostle. Nereus was exiled for his faith, and was martyred. Pancras, a fourteen year old orphan, was brought to Rome by his uncle, St. Dionysius. Pancras became a convert to Christianity and was martyred along with St. Nereus, St. Achilleus, and St. Domitilla. Pope Vitalian sent Pancras relics from Rome to England as part of the evangelization of England. St. Augustine of Canterbury dedicated the first Church in England to St. Pancras, and subsequent churches were similarly named for him.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Leading the Way
Lord, give us the humility to know that you, not we, are
responsible for converting people. Use us as conduits who are ever mindful of
your sovereignty and help us bring many souls to you.
My soul is thirsting for the living
God
‘I am the good shepherd.’Many stories of selflessness and heroism emerged from the bushfires in Winmalee and Springwood in October 2013. As fires closed in on their school, teachers and staff of St Thomas Aquinas Primary School, Springwood, led their pupils 2.5 kilometres to safety. They remained with them until every child was reunited with a parent. All the while, the principal remained calm, giving no indication that his own home had been destroyed. Firefighters, many of them volunteers, and police fought to protect lives and property, even while their own homes were in danger and in some cases, were lost. Some Year 12 students volunteered to fight fires during the HSC exams. Jesus, tragedy can bring out the best in people. Help me to see what I can do to befriend and assist people affected and to respond generously.
May
12
Sts. Nereus and Achilleus
(1st century)
Sts. Nereus and Achilleus
(1st century)
Devotion to these two saints goes back to the fourth century,
though almost nothing is known of their lives. They were praetorian soldiers of
the Roman army, became Christians and were removed to the island of Terracina,
where they were martyred. Their bodies were buried in a family vault, later
known as the cemetery of Domitilla. Excavations by De Rossi in 1896 resulted in
the discovery of their empty tomb in the underground church built by Pope
Siricius in 390.
Two
hundred years after their death, Pope Gregory the Great delivered his 28th
homily on the occasion of their feast. “These saints, before whom we are
assembled, despised the world and trampled it under their feet when peace,
riches and health gave it charms.”
Comment:
As in the case of many early martyrs, the Church clings to its memories though the events are clouded in the mists of history. It is a heartening thing for all Christians to know that they have a noble heritage. Our brothers and sisters in Christ have stood in the same world in which we live—militarist, materialist, cruel and cynical—yet transfigured from within by the presence of the Living One. Our own courage is enlivened by the heroes and heroines who have gone before us marked by the sign of faith and the wounds of Christ.
As in the case of many early martyrs, the Church clings to its memories though the events are clouded in the mists of history. It is a heartening thing for all Christians to know that they have a noble heritage. Our brothers and sisters in Christ have stood in the same world in which we live—militarist, materialist, cruel and cynical—yet transfigured from within by the presence of the Living One. Our own courage is enlivened by the heroes and heroines who have gone before us marked by the sign of faith and the wounds of Christ.
Quote:
Pope Damasus wrote an epitaph for Nereus and Achilleus in the fourth century. The text is known from travelers who read it while the slab was still entire, but the broken fragments found by De Rossi are sufficient to identify it: “The martyrs Nereus and Achilleus had enrolled themselves in the army and exercised the cruel office of carrying out the orders of the tyrant, being ever ready, through the constraint of fear, to obey his will. O miracle of faith! Suddenly they cease from their fury, they become converted, they fly from the camp of their wicked leader; they throw away their shields, their armor and their blood-stained javelins. Confessing the faith of Christ, they rejoice to bear testimony to its triumph. Learn now from the words of Damasus what great things the glory of Christ can accomplish.”
Pope Damasus wrote an epitaph for Nereus and Achilleus in the fourth century. The text is known from travelers who read it while the slab was still entire, but the broken fragments found by De Rossi are sufficient to identify it: “The martyrs Nereus and Achilleus had enrolled themselves in the army and exercised the cruel office of carrying out the orders of the tyrant, being ever ready, through the constraint of fear, to obey his will. O miracle of faith! Suddenly they cease from their fury, they become converted, they fly from the camp of their wicked leader; they throw away their shields, their armor and their blood-stained javelins. Confessing the faith of Christ, they rejoice to bear testimony to its triumph. Learn now from the words of Damasus what great things the glory of Christ can accomplish.”
LECTIO DIVINA:
JOHN 10,11-18
Lectio:
Monday, May 12, 2014
Easter Time
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord our God, Father of all,
you sent your Son Jesus Christ among us
to reveal to us that you care about people
and that your love extends to all,
without any distinction of race or culture.
Give us a great respect for all people,
whatever way they come,
and let your Church embrace all cultures,
that Jesus may truly be
the Lord and Shepherd of all,
now and for ever.
you sent your Son Jesus Christ among us
to reveal to us that you care about people
and that your love extends to all,
without any distinction of race or culture.
Give us a great respect for all people,
whatever way they come,
and let your Church embrace all cultures,
that Jesus may truly be
the Lord and Shepherd of all,
now and for ever.
2)
GOSPEL READING - JOHN 10,11-18
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and runs away, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; he runs away because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and I must lead these too. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock, one shepherd.
The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as I have power to lay it down, so I have power to take it up again; and this is the command I have received from my Father.
3)
REFLECTION
• The Gospel today presents the parable of the Good Shepherd. It
is the continuation of the Gospel which we read yesterday (Sunday). It is
difficult to understand the first part without the second. This is why we
prefer to comment briefly on both (Jn 10, 1-18). The discourse on the Good
Shepherd presents three comparisons linked among themselves:
1st comparison: Jesus speaks of the shepherd and of the thieves (Jn 10, 1-5)
2nd comparison: Jesus is the door of the sheep (Jn 10, 6-10)
3rd comparison: Jesus is the Good Shepherd (Jn 10, 11-18)
• John 10, 1-5: 1st comparison: to enter by the door and not by somewhere else.Jesus begins the discourse with the comparison of the door: “Anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate is a thief and a bandit! He who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock!” At that time, the shepherds took care of the flock the whole day. When night arrived they lead the sheep to a great community sheepfold, which was well protected against thieves and wolves. All the shepherds of the same region took their flocks there. A gatekeeper took care of them the whole night. The following day, early in the morning, the shepherd would go there, knocked with his hands on the gate and the gatekeeper would open. The shepherd would go in and call the sheep by name. The sheep recognized the voice of their shepherd would get up and go out following him to go to the pasture. The sheep of the other shepherds heard the voice, but would not move, because for them it was an unknown voice. From time to time, there was the danger of being attacked. The bandits would enter by a side path or jumped over the wall of the sheepfold, made of one rock on top of the other, in order to rob the sheep. They did not enter by the gate because the gatekeeper was there.
• John 10, 6-10: 2nd comparison: Jesus is the door. The audience, the Pharisees (Jn 9, 40-41), did not understand what it meant “to go in through the door”. Jesus then explained: “I am the gate of the sheepfold. All who have come before me are thieves and bandits”. Of whom is Jesus speaking in this phrase which is so hard? Probably, he was referring to the religious leaders who drew the people behind them but they did not respond to their expectations. They were not interested in the good of the people, but only in their own interest and in filling their pockets. They deceived the people and abandoned them to a worse situation. To enter through the gate is to act as Jesus acted. The fundamental criterion to discern who is shepherd and who is a thief is the defence of the life of the sheep. Jesus asks the people not to follow the persons who present themselves as shepherds, but who have no interest for the life of the people. “I have come in order that they have life and life in abundance!” This is the criterion!
• John 10, 11-15: 3rd comparison: Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Jesus changes the comparison. First he was the door of the flock. Now he is the Shepherd of the sheep. Everyone knew what a shepherd was and how he lived and worked. But Jesus is not just any shepherd but, he is the Good Shepherd! The image of the Good Shepherd comes from the Old Testament. Saying that he is the Good Shepherd, Jesus presents himself as the one who comes to fulfil the promises of the prophets and the expectations of the people; for example the beautiful prophecy of Ezekiel (Ex 34, 11-16). There are two points on which Jesus insists: (a) in the defence of the life of the sheep: the Good Shepherd gives his life for the life of the sheep. (b) In the mutual knowledge between the shepherd and the sheep: The shepherd knows his sheep and the sheep know the shepherd. Jesus says that the people have a particular perception and know who the Good Shepherd is. This was what the Pharisees did not accept. They despised or rejected the sheep and said they were damned and ignorant (Jn 7, 49; 9, 34). They thought they had the right and apt view to discern the things of God. In reality they were blind. The discourse on the Good Shepherd teaches two rules to cure this type of blindness, which is quite frequent: (i) to pay special attention to the reaction of the sheep, because they know the voice of the shepherd. (ii) To be very attentive to the attitude of the one who calls himself the shepherd to see if his interest is the life of the sheep, or not, and if he is capable to give his life for the life of the sheep.
• John 10, 16-18: The goal which Jesus wants to attain: one only flock and one only Shepherd. Jesus opens the horizon and says that he has other sheep that do not belong to this flock. They have not as yet heard the voice of Jesus, but when they will hear it, they will become aware that he is the shepherd and will follow him. This is the Ecumenical universal dimension.
1st comparison: Jesus speaks of the shepherd and of the thieves (Jn 10, 1-5)
2nd comparison: Jesus is the door of the sheep (Jn 10, 6-10)
3rd comparison: Jesus is the Good Shepherd (Jn 10, 11-18)
• John 10, 1-5: 1st comparison: to enter by the door and not by somewhere else.Jesus begins the discourse with the comparison of the door: “Anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate is a thief and a bandit! He who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock!” At that time, the shepherds took care of the flock the whole day. When night arrived they lead the sheep to a great community sheepfold, which was well protected against thieves and wolves. All the shepherds of the same region took their flocks there. A gatekeeper took care of them the whole night. The following day, early in the morning, the shepherd would go there, knocked with his hands on the gate and the gatekeeper would open. The shepherd would go in and call the sheep by name. The sheep recognized the voice of their shepherd would get up and go out following him to go to the pasture. The sheep of the other shepherds heard the voice, but would not move, because for them it was an unknown voice. From time to time, there was the danger of being attacked. The bandits would enter by a side path or jumped over the wall of the sheepfold, made of one rock on top of the other, in order to rob the sheep. They did not enter by the gate because the gatekeeper was there.
• John 10, 6-10: 2nd comparison: Jesus is the door. The audience, the Pharisees (Jn 9, 40-41), did not understand what it meant “to go in through the door”. Jesus then explained: “I am the gate of the sheepfold. All who have come before me are thieves and bandits”. Of whom is Jesus speaking in this phrase which is so hard? Probably, he was referring to the religious leaders who drew the people behind them but they did not respond to their expectations. They were not interested in the good of the people, but only in their own interest and in filling their pockets. They deceived the people and abandoned them to a worse situation. To enter through the gate is to act as Jesus acted. The fundamental criterion to discern who is shepherd and who is a thief is the defence of the life of the sheep. Jesus asks the people not to follow the persons who present themselves as shepherds, but who have no interest for the life of the people. “I have come in order that they have life and life in abundance!” This is the criterion!
• John 10, 11-15: 3rd comparison: Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Jesus changes the comparison. First he was the door of the flock. Now he is the Shepherd of the sheep. Everyone knew what a shepherd was and how he lived and worked. But Jesus is not just any shepherd but, he is the Good Shepherd! The image of the Good Shepherd comes from the Old Testament. Saying that he is the Good Shepherd, Jesus presents himself as the one who comes to fulfil the promises of the prophets and the expectations of the people; for example the beautiful prophecy of Ezekiel (Ex 34, 11-16). There are two points on which Jesus insists: (a) in the defence of the life of the sheep: the Good Shepherd gives his life for the life of the sheep. (b) In the mutual knowledge between the shepherd and the sheep: The shepherd knows his sheep and the sheep know the shepherd. Jesus says that the people have a particular perception and know who the Good Shepherd is. This was what the Pharisees did not accept. They despised or rejected the sheep and said they were damned and ignorant (Jn 7, 49; 9, 34). They thought they had the right and apt view to discern the things of God. In reality they were blind. The discourse on the Good Shepherd teaches two rules to cure this type of blindness, which is quite frequent: (i) to pay special attention to the reaction of the sheep, because they know the voice of the shepherd. (ii) To be very attentive to the attitude of the one who calls himself the shepherd to see if his interest is the life of the sheep, or not, and if he is capable to give his life for the life of the sheep.
• John 10, 16-18: The goal which Jesus wants to attain: one only flock and one only Shepherd. Jesus opens the horizon and says that he has other sheep that do not belong to this flock. They have not as yet heard the voice of Jesus, but when they will hear it, they will become aware that he is the shepherd and will follow him. This is the Ecumenical universal dimension.
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• Shepherd – Pastoral. Does the Pastoral ministry in
my Parish imitate the mission of Jesus as shepherd? And in my pastoral ministry
which is my attitude? Am I a shepherd as Jesus?
• Have you had the experience of having been deceived by a false shepherd? How did you succeed in overcoming this?
• Have you had the experience of having been deceived by a false shepherd? How did you succeed in overcoming this?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
As a deer yearns for running streams,
so I yearn for you, my God.
I thirst for God, the living God;
when shall I go to see the face of God? (Ps 42,1-2)
so I yearn for you, my God.
I thirst for God, the living God;
when shall I go to see the face of God? (Ps 42,1-2)
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