Catechism Links [1]
CCC 754, 764, 2665: Christ the Shepherd and Gate
CCC 553, 857, 861, 881, 896, 1558, 1561, 1568, 1574: Pope and
bishops as shepherds
CCC 874, 1120, 1465, 1536, 1548-1551, 1564, 2179, 2686: priests as
shepherds
CCC 756: Christ the cornerstone
CCC 1, 104, 239, 1692, 1709, 2009, 2736: we are God’s
children now
 |
“Christ the Good Shepherd”
by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1660 |
Readings for the Fourth
Sunday of Easter [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Acts 4:8-12
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said:
"Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then 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 is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be
saved."
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Commentary on Acts
4:8-12
This
selection follows Peter and John as they proclaim Christ crucified and risen.
As we hear in this passage, their effective apologia has now gained them an
audience with Caiaphas and the rest of the Sanhedrin, the very same people who
handed Jesus over to be crucified. Now, Peter having just performed a saving
act in Jesus' name, reminds them of Jesus’ identity with the famous the
cornerstone speech (in other versions the word used is “keystone” or “head
of the corner”) using imagery from their own hymnal. (see Psalm 118:22)
CCC:
Acts 4:10 597; Acts 4:11 756; Acts 4:12 432, 452, 1507
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26,
28, 29
R. (22) The stone rejected by the
builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become
the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered
me
and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become
the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered
me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become
the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps
118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29
This
litany of thanksgiving features the cornerstone image that, in addition
to Acts 4:8-12
(above), was also used in the Gospel of St. Mark (Mark 12:10) and the
first epistle of St. Peter (1 Peter 2:7) (see
also: Isaiah 28:16; Ephesians 2:20).
Reference to "the stone which the builders rejected" is seen
as a direct reference to Jesus, the Messiah, who was rejected by the Hebrew
leadership, but was in reality the Son of God sent into the world for the
salvation of all.
CCC:
Ps 118:22 587, 756; Ps 118:26 559
-------------------------------------------
Reading II: 1 John 3:1-2
Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
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 as he is.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Jn
3:1-2
In
this selection from St. John’s first epistle, we are reminded that we are all
adopted children of God through our baptism. Because of this, we are part
of his family, the family of the faithful. St. John goes on to remind us of the
obligations of Jesus' adoption. First, we must believe in him, the Christ, the
Only Begotten Son of God. Second, following the formula of the Great
Commandment, we must love one another as we are loved by the Father, through
the Son.
CCC:
1 Jn 3 2822; 1 Jn 3:1 1692; 1 Jn 3:2 163, 1023, 1161, 1720, 2519, 2772
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: 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."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn
10:11-18
We come to the climax of Jesus' debates with the Jewish
leadership. This discourse intensifies our consideration of the topic of Jesus,
the Good Shepherd. Here the Lord differentiates his love for humanity against
those who do not take ownership of their charge. "'He did what he said he
would do,' St. Gregory comments; 'He gave his life for his sheep, and he gave
his body and blood in the sacrament to nourish with [h]is flesh the sheep [h]e
had redeemed' (In Evangelia Homilae, 14, ad loc.)." [5]
The Lord is in the temple precincts at this point. He came
there at a time when many Jews from all over the region would be there, the
feast of Hanukkah. Here he contrasts himself (the Good Shepherd) with false
shepherds (see Ezekiel 34:1-16), presumably
the Pharisees who fail to recognize him as the Messiah.
Using the analogy of the sheepfold, he reminds
the listener that all manner of people may enter a sheepfold. Those “false
shepherds” scatter the sheep and they fall to utter ruin. But only the rightful
owner will be recognized by the sheep and find safety (salvation). The analogy
concludes with the universal statement of unity “there will be one flock,
one shepherd."
The final verses speak directly of Jesus’ death
and resurrection for the salvation of all: “I lay down my life in order to
take it up again.” Special emphasis is placed on Jesus’ ability to lay his
life down and take it up through the power he has been given by the Father. We
note a contrast here between God’s active role in the resurrection (see Acts
2:24; Acts
4:10.; Romans
1:4; 4:24.) with Jesus' stated power to take up his own life. But even
here, credit is given to the Father (“This command I have received from my
Father.")
CCC:
Jn 10:11-15 754; Jn 10:11 553, 754; Jn 10:16 60; Jn 10:17-18 614, 649; Jn 10:17 606; Jn 10:18 609
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
On this “Good Shepherd Sunday,” there is a story
that is told about two other shepherds that may be instructive as we think
about the one – “Good Shepherd.” These two shepherds, Josh and Bob,
had small flocks and while they were brothers, they tended their flocks in very
different ways. One year, when there was a drought and famine in the
area, feed became a real problem. All the usual grazing lands were
parched and the sheep were suffering. Josh, seeing this situation dipped
deeply into his savings and purchased the best feed supplements he could
find. He then went further and had a deep well drilled at considerable
expense that brought more water for the sheep. His flock got a bit
thinner because there was not an abundance for them to eat and drink, but they
were healthy.
Bob found a different solution. First, he
made a pretty slick deal with a local feed merchant. For the same price
as he had been paying for the vitamin supplements he used for the winter feed,
he could buy this bulk feed that would not only feed the sheep but cause them
to gain weight. He also found that there was a runoff from the well his
brother had drilled that pooled just on the other side of the fence dividing
their properties. He just took an old piece of pipe and drove it sideways
under the fence and tapped into that supply. The water was not as clean
as it might have been, but the sheep drank it and didn’t show many ill effects.
All that summer the two shepherds watched their
flocks. Josh spent hours observing the sheep; seeing which ones were
doing well and which needed special attention. Bob, as usual took a
little different approach. He felt that the sheep, once they were fed and
watered could pretty much look after themselves. And, since he had all
this extra time, Bob started a side business he called “Mutton Money” where he
offered to teach young urbanites how to make quick money by adopting sheep and
selling their wool. It was all strictly legal and the only ones that
might suffer in any way were the sheep that might fall into the hands of a poor
student. Bob made sure none of the stories about the “mistakes” made it
into the light of day.
When winter came things got even tougher for the
two shepherds. With no grazing feed at all and little in the way of
inexpensive “home grown” feed to keep them going, Josh had to pretty much wipe
out his savings account to provide for his flock during the winter. He
took a second job at nights, even though it was damaging to his health, in order
that his flock might not suffer for lack of food.
Once again Bob took a different approach.
Because he was able to save money with cheaper feed during the summer, he
figured he’d just keep on giving them the same stuff, even though it didn’t
provide the nourishment the sheep needed. Bob figured that since they
were pretty fat anyway, he could save even more money by not having the barn
heated either. Who knows, maybe they would grow more wool if they
were colder?
When spring finally came the two flocks were
quite different as you can imagine and so were the shepherds. Josh was
thin and looked a bit tired because of all the hard work of the winter.
Bob on the other hand was looking quite prosperous. He had a nice new
German sports car and appeared to be quite the entrepreneur. He had a
vanity plate on it that read “SheerProfit.”
When the two flocks came out after the winter
they too were strikingly different. Bob’s flock was decimated. The
sheep were clearly not in good shape. When Bob tried to herd them into
the pens so they could be sheared, they scattered and were uncooperative.
The shearers looked at them and told Bob that he was going to have trouble
selling any of what they would be able to harvest, they were in such poor
shape. Bob’s Mutton Money project had fizzled as well. Many of the
sheep he had provided to his would-be shepherds had come back to him with
refund demands and he was being investigated by about three different
government agencies, not to mention the ASPCA and PETA.
Josh’s flock on the other hand came out in the
spring and amazed everyone. They had lush growths of wool. They
were healthy and by all accounts there would be a spectacular number of lambs
born soon. Josh was happy and relieved that his charges were doing so
well. The wool sold well, and he was able to replenish his savings
account against the next unexpected challenge. But for Josh there would
be little rest. You see Bob had suddenly decided to get out of the sheep
business altogether. He came to Josh and asked him to “take them off his
hands” so he could get on with more important things. Bob, it seemed, had
heard that for a fairly low cost, he could make millions buying foreclosed
homes.
In the end, Josh paid Bob the price he asked for
buying all his sheep. He then started the long hard job of bringing them back
to health. The last he had heard from Bob was that he had gotten out of
real estate and was into selling extended warranties to owners of “older” cars.
The story of these two other shepherds teaches
us an important lesson. It teaches us that good shepherds care for what
is put under their control. As shepherds each of us is given
responsibility for some part of the flock, even if it is just for
ourselves. We are asked to lay down our lives for our sheep. As the
story illustrates, that does not necessarily mean being crucified as the true
shepherd was, for our salvation. But it means putting our own comfort
second and the ultimate good of our flock first.
Following the good shepherd’s example, we
recognize that the shortcuts offered rarely bring us to a good place and
whenever we try to avoid the difficult path, we are likely traveling
dangerously close to failing our charges. The good shepherd realizes also
that there are “other sheep” as well and that these too may come under our
care. Just because they were not ours from the start does not mean we can
ignore them.
Above all, the Good Shepherd loves the flock, all
the flock. It is this example of selfless love that should shape us and
guide our actions each day. The good news is that we know that if we as
shepherds lay down our lives for the sheep, we too will be raised on the last
day. He has promised it and He is Risen.
Pax
In other years on April 21st: Optional Memorial for Saint Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the
Church
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2]
The picture
used is “Christ the Good Shepherd” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1660.
[3]
S.S.
Commemoratio[4]
The
readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm
and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[5]
The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter
Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 625.
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