Fourth Sunday of Easter

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 60, 442, 543, 674, 724, 755, 775, 781: the Church is made up of Jews and Gentiles
CCC 957, 1138, 1173, 2473-2474: our communion with the martyrs

“Christ the Good Shepherd”
by  Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1660

Readings for Fourth Sunday of Easter [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Acts 13:14, 43-52
 
Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga
and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered the synagogue and took their seats.
Many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them
and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.
 
On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered
to hear the word of the Lord.
When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy
and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.
Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,
“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,
but since you reject it
and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,
we now turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us,
I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
that you may be an instrument of salvation
to the ends of the earth.”
 
The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this
and glorified the word of the Lord.
All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,
and the word of the Lord continued to spread
through the whole region.
The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers
and the leading men of the city,
stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them from their territory.
So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them,
and went to Iconium.
The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
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Commentary on Acts 13:14, 43-52
 
This excerpt is part of Paul’s first missionary trip. His encounter with the Jewish Community in Antioch begins with his exhortation about Jesus, the Messiah, to the members of that community. This encounter, and the antagonism he faces from the Jews, sets the tone for most such interactions throughout the balance of St. Paul's encounters with the Jewish leadership in his missionary travels.  Much of what is said in verses 15-42 (not presented here) relate to how the Lord came in fulfillment of the Scriptures (see below).
 
In the second part of the reading, the Jews refuse Paul’s apologetic logic. He then turns to the Gentiles of the region who embrace the faith with great fervor, upsetting the Pharisaic community which then forces Paul to leave.
 
"'They shook the dust from their feet': a traditional expression: the Jews regarded as unclean the dust of anywhere other than the holy land of Palestine. Our Lord extended the meaning of the phrase when He told the disciples He was sending them out to preach, 'If any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet' (Matthew 10:14; cf. Luke 9:5). This gesture of Paul and Barnabas echoes what Jesus said and amounted to ‘closing the case’ or putting on record the unbelief of the Jews." [5]
 
CCC: Acts 13:48 2640
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5
 
R. (3c) We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5
 
Psalm 100 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. In this section we praise God because he created us. We praise God because he continues to guide us. It affirms God’s saving grace given to his sons and daughters through all generations. It is also an alternate invitatory psalm offered by the faithful in the Liturgy of the Hours as appropriate to begin the day’s prayer of the Church.
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Reading II: Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
 
I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
 
Then one of the elders said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
 
“For this reason they stand before God’s throne
and worship him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne
will shepherd them
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
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Commentary on Rv 7:9, 14b-17
 
This part of St. John’s Revelation envisions the Church in heaven glorifying God. He sees a great number “which no one could count,” a possible allusion to the promise made to Abraham (Genesis 15:5; Hebrews 11:12). The elders explain that, after the final test, those who have endured and remained faithful are wearing white robes. Their robes are white because Christ’s sacrifice has washed them clean, they are freed from sin by his sacrifice (the blood of the lamb).
 
Pope John Paul II has commented on this passage as follows: "The people dressed in white robes whom John sees with his prophetic eye are the redeemed, and they form a 'great multitude', which no one could count and which is made up of people of the most varied backgrounds. The blood of the Lamb, who has been offered in sacrifice for all, has exercised its universal and most effective redemptive power in every corner of the earth, extending grace and salvation to that 'great multitude'. After undergoing the trials and being purified in the blood of Christ, they --the redeemed--are now safe in the Kingdom of God, whom they praise and bless for ever and ever" ("Homily", 1 November 1981).” [6]
 
The selection concludes with a series of images from the Old Testament. Christians will no longer know suffering (see Isaiah 49:10; Psalm 121:6; John 4:14; John 7:37), and they will be shepherded by the Lamb (Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 24:33; John 10:11-16). [7]
 
There is a strong connection here between the vision of St. John of those who have suffered persecution (“survived the time of great distress”) and  St. Paul’s persecution in Antioch (Acts 13:14, 43-52). The imagery also connects to St. John's Gospel as the evangelist makes reference to the “Good Shepherd” (John 10:27-30).
 
CCC: Rv 7:9 775, 1138
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Gospel: John 10:27-30
 
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
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Commentary on  Jn 10:27-30
 
This passage is set within the great discourse of Jesus at the feast of the Dedication of the Temple. The topic sets the stage for the second theme, “Jesus the life.” [The first theme was “Jesus as light.”] The “Good Shepherd” takes the sheep, his flock, as his own possession, represented by the faithful. As this passage concludes, we hear conclusively that the Lord is one with the Father, truly God as well as true man. “The Lord utters one of his ‘hard sayings’ which evoke the wrath of the Jews, ‘the Father and I are one.’ In context, Jesus is amplifying his statement that no one can snatch the sheep from him because they have been given him by the father; Father and Son are one in mind, will, and action.” [8]
 
“The shepherd was often depicted as the self-sacrificing caretaker of sheep who was dedicated to their well-being, brought back strays, and kept them safe from the many dangers of the world (cf. 1 Samuel 17:34-35; Psalm 23:2; Amos 3:12; Matthew 18:12). Thus the Lord was the Shepherd of Israel in poetic language (Genesis 49:24; Psalm 80:2). He led his people through the desert like a shepherd leading his flock (Psalm 77:20; Psalm 78:52). The trust that the Israelite should have in the Lord is epitomized by Psalm 23.” [9]
 
CCC: Jn 10:30 590
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Reflection:
 
May God bless Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff to be elected from the United States of America!
 
We constantly thank God for all of his gifts to us.  Today, especially, we also thank our mothers without whom we would not have come into this world and without whom we would not have learned to bless the Lord for all he has done.
 
“The Father and I are one.”
 
What a simple statement.  St. John records the Lord’s words which define Jesus not as just “one of the sons of God.” Rather, he is of the same essence as God, separate in revelation, but sharing continuity of being.  It was because of this sameness that the relationship between the Father and the Son is more than the relationship between a biological parent and his child. It is because he is God that Jesus was able to reveal God’s purpose so completely.
 
In the modern Church we hear these words: “The Father and I are one,” and accept them because we have been taught from our earliest years that God’s manifestation is in the form of a “Trinity of Persons.”  Even though we cannot quite grasp how this is even possible, over time, we come to accept this seeming divine schizophrenia as the nature of our God.  This belief was not always clear.  In the early Church, even as the various councils struggled with codifying the books of Sacred Scripture (much was written in the first few centuries following Christ’s resurrection that was not deemed to have been inspired by God, e.g. the Gospel of St. Thomas), there were people who put forward heretical understandings of the divine nature of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, indeed of God himself.
 
Virtually every possible combination of understandings was put forward at one point in time or another, and sometimes by charismatic and forceful leaders.  Because of the force of will of these usually well-intentioned individuals, some of these misguided philosophies gained popular support, and great schisms threatened the Church.  We will not go through all of the great Christological heresies, but suffice it to say, they all ignored the simple statement made by St. John: “The Father and I are one.”
 
The theological understanding of the unity of persons was a difficult idea to get across to individuals who could not make the leap of faith required to accept it.  We can only imagine the difficulty encountered by the apostles as they brought the news of God’s revelation to people who had no concept of what the Lord had done.  We have taken for granted the struggles of our forebears in reconciling all of the different explanations for Christ’s divinity, and the very nature of his being.  But what we are led to on this day is a profound gratitude for the great Magisterium of the Church. 
 
From apostolic times it has sifted through the various attempts by mankind’s limited intellect to discover God’s nature and his will.  In the end, because it is beyond human understanding, the Church pronounces the nature of God a mystery; to many, that is not a satisfying answer.  However, to ascribe anything else to the divine nature of God is heretically presumptuous.  
 
“The Father and I are one.”  Accepting this article of faith, we also accept that the Eucharist we share is God’s chosen manifestation of himself for us.  Today as we accept the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar, we are overawed that so great a thing could happen to us.
 
Pax
 

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[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 is “Christ the Good Shepherd” by  Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 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 807.
[6] The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, pp. 66-67.
[7] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 64:42, p.478.
[8] Id, 63:119, p.445.
[9] Catholic Bible Dictionary, © by Scott Hann, 2009, p. 839.