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From: 1 Peter 2:20b-25

Duties Towards Masters--Christ's Example

[20b] But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you
have God's approval. [21] For to this you have been called, because Christ
also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his
steps. [22] He committed no sin; no guile was found on His lips. [23] When
He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not
threaten; but He trusted to Him who judges justly. [24] He Himself bore our
sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. [25] For you were
straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of
your souls.

Commentary:

18-25. The sacred writer now addresses all domestic servants (the Greek
word means all who work in household tasks). He exhorts them to obey
their masters, even if they are harsh (verse 18), because God is pleased
if they put up with unfairness for His sake (verses 19-20); in doing so
they are imitating the example of Jesus (verses 21-25). St. Paul, when
addressing slaves in his letters (cf. Ephesians 5:5-9; Colossians
3:22-24), never encourages them to rebel. Christian teaching on social
issues is not based on class struggle but on fraternal love: love
eventually does away with all discrimination, for all men have created
in the image of God and are equal in His sight. This peaceable policy
gradually made for the suppression of slavery, and it will also lead to
the solution of all social problems (cf. "Gaudium Et Spes", 29).

The fact that St. Peter addresses only servants and does not go on to
say anything to masters (as St. Paul usually does: cf. Ephesians 6:5-9;
Colossians 3:23ff) has led some commentators to suggest that most of the
Christians addressed in this letter must have been people of humble
condition.

21-25. This passage is a beautiful hymn to Christ on the cross.
Christ's sufferings, which fulfill the prophecies about the Servant of
Yahweh contained in the Book of Isaiah (52:13-53:12), have not been in
vain, for they have a redemptive value. He has taken our sins upon
Himself and brought them with Him on the cross, offering Himself as an
atoning sacrifice. This means that we are free of our sins ("dead to
sin") and can live "to righteousness", that is, can live for holiness
with the help of grace.

The example of the suffering of Christ is always a necessary reference
point for Christians: however great the trials they experience, they
will never be as great or as unjust as those of our Lord. Reflecting on
Christ's suffering led St. Bernard to comment: "I have come to see that
true wisdom lies in meditating on these things [...]. Some have
provided me with wholesome, if bitter, drink, and I have used others as
gentle and soothing unction. This gives me strength in adversity and
helps me to be humble in prosperity; it -allows me to walk with a sure
step on the royal road of salvation, through the good things and the
evil things of this present life, free from the dangers which threaten
to right and left" ("Sermons on the Song of Songs", 43, 4).

25. The messianic prophecy about the Servant of Yahweh includes the
image of the scattered flock (cf. Isaiah 53:6), to which Jesus alludes
in His allegory of the Good Shepherd (cf. John 10:11-16). St. Peter, to
whom our Lord had given charge of His flock (cf. John 21:15-19), would
have had a special liking for imagery connected with shepherding.

Jesus Christ is "the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls" and "the chief
Shepherd" (1 Peter 5:4). The etymology of the Greek word--"episcopos"
(guardian)--means "overseer"; the word was used in civic life to
designate those who were responsible for seeing that the law was kept.
In the Dead Sea manuscripts the Hebrew equivalent ("mebaqqer") is used
to designate the religious leaders of the schismatic community of
Qumran. Whatever might be the origin of the term, in the New Testament
the word "episcopos" (bishop) is often used to mean the pastor of the
Church (cf., e.g., Acts 20:28; see the note on 1 Peter 5:1-4). Here St.
Peter applies to Christ the words the prophet Ezekiel places on the lips
of God: "I will seek out My sheep and I will rescue them from all places
where they have been scattered" (Ezekiel 34:12). Our Lord founded the
Church as a sheepfold "whose sheep, although watched over by human
shepherds, are nevertheless at all times led and brought to pasture by
Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd and prince of shepherds (cf. John
10:11; 1 Peter 5:4), who gave His life for His sheep (cf. John
10:11-16)" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 6).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: John 10:1-10

The Good Shepherd

(Jesus said to the Pharisees,) [1] "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who
does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way,
that man is a thief and a robber; [2] but he who enters by the door is
the shepherd of the sheep. [3] To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep
hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
[4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the
sheep follow him, for they know his voice. [5] A stranger they will
not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice
of strangers." [6] This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not
understand what He was saying to them.

[7] So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the
door of the sheep. [8] All who came before Me are thieves and robbers;
but the sheep did not heed them. [9] I am the door; if any one enters
by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. [10]
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they
may have life, and have it abundantly."

Commentary:

1-18. The image of the Good Shepherd recalls a favorite theme of Old
Testament prophetic literature: the chosen people is the flock, and
Yahweh is their shepherd (cf. Psalm 23). Kings and priests are also
described as shepherds or pastors. Jeremiah inveighs against those
pastors who had let their sheep go astray and in God's name promises
new pastors who will graze their flocks properly so that they will
never again be harassed or anxious (cf. 23:1-6; also 2:8; 3:15; 10:21;
Isaiah 40:1-11). Ezekiel reproaches pastors for their misdeeds and
sloth, their greed and neglect of their responsibility: Yahweh will
take the flock away from them and He Himself will look after their
sheep: indeed, a unique shepherd will appear, descended from David, who
will graze them and protect them (Ezekiel 34). Jesus presents Himself
as this shepherd who looks after His sheep, seeks out the strays, cures
the crippled and carries the weak on His shoulders (cf. Matthew
18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7), thereby fulfilling the ancient prophecies.

From earliest times, Christian art found its inspiration in this
touching image of the Good Shepherd, thereby leaving us a
representation of Christ's love for each of us.

In addition to the title of Good Shepherd, Christ applies to Himself
the image of the door into the sheepfold of the Church. "The Church,"
Vatican II teaches, "is a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to
which is Christ (cf. John 10:1-10). It is also a flock, of which God
foretold that He Himself would be the shepherd (cf. Isaiah 40:11;
Ezekiel 34:11ff.), and whose sheep, although watched over by human
shepherds, are nevertheless at all times led and brought to pasture by
Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd and Prince of shepherds (cf. John
10:11; 1 Peter 5:4), who gave His life for His sheep (cf. John
10:11-15)" ("Lumen Gentium", 6).

1-2. The flock can be harmed in a subtle, hidden way, or in a blatant
way through abuse of authority. The history of the Church shows that
its enemies have used both methods: sometimes they enter the flock in a
secretive way to harm it from within; sometimes they attack it from
outside, openly and violently. "Who is the good shepherd? `He who
enters by the door' of faithfulness to the Church's doctrine and does
not act like the hireling `who sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees'; whereupon `the wolf snatches them and scatters them'"
([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 34).

3-5. In those times it was usual at nightfall to bring a number of
flocks together into one sheepfold, where they would be kept for the
night with someone acting as look-out. Then at dawn the shepherds
would come back and open the sheepfold and each would call his sheep
which would gather round and follow him out of the pen (they were used
to his voice because he used to call them to prevent them from going
astray) and he would then lead them to pasture. Our Lord uses this
image--one very familiar to His listeners--to teach them a divine
truth: since there are strange voices around, we need to know the
voice of Christ--which is continually addressing us through the
Magisterium of the Church--and to follow it, if we are to get the
nourishment our soul needs. "Christ has given His Church sureness in
doctrine and a fountain of grace in the Sacraments. He has arranged
things so that there will always be people to guide and lead us, to
remind us constantly of our way. There is an infinite treasure of
knowledge available to us: the word of God kept safe by the Church, the
grace of Christ administered in the Sacraments and also the witness and
example of those who live by our side and have known how to build with
their good lives a road of faithfulness to God" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is
Passing By", 34).

6. Christ develops and interprets the image of the shepherd and the
flock, to ensure that everyone who is well-disposed can understand His
meaning. But the Jews fail to understand--as happened also when He
promised the Eucharist (John 6:41-43) and spoke of the "living water"
(John 7:40-43), or when He raised Lazarus from the dead (John
11:45-46).

7. After describing His future Church through the image of the flock,
Christ extends the simile and calls Himself the "door of the sheep".
The shepherds and the sheep enter the sheepfold: both must enter
through the door, which is Christ. "I", St. Augustine preached,
"seeking to enter in among you, that is, into your heart, preach
Christ: if I were to preach other than that, I should be trying to
enter by some other way. Through Christ I enter in, not to your houses
but to your hearts. Through Him I enter and you have willingly heard
me speak of Him. Why? Because you are Christ's sheep and you have
been purchased with Christ's blood" ("In Ioann. Evang." 47, 2-3).

8. The severe reproach Jesus levels against those who came before Him
does not apply to Moses or the prophets (cf. John 5:39, 45; 8:56;

12:41), nor to the Baptist (cf. John 5:33), for they proclaimed the
future Messiah and prepared the way for Him. He is referring to the
false prophets and deceivers of the people, among them some teachers of
the Law--blind men and blind guides (cf. Matthew 23:16-24) who block
the people's way to Christ, as happened just a little before when the
man born blind was cured (cf. John 9).