4th Sunday of Easter
Reading I: Acts 4:8-12 II: 1 John 3:1-2
Gospel
John 10:11-18 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me,
15 as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father."
Interesting Details
- (v.11) In Greek, there are two words for "good":
- agathos: the moral quality of a thing;
- kalos: the quality of winsomeness that makes the goodness lovely.
Jesus' description of a "good shepherd" goes beyond efficiency and fidelity; the word "good" means kalos in "the good shepherd". There is loveliness as well as strength and power. - (v.11) The image of "good shepherd" is well known in the Old Testament Scriptures: Amos (3:12), Exodus (22:13), I Samuel (17:34-36), Isaiah (31:4). However, " laying down of the shepherd's life" from Jesus is something new. He is a good shepherd especially because of His willing and loving self-sacrifice for His sheep.
- (v.14) A good shepherd knows each of his sheep and calls them by name. The sheep are used to their shepherd's voice, and they recognize him by his voice. Every day at dawn, the shepherd would open the sheepfold and call out his sheep. Drawn by the familiar voice of their shepherd, they would gather round and follow him out of the pen to the pasture.
- (v.12-13) There is a contrast between the good and the bad shepherds, between the faithful and the unfaithful shepherds. The man who works only for reward thinks chiefly of money. The man who works for love thinks chiefly of the people he is trying to serve.
- (v.14-15) For the Hebrews, to know a person means to experience him through knowledge and love. This mutual "knowing" is the communion of life between Jesus and disciples through which they come to share what Jesus receives from the Father.
- (v.16-18) There are 3 great truths:
- only in Jesus Christ that the world can become one;
- the unity comes from the fact that they all hear, answer and obey one shepherd, not that they are forced into one fold. It is the unity of loyalty to Jesus Christ.
- the dream of Jesus depends on us. It is we who can help him making the world one flock under His shepherding.
One Main PointSafe in God's Hands
As a good shepherd, Jesus did more for His sheep by dying for them. The two images of Jesus as the good shepherd, and Jesus as the crucified, say essentially the same thing: he gave up His life for us. The door to salvation was thrown open to welcome everyone. Salvation is for all who hear and faithfully follow the voice of the Good Shepherd. Jesus promises in return to care for and protect His flock. Therefore, the safest place to be is in the hands of God.
Reflections
- The sheep recognize their shepherd by his voice. Can you hear Jesus' voice? In your daily life, how can you recognize and follow Jesus' voice among different voices around you? Do you think that you are safe in God's hands?
- Jesus called us for the unity of the world. It is a dream which every one of us can help Jesus to realize. Think of your family, relatives, friends and people around you. Do you willingly want to help them to hear, answer and obey only one "shepherd?" Do you consider this calling as "a means for service" or as "a career?"
- The image of the good shepherd remind us of the Church. Vatican II teaches "the Church is a shepherd, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ." Think of the many challenges the Church has to face in today's life and ask yourself what you can do to respond to the Church's call.
- Contemplate Saint Paul's saying:
"The more clearly we see him,
the more deeply we know him,
the more we become like him."