4th Sunday of Easter - Cycle B
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."
"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."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 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.
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.
Reading 2 1 Jn 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.
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.
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."
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of
the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986,
1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997,
International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed
or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission
in writing from the copyright owner.
12. But he that is a
hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf
coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees: and the wolf catches them, and
scatters the sheep.
13. The hireling flees,
because he is an hireling, and cares not for the sheep.
AUG. Our Lord has
acquainted us with two things which were obscure before; first, that He is the
Door; and now again, that He is the Shepherd: I am the good Shepherd. Above He
said that the shepherd entered by the door. If He is the Door, how does He
enter by Himself? Just as He knows the Father by Himself, and we by Him; so He
enters into the fold by Himself, and we by Him. We enter by the door, because
we preach Christ; Christ preaches Himself. A light shows both other things, and
itself too. There is but one Shepherd. For though the rulers of the Church,
those who are her sons, and not hirelings, are shepherds, they are all members
of that one Shepherd. His office of Shepherd He has permitted His members to
bear. Peter is a shepherd, and all the other Apostles: all good Bishops are
shepherds. But none of us calls himself the door. He could not have added good,
if there were not bad shepherds as well. They are thieves and robbers; or at
least mercenaries. GREG. And He adds what that goodness is, for our
imitation: The good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. He did what He bade,
He set the example of what He commanded: He laid down His life for the sheep,
that He might convert His body and blood in our Sacrament, and feed with His
flesh the sheep He had redeemed. A path is shown us wherein to walk, despising
death; a stamp is applied to us, and we must submit to the impression. Our
first duty is to spend our outward possessions upon the sheep; our last, if it
be necessary, is to sacrifice our life for the same sheep. Whoso does not give
his substance to the sheep, how can he lay down his life for them? AUG.
Christ was not the only one who ho did this. And yet if they who did it are
members of Him, one and the same Christ did it always. He was able to do it
without them; they were not without Him. AUG. All these however
were good shepherds, not because they shed their blood, but because they did it
for the sheep. For they shed it not in pride, but in love. Should any among the
heretics suffer trouble in consequence of their errors and iniquities, they
forthwith boast of their martyrdom; that they may be the better able to steal
under so fair a cloak: for they are in reality wolves. But not all who give
their bodies to be burned, are to be thought to shed their blood for the sheep;
rather against the sheep; for the Apostle said, Though I give my body to be
burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing. And how has he even the
smallest charity, who does not love connection with Christians? to command
which, our Lord did not mention many shepherds, but one, I am the good
Shepherd. CHRYS. Our Lord shows here that He did not undergo His
passion unwillingly; but for the salvation of the world. He then gives the
difference between the shepherd and the hireling: But he that is an hireling,
and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and
leaves the sheep, and flees. GREG. Some there are who love earthly
possessions more than the sheep, and do not deserve the name of a shepherd. He
who feeds the Lord’s flock for the sake of temporal hire, and not for love, is
an hireling, not a shepherd. An hireling is he who holds the place of shepherd,
but seeks not the gain of souls, who pants after the good things of earth, and
rejoices in the pride of station. AUG. He seeks therefore in the
Church, not God, but something else. If he sought God he would be chaste; for
the soul has but one lawful husband, God. Whoever seeks from God any thing
beside God, seeks unchastely. GREG. But whether a man be a shepherd
or an hireling, cannot be told for certain, except in a time of trial. In tranquil
times, the hireling generally stands watch like the shepherd. But when the wolf
comes, then every one shows with what spirit he stood watch over the
flock. AUG. The wolf is the devil, and they that follow him;
according to Matthew, Which come to you in sheep’s’ clothing, but inwardly they
are ravening wolves. AUG. Lo, the wolf has seized a sheep by the
throat, the devil has enticed a man into adultery. The sinner must be
excommunicated But if he is excommunicated, he will be an enemy, he will plot,
he will do as much harm as he can. Wherefore you are silent, you do not
censure, you have seen the wolf coming, and fled. Your body has stood, your
mind has fled. For as joy is relaxation, sorrow contraction, desire a reaching
forward of the mind; so fear is the flight of the mind. GREG. The
wolf too comes upon the sheep, whenever any spoiler and unjust person oppresses
the humble believers. And he who seems to be shepherd, but leaves the sheep and
flees, is he who dares not to resist his violence, from fear of danger to
himself. He flees not by changing place, but by withholding consolation from
his flock. The hireling is inflamed with no zeal against this injustice. He
only looks to outward comforts, and overlooks the internal suffering of his
flock. The hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and cares not for the
sheep. The only reason that the hireling flees, is because he is a hireling; as
if to say, He cannot stand at the approach of danger, who does not love the
sheep that he is set over, but seeks earthly gain. Such a one dares not face
danger, for fear he should lose what he so much loves. AUG. But if
the Apostles were shepherds, not hirelings, why did they flee in persecution?
And why did our Lord say, When they persecute you in this city, flee you into
another? Let us knock, then will come one, who will explain. AUG. A
servant of Christ, and minister of His Word and Sacraments, may flee from city
to city, when he is specially aimed at by the persecutors, apart from his
brethren; so that his flight does not leave the Church destitute. But when all,
i.e. Bishops, Clerics, and Laics, are in danger in common, let not those who
need assistance be deserted by those who should give it. Let all flee together
if they can, to some place of security; but, if any are obliged to stay, let
them not be forsaken by those who are bound to minister to their spiritual
wants. Then, under pressing persecution, may Christ’s ministers flee from the
place where they are, when none of Christ’s people remain to be ministered to,
or when that ministry may be fulfilled by others who have not the same cause
for flight. But when the people stay, and the ministers flee, and the ministry
ceases, what is this but a damnable flight of hirelings, who care not for the
sheep? AUG. On the good side are the door, the porter, the
shepherd, and the sheep; on the bad, the thieves, the robbers, the hirelings,
the wolf. AUG. We must love the shepherd, beware of the wolf,
tolerate the hireling. For the hireling is useful so long as he sees not the
wolf, the thief, and the robber. When he sees them, he flees. AUG.
Indeed he would not be a hireling, did he not receive wages from the hirer.
Sons wait patiently for the eternal inheritance of their father; the hireling
looks eagerly for the temporal wages from his hirer; and yet the tongues of
both speak abroad the glory of Christ. The hireling hurts, in that he does
wrong, not in that he speaks right: the grape bunch hangs amid thorns; pluck
the grape, avoid the thorn. Many that seek temporal advantages in the Church,
preach Christ, and through them Christ’s voice is heard; and the sheep follow
not the hireling, but the voice of the Shepherd heard through the hireling.
14. I am the good
shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15. As the Father knows
me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16. And other sheep I
have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear
my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
17. Therefore does my
Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18. No man takes it from
me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
19. There was a division
therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.
20. And many of them said,
He has a devil, and is mad; why hear you him?
21. Others said, These are
not the words of him that has a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
CHRYS. Two evil persons have
been mentioned, one that kills, and robs the sheep, another that does not
hinder: the one standing for those movers of seditions; the other for the
rulers of the Jews, who did not take care of the sheep committed to them.
Christ distinguishes Himself from both; from the one who came to do hurt by
saying, I am come that they might have life; from those who overlook the rapine
of the wolves, by saying that He gives His life for the sheep. Wherefore He
said again, as He said before, I am the good Shepherd. And as He had said above
that the sheep heard the voice of the Shepherd and followed Him, that no one
might have occasion to ask, What say you then of those that believe not; He
adds, And I know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As Paul too said, God has not
cast away His people, whom He foreknew. GREG. As if He said, I love
My sheep, and they love and follow Me. For he who loves not the truth, is as
yet very far from knowing it. THEOPHYL. Hence the difference of the
hireling and the Shepherd. The hireling does not know his sheep, because he sees
them so little. The Shepherd knows His sheep, because He is so attractive to
them. CHRYS. Then that you may not attribute to the Shepherd and
the sheep the same measure of knowledge, He adds, As the Father knows Me, even
so know I the Father: i.e. I know Him as certainly as He knows Me. This then is
a case of like knowledge, the other is not; as He said, No man knows who the
Son is, but the Father. GREG. And I lay down My life for My sheep.
As if to say, This is why I know My Father, and am known by the Father, because
I lay down My life for My sheep; i.e. by My love for My sheep, to show how much
I love My Father. CHRYS. He gives it too as a proof of His
authority. In the same way the Apostle maintains his own commission in
opposition to the false Apostles, by enumerating his dangers and
sufferings. THEOPHYL. For the deceivers did not expose their lives
for the sheep, but, like hirelings, deserted their followers. Our Lord, on the
other hand, protected His disciples: Let these go their way. GREG.
But as He came to redeem not only the Jews, but the Gentiles, He adds, And
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold. AUG. The sheep
hitherto spoken of are those of the stock of Israel according to the flesh. But
there were others of the stock of Israel, according to faith, Gentiles, who
were as yet out of the fold; predestinated, but not yet gathered together. They
are not of this fold, because they are not of the race of Israel, but they will
be of this fold: Them also I must bring. CHRYS. What wonder that
these should hear My voice, and follow Me, when others are waiting to do the
same. Both these flocks are dispersed, and without shepherds; for it follows,
And they shall hear My voice. And then He foretells their future union: And
there shall be one fold and one Shepherd. GREG. Of two flocks He
makes one fold, uniting the Jews and Gentiles in His faith. THEOPHYL.
For there is one sign of baptism for all, and one Shepherd, even the Word of
God. Let the Manichean mark; there is but one fold and one Shepherd set forth
both in the Old and New Testaments. AUG. What does He mean then
when He says, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? Only,
that whereas He manifested Himself personally to the Jews, He did not go
Himself to the Gentiles, but sent others.
CHRYS. The word must here (I
must bring) does not signify necessity, but only that the thing would take
place. Therefore does My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I
might take it again. They had called Him an alien from His Father. AUG.
i.e. Because I die, to rise again. There is great force in, I lay down. Let not
the Jews, He says, boast; rage they may, but if I should not choose to lay down
My life, what will they do by raging? THEOPHYL. The Father does not
bestow His love on the Son as a reward for the death He suffered in our behalf;
but He loves Him, as beholding in the Begotten His own essence, whence
proceeded such love for mankind. CHRYS. Or He says, in
condescension to our weakness, Though there were nothing else which made Me
love you, this would, that you are so loved by My Father, that, by dying for
you, I shall win His love. Not that He was not loved by the Father before, or
that we are the cause of such love. For the same purpose He shows that He does
not come to His Passion unwillingly: No man takes it from Me, but I lay it down
of Myself:AUG. Wherein He showed that His natural death was not the
consequence of sin in Him, but of His own simple will, which was the why, the
when, and the how: I have power to lay it down. CHRYS. As they had
often plotted to kill Him, He tells them their efforts will be useless, unless
He is willing. I have such power over My own life, that no one can take it from
Me, against My will. This is not true of men. We have not the power of laying
down our own lives, except we put ourselves to death. Our Lord alone has this
power. And this being true, it is true also that He can take it again when He
pleases: And I have power to take it again: which words declare beyond a doubt
a resurrection. That they might not think His death a sign that God had
forsaken Him, He adds, This commandment have I received from My Father; i.e. to
lay down My life, and take it again. By which we must not understand that He
first waited to hear this commandment, and had to learn His work; He only shows
s that that work which He voluntarily undertook, was not against the Father’s
will. THEOPHYL. He only means His perfect agreement with His
Father. ALCUIN. For the Word does not receive a command by word,
but contains in Himself all the Father’s commandments. When the Son is said to
receive what He possesses of Himself, His power is not lessened, but only His
generation declared. The Father gave the Son every thing in begetting Him. He
begat Him perfect. THEOPHYL. After declaring Himself the Master of
His own life and death, which was a lofty assumption, He makes a more humble
confession; thus wonderfully uniting both characters; showing that He was
neither inferior to or a slave of the Father on the one hand, nor an antagonist
on the other; but of the same power and wild. AUG. How does our
Lord lay down His own life? Christ is the Word, and man, i.e. in soul and body.
Does the Word lay down His life, and take it again; or does the human soul, or
does the flesh? If it was the Word of God that laid down His soul and took it
again, that soul was at one time separated from the Word. But, though death
separated the soul and body, death could not separate the Word and the soul. It
is still more absurd to say that the soul laid down itself; if it could not be
separated from the Word, how could it be from itself? The flesh therefore lays
down its life and take it again, not by its own power, but by the power of the
Word which dwells in it. This refutes the Apollinarians, who say that Christ
had not a human, rational soul. ALCUIN. But the light shined in
darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a division among the
Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He has a devil, and is
mad. CHRYS. Because He spoke as one greater than man, they said He
had a devil. But that He had not a devil, others proved from His works: Others
said, These are not the words of Him that has a devil. Can a devil open the
eyes of the blind? As if to say, Not even the words themselves are those of one
that has a devil; but if the words do not convince you, be persuaded by the
works. Our Lord having already given proof who He was by His works, was silent.
They were unworthy of an answer. Indeed, as they disagreed amongst themselves,
an answer was unnecessary. Their opposition only brought out, for our
imitation, our Lord’s gentleness, and long suffering. ALCUIN. We
have heard of the patience of God, and of salvation preached amid revilings.
They obstinately preferred tempting Him to obeying Him.
Reflections:
* Jesus is our Good
Shepherd. The shepherd during ancient times till today in some parts of
the world is identified with his sheep. He is and lives with them.
He cares for them so much so that the sheep know his voice and his scent
and they would follow only him. They follow him to enriching water and
greener pasture. The shepherd protects them from predators and dangers of
all kinds. If one among them gets lost he looks for it and brings it back
to the sheepfold. Jesus is our Good Shepherd.
* Some abhor this
metaphor because they think that we are no sheep. We are no clueless
creatures following a shepherd. We have our minds of our own. We
are capable of deciding for ourselves and for those we love. Indeed we
are no sheep. But the metaphor is still valid if we do not read it in
this degrading manner. It is important not to lose the metaphor
concerning the shepherd: the point is that Jesus is our Good Shepherd, not that
we are simple sheep.
* Still it is also valid
to apply to us the metaphor of being a sheep of the shepherd, because Jesus as
our caretaker, guide and protector leads us to the enlivening water and to the
eternal food. As sheep we follow our Good Shepherd who would take care of
us, spiritually and physically; who would guide us through the everyday
intricacies of modern living where pitfalls abound; who would protect us from
the evil ones, obvious or subtle they may be. We would doom ourselves
should we ignore the Good Shepherd and go on our own separate ways. A
sheep is hopelessly lost, prone to predators and eventually doomed to die
without the other sheep and especially without the shepherd.
* O Lord, you are our
Shepherd and we are your sheep. Take care of us, guide us and protect us
from all evils. We want to be with you, to be cared for by you, to be
guided and protected by you. Amen.
