The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of how our relationship with the Good Shepherd transforms our action to love those we encounter on our journey.
Our Shepherd for the journey
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles we discover that Jesus, rejected by the Sanhedrin, has become the cornerstone.
* [4:11] Early Christianity applied this citation from Ps 118:22 to Jesus; cf. Mk 12:10; 1 Pt 2:7.1
Psalm 118 is a song of Victory.
* [118:22] The stone the builders rejected: a proverb: what is insignificant to human beings has become great through divine election. The “stone” may originally have meant the foundation stone or capstone of the Temple. The New Testament interpreted the verse as referring to the death and resurrection of Christ (Mt 21:42; Acts 4:11; cf. Is 28:16 and Rom 9:33; 1 Pt 2:7).2
The reading from the First Letter of John proclaims we are God’s children now.
* [3:1–3] The greatest sign of God’s love is the gift of his Son (Jn 3:16) that has made Christians true children of God. This relationship is a present reality and also part of the life to come; true knowledge of God will ultimately be gained, and Christians prepare themselves now by virtuous lives in imitation of the Son.3
In the Gospel of John, Jesus declares “‘I am the good shepherd”.
* [10:16] Other sheep: the Gentiles, possibly a reference to “God’s dispersed children” of Jn 11:52 destined to be gathered into one, or “apostolic Christians” at odds with the community of the beloved disciple.4
Sr. Candice Tucci, O.S.F. comments that when Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” He knows who he is and what it means to be a “good shepherd.” Jesus grew in self-knowledge, and knowledge of his mission, his work and who he served. We live the Paschal Mystery within our daily lives. These 50 days of Easter provide us with hope and confidence as we find Jesus in our ordinary lives. It provides a time for us to reflect upon the whole Easter event and where we might find him in unexpected ways or places.
I wonder? Perhaps he is a Shepherd? A farmer? A parent? A manager? A supervisor, elected official, someone in leadership that looks out after those they are to serve? Will we find Him in a courtroom, classroom, ER, grocery story, gas station, on the curb or road? Whatever the role or position we might hold, or place we may be, are we grounded in loving the people we are to care for and to serve? Can we be Jesus for others? See Jesus before us? As Psalm 118 says, will it be wonderful in our eyes? Is this how we will know Him?5
Don Schwager quotes “Green pastures and still waters,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God, 'How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in my mouth!'" (excerpt from Sermon 366,3,1)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 John 3:1-2 comments that John is telling us that when we see Jesus in heaven, “as he is,” we will be transformed (1 John 3:2). That vision of Christ will have such a powerful effect on us that all of the sinful tendencies we have accumulated over the years will be no more, and we will become like him. All our selfishness, our pride, our lusts, and our pettiness will melt away.
The world has never seen a love as complete and pure as the love Jesus has for us. There is no self-interest in it. There is no ulterior motive. There are no conditions. There is only love: pure and strong and merciful. And where there is love like this, there is no room for sin of any kind. That’s what the future holds. But this vision isn’t limited to the day we stand before Jesus in heaven. We can “see” him every single day: in our prayer, in the Scriptures, and in the people and the world around us.7
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the power of the Holy Spirit in Peter as he addresses his interrogators about Jesus. The rocks in the quarry at Golgotha were not used by builders of the Temple because of cracks that became the support for the Cross. Friar Jude reminds us of the qualities of sheep that require them to have a “Good Shepherd”.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explains what apocalyptic literature does. It helps us make room for something new by clearing out the old—old ideas, old stories, old ways of thinking—especially if we’ve become overly attached to them. The goal of apocalyptic language, as used in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, is to shake people out of their reliance on conventional wisdom and undercut where we all operate on cruise control.
The most common mistake is to confuse apocalyptic literature with prophetic literature. They serve very different functions. Apocalyptic writing deconstructs the “taken-for-granted world” by presenting a completely different universe, similar to what a good novel or even a science fiction movie does for us. As the Buddhist heart sutra says it, “Gone, gone, utterly gone, all has passed over to the other side.” It makes room for the reconstruction of a new vision of peace and justice, which is the job of the prophets. Yes, prophets do plenty of deconstruction too, but it is always to make room inside the mind and soul for vision, expansion, hope, and a future inhabited by God and not by fear.8
As we continue to patiently endure the difficulties of these times, we have our “Good Shepherd” to guide us in our transformation to replace fear with love.
References
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