The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the nudges we have experienced from the Holy Spirit that allow us to hear the voice of the Shepherd calling us to be people of abundant life.
The Shepherd and the Gate
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles is Peter’s report to the Church at Jerusalem explaining the Baptism of the Gentiles.
* [11:1–18] The Jewish Christians of Jerusalem were scandalized to learn of Peter’s sojourn in the house of the Gentile Cornelius. Nonetheless, they had to accept the divine directions given to both Peter and Cornelius. They concluded that the setting aside of the legal barriers between Jew and Gentile was an exceptional ordinance of God to indicate that the apostolic kerygma was also to be directed to the Gentiles. Only in Acts 15 at the “Council” in Jerusalem does the evangelization of the Gentiles become the official position of the church leadership in Jerusalem.1
Psalm 42 expresses longing for God and His help in distress and (Psalm 43) is a prayer to God in time of trouble.
* [Psalms 42–43] Ps 42–43 form a single lament of three sections, each section ending in an identical refrain (Ps 42:6, 12; 43:5). The psalmist is far from Jerusalem, and longs for the divine presence that Israel experienced in the Temple liturgy. Despite sadness, the psalmist hopes once again to join the worshiping crowds.2
The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
* [10:1–21] The good shepherd discourse continues the theme of attack on the Pharisees that ends Jn 9. The figure is allegorical: the hired hands are the Pharisees who excommunicated the cured blind man. It serves as a commentary on Jn 9. For the shepherd motif, used of Yahweh in the Old Testament, cf. Ex 34; Gn 48:15; 49:24; Mi 7:14; Ps 23:1–4; 80:1.3
Edward Morse comments that today’s Gospel restates this centrality of Jesus as the Good Shepherd as well as the Gate through which all are invited to pass if we are to be saved from our sins.
Lord, help us to be grateful for the path of salvation you provide for us. As we journey together, we can rejoice along the way, knowing that through the Gate we will find good pasture, where the Good Shepherd will provide food for our souls and abundant life that cannot be extinguished. Let us receive your good gift of mercy that saves us from our sinful brokenness, which divides us from you and from others. Thanks be to God.4
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)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 11:1-18 comments that spiritual hindsight can help us stand in awe of God’s plan. What’s more, it can inspire us to lean on God the next time something unexpected comes along.
That’s why it’s worth it every now and then to look back on some of the events in your life or in the lives of your loved ones. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see how God might have been at work through these circumstances. Even better, write down your insights as a reminder of God’s faithfulness when you doubt. As you do this, you will be better able to imitate Peter: though he might not have understood how everything was going to work out, he tried to follow the Holy Spirit each step along the way. “Holy Spirit, give me spiritual hindsight to see your faithfulness throughout my life.”6
Friar Jude Winkler fleshes out that the vision of Peter was not just about unclean food. The Church is guided by the Holy Spirit to evangelize the Gentiles. Friar Jude reminds us of the fluidity of the imagery describing the Good Shepherd.
As Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares his thoughts about what we might learn from the COVID-19 pandemic, he feels a strong urge to speak about the much-misunderstood meaning of biblical apocalypse.
We would have done history a great favor if we would have understood apocalyptic literature. It’s not meant to strike fear in us as much as a radical rearrangement. It’s not the end of the world. It’s the end of worlds—our worlds that we have created. In the book of Revelation (also called the Apocalypse, or Revelation to John), John is trying to describe what it feels like when everything falls apart. It’s not a threat. It’s an invitation to depth. It’s what it takes to wake people up to the real, to the lasting, to what matters. It presents the serious reader with a great “What if?” Our best response is to end our fight with reality-as-it-is. We will benefit from anything that approaches a welcoming prayer—diving into the change positively, preemptively, saying, “Come, what is; teach me your good lessons.” Saying yes to “What is” ironically sets us up for “What if?” Otherwise, we get trapped in the negative past.7
Hindsight on our journey reveals the guidance of the Spirit and prepares us to receive abundant life as we follow the Shepherd.
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