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| “Christ the Good Shepherd” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1660 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Acts 4:8-12
Commentary on Acts 4:8-12
This selection follows Peter and John as they proclaim Christ crucified and risen. As we hear in this passage, their effective apologia has now gained them an audience with Caiaphas and the rest of the Sanhedrin, the very same people who handed Jesus over to be crucified. Now, Peter having just performed a saving act in Jesus' name, reminds them with the famous the cornerstone speech (in other versions the word used is “keystone” or “head of the corner”) using imagery from their own hymnal (see Psalm 118:22).
CCC: Acts 4:10 597; Acts 4:11 756; Acts 4:12 432, 452, 1507
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29
R. (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Commentary on Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29
This litany of thanksgiving features the cornerstone image that, in addition to Acts 4:8-12 (above), was also used in the Gospel of St. Mark (Mark 12:10) and the first epistle of St. Peter (1 Peter 2:7) (see also: Isaiah 28:16; Ephesians 2:20). Reference to "the stone which the builders rejected" is seen as a direct reference to Jesus, the Messiah, who was rejected by the Hebrew leadership, but was in reality the Son of God sent into the world for the salvation of all.
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Reading II: 1 John 3:1-2
Commentary on 1 Jn 3:1-2
In this selection from St. John’s first epistle, we are reminded that we are all adopted children of God through our Baptism. Because of this, we are part of his family, the family of the faithful. St. John goes on to remind us of the obligations of Jesus' adoption. First, we must believe in him, the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God. Second, following the formula of the Great Commandment, we must love one another as we are loved by the Father, through the Son.
CCC: 1 Jn 3 2822; 1 Jn 3:1 1692; 1 Jn 3:2 163, 1023, 1161, 1720, 2519, 2772
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Gospel: John 10:11-18
Commentary on Jn 10:11-18
We come to the climax of Jesus' debates with the Jewish leadership. This discourse intensifies our consideration of the topic of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Here the Lord differentiates his love for humanity against those who do not take ownership of their charge. "'He did what he said he would do,' St. Gregory comments; 'He gave his life for his sheep, and he gave his body and blood in the Sacrament to nourish with His flesh the sheep He had redeemed' (In Evangelia Homilae, 14, ad loc.)." [4]
The Lord is in the temple precincts at this point. He came there at a time when many Jews from all over the region would be there, the feast of Hanukkah. Here he contrasts himself (the Good Shepherd) with false shepherds (see Ezekiel 34:1-16), presumably the Pharisees who fail to recognize him as the Messiah.
Using the analogy of the sheepfold, he reminds the listener that all manner of people may enter a sheepfold. Those “false shepherds” scatter the sheep and they fall to utter ruin. But only the rightful owner will be recognized by the sheep and find safety (salvation). The analogy concludes with the universal statement of unity “…there will be one flock, one shepherd."
The final verses speak directly of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the salvation of all: “I lay down my life in order to take it up again.” Special emphasis is placed on Jesus’ ability to lay his life down and take it up through the power he has been given by the Father. We note a contrast here between God’s active role in the resurrection (see Acts 2:24; Acts 4:10.; Romans 1:4; 4:24.) with Jesus' stated power to take up his own life. But even here, credit is given to the Father (“This command I have received from my Father.")
CCC: Jn 10:11-15 754; Jn 10:11 553, 754; Jn 10:16 60; Jn 10:17-18 614, 649; Jn 10:17 606; Jn 10:18 609
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Homily:
On this “Good Shepherd Sunday,” there is a story that is told about two other shepherds that may be instructive as think about the one – “Good Shepherd.” These two shepherds, Josh and Bob, had small flocks and while they were brothers, they tended their flocks in very different ways. One year, when there was a drought and famine in the area, feed became a real problem. All of the usual grazing lands were parched and the sheep were suffering. Josh, seeing this situation dipped deeply into his savings and purchased the best feed supplements he could find. He then went further and had a deep well drilled at considerable expense that brought more water for the sheep. His flock got a bit thinner because there was not an abundance for them to eat and drink, but they were healthy.
Bob found a different solution. First he made a pretty slick deal with a local feed merchant. For the same price as he had been paying for the vitamin supplements he used for the winter feed, he could buy this bulk feed that would not only feed the sheep but cause them to gain weight. He also found that there was a runoff from the well his brother had drilled that pooled just on the other side of the fence dividing their properties. He just took an old piece of pipe and drove it sideways under the fence and tapped into that supply. The water was not as clean as it might have been, but the sheep drank it and didn’t show many ill effects.
All that summer the two shepherds watched their flocks. Josh spent hours observing the sheep; seeing which ones were doing well and which needed special attention. Bob, as usual took a little different approach. He felt that the sheep, once they were fed and watered could pretty much look after themselves. And, since he had all this extra time, Bob started a side business he called “Mutton Money” where he offered to teach young urbanites how to make quick money by adopting sheep and selling their wool. It was all strictly legal and the only ones that might suffer in any way were the sheep that might fall into the hands of a poor student. Bob made sure none of the stories about the “mistakes” made it into the light of day.
When winter came things got even tougher for the two shepherds. With no grazing feed at all and little in the way of inexpensive “home grown” feed to keep them going, Josh had to pretty much wipe out his savings account to provide for his flock during the winter. He took a second job at nights, even though it was damaging to his health, in order that his flock might not suffer for lack of food.
Once again Bob took a different approach. Because he was able to save money with cheaper feed during the summer, he figured he’d just keep on giving them the same stuff, even though it didn’t provide the nourishment the sheep needed. Bob figured that since they were pretty fat anyway, he could save even more money by not having the bran heated either. Who knows, maybe they would grow more wool if they were colder?
When spring finally came the two flocks were quite different as you can imagine and so were the shepherds. Josh was thin and looked a bit tired because of all the hard work of the winter. Bob on the other hand was looking quite prosperous. He had a nice new German sports car and appeared to be quite the entrepreneur. He had a vanity plate on it that read “SheerProfit.”
When the two flocks came out after the winter they too were strikingly different. Bob’s flock was decimated. The sheep were clearly not in good shape. When Bob tried to herd them into the pens so they could be sheered, they scattered and were uncooperative. The shearers looked at them and told Bob that he was going to have trouble selling any of what they would be able to harvest, they were in such poor shape. Bob’s Mutton Money project had fizzled as well. Many of the sheep he had provided to his would-be shepherds had come back to him with refund demands and he was being investigated by about three different government agencies, not to mention the ASPCA and PETA.
Josh’s flock on the other hand came out in the spring and amazed everyone. They had lush growths of wool. They were healthy and by all accounts there would be a spectacular number of lambs born soon. Josh was happy and relieved that his charges were doing so well. The wool sold well and he was able to replenish his savings account against the next unexpected challenge. But for Josh there would be little rest. You see Bob had suddenly decided to get out of the sheep business altogether. He came to Josh and asked him to “take them off his hands” so he could get on with more important things. Bob, it seemed, had heard that for a fairly low cost, he could make millions buying foreclosed homes.
In the end, Josh paid Bob the price he asked for buying all his sheep. He then started the long hard job of bringing them back to health. The last he had heard from Bob was that he had gotten out of real estate and was into selling extended warranties to owners of “older” cars.
The story of these two other shepherds teaches us an important lesson. It teaches us that good shepherds care for what is put under their control. As shepherds each of us is given responsibility for some part of the flock, even if it is just for ourselves. We are asked to lay down our lives for our sheep. As the story illustrates, that does not necessarily mean being crucified as the true shepherd was, for our salvation. But it means putting our own comfort second and the ultimate good of our flock first.
Following the good shepherd’s example, we recognize that the shortcuts offered rarely bring us to a good place and whenever we try to avoid the difficult path we are likely traveling dangerously close to failing our charges. The good shepherd realizes also that there are “other sheep” as well and that these too may come under our care. Just because they were not ours from the start does not mean we can ignore them.
Above all, the Good Shepherd loves the flock, all of the flock. It is this example of selfless love that should shape us and guide our actions each day. The good news is that we know that if we as shepherds lay down our lives for the sheep, we too will be raised on the last day. He has promised it and He is Risen.
Pax
[1] The picture used is “Christ the Good Shepherd” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1660
[4] The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p.625
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