2015/04/26 — 4th Sunday of Easter

This Sunday is often called Good Shepherd Sunday. The Church has a three year cycle of assigned readings for each Sunday; and on the Fourth Sunday of Eater, the Gospel passage is draw from the words of Jesus in the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John. This year we hear John 10:11-18, in which Jesus calls himself the good shepherd who  "lays down his life for his sheep"— unlike the hireling who runs away when he sees a wolf. In this way, the good shepherd accomplishes two things. He keeps the wolf from catching the sheep and from scattering the flock. Of course, we see Jesus fulfilling this description of himself when he lays down his life on the cross.

Jesus notes that he has other sheep that he must join to his flock so that there will be one flock and one shepherd. This he accomplishes through the missionary activity of the Church. The mention of one flock and one shepherd recurs in a more extended form in Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper (John 17:20-23), where Jesus prays for his disciples and those who will believe through their word, that all may be one.

Today's passage concludes with Jesus saying that he lays down his life freely, and that he has power to lay down his life and to take it up again. So we have a reference not only to his death on the cross but also to his resurrection. As risen Lord, he is still the shepherd of the flock. We are al called to listen to his voice and to seek the unity which is his will for those who follow him.


The first reading (Acts of the Apostles 4:8-12) recounts words of Peter to the Sanhedrin. Peter had cured a crippled man who used to beg at the gate of the Temple, and when an amazed crowd had gathered, Peter had proclaimed the resurrection and lordship of Jesus, supporting his proclamation with references to the Hebrew scriptures. (As we heard last week that Jesus had explained the scriptures to his disciples, now we see them presenting those explanations to those they are evangelizing.) The Sadducees had Peter and John, who was with him, arrested for proclaiming the resurrection, and the next day Peter and John found themselves before the Council, and Jesus had previously been. Today's passage gives Peter's proclamation. He attributes the healing of the cripple to Jesus, proclaims the resurrection, quotes on of the scriptures which refer to Jesus (Psalm 118:22), and concludes by affirming that there is no salvation except through Jesus. Jesus is far more than a sublime teacher of moral life. He is the one who brings salvation — resurrection and everlasting life — to the human race. The first reading is followed, as always by psalm verses. This Sunday it's verses from Psalm 118, including the verse, "The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone," Jesus, the one source of salvation.


The second reading is again taken from the First Letter of John (1 John 3:1-2). This brief passage tells us that we are children of God. Beyond that, at the resurrection, we shall see God as he is, and that "beatific vision," as it has traditionally been called, will make us like him. There is a further Easter connection here, since Baptism is an Easter sacrament, and just as the Father proclaimed Jesus his son when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, so the Father adopts us as his children when we are baptized. Here the image of the Church is of family, not flock as in the Gospel. But whichever image we use, the reality is of a community of believers following Jesus to the Father.

In summary Jesus has freely and lovingly laid down his life and risen for us, the community of those he will lead to the Father.