Easter IV: “I Am The Good Shepherd”

Good Shepherd Sunday (Year B) presents to our contemplation the figure of the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his own in contrast to paid laboreres who are interested in the wage they earn and not what is for the benefit of the sheep. Filipinos characterize the attitude of the Good Shepherd as malasakit which would roughly be equivalent to “solidarity” or even “compassion”. Good Shepherd Sunday coincides with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit would raise up pastors according to the Lord’s heart (Jeremiah 3:15), men who would be signs of the love of the Good Shepherd for his Church.

Relevant Articles

• The Good Shepherd
• Jesus, The Gate, and the Shepherd (John 10:1-21)
• Sunday Thoughts
• Magaral Tayo: Ang Mabuting Pastol
• Psalm 118 “The Stone Rejected By The Builders”

Guide For Reading

1. Read the whole of John 10 so as to get the feel of the context of vv. 11-18.

(a) In vv. 1-10, Jesus compares himself to the door of the sheepfold, through which the sheep pass in going out to pasture and when they return home, on the one hand, and to the shepherd who leads out the sheep.

(b) In vv. 11-18, Jesus calls himself “the Shepherd, the Good one” and contrasts himself with paid laborers who leave the sheep in the first sight of danger. The Good Shepherd, seeing the danger, defends the sheep even to the point of giving his life.

(c) In vv. 19-20 is an interval where the narrator describes the divided reaction of those listening to Jesus.

(d) In vv. 21-39, Jesus identifies himself with God who is the Shepherd of Israel (cf. Ps. 23) and is almost stoned because of blasphemy. Here, the Good Shepherd discourse is continued.

(e) In vv. 40-42 the section concludes with many believing in him.

2. Considering the above passages, take note of those lines where Jesus speaks about the Shepherd and the Sheep

1. Jesus says that “his own” know him. This is related to a previous line where he says that the sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd and no other (v. 3-4).
2. He speaks of “other sheep” which he also must lead (v. 16). These are the non-Jews whom he will include into the one sheepfold, which is the Church.
3. He lays down his life for his sheep so that they would have life to the full. Read v. 28.
4. Jesus is the Good Shepherd because He and the Father are one (v.30). This is not just unity in will, otherwise no one would have accused him of blasphemy. In fact, his listeners understood him well when he said “I and the Father are one” — they picked up stones to put him to death.

3. Read Old Testament passages about the Shepherd of Israel

• Psalm 23
• Psalm 80
• Ezekiel 34
• Jeremiah 23; 50:6

Comparing the Readings

The focus of the liturgy is on the Good Shepherd, the one who by his death and resurrection has become “the Author of life. (Acts 3:15)”. The address of Peter, on the occassion of the healing of the lame beggar, emphasizes the salvation that is given only through Jesus. In the second reading from 1 John 3:1-2, the christian community is invited to contemplate that Love which has made them into God’s children. “Salvation” in the language of 1 John is not so much being rescued from death but being incorporated into the household of God where life abounds (cf. Luke 15:17). In the Gospel of John, we find Jesus raising the status of his disciples from “slaves” to “friends” and — in the Resurrection narratives — to “brothers” (cf. Hebrews 2:11-12). These are the ones he calls “my own” (John 10:14), the sheep for whom He, the Good Shepherd, lays down his life.

Suggestions for the Lesson

The fourth Sunday of Easter is dedicated to the Good Shepherd and coincides with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. For the Catechism or the Homily, it would be good to reflect on the sacrament of the priesthood, the reasons why it is important for the Church and perhaps even to correct certain misconceptions about the priesthood itself.

1. The sacrament of the priesthood was instituted by the Lord during the Last Supper when he commanded his disciples to perpetuate the memorial of the Eucharist. “Do this in memory of me” he said. With those words, he also established the sacrament of the Eucharist. Both the Eucharist and the priesthood go together. The Eucharist in which the Lord makes himself really present in His Church and applies to each generation of Christians the new life won by his death and resurrection is perpetuated through the sacrament of the priesthood. It is for this reason that from every generation of Christians, the Holy Spirit with the cooperation of the Church raises men who can be pastors according to the heart of the Lord (Jeremiah 3:15). When a young man presents himself at the door of the seminary, he is actually presenting himself as one in whom Jeremiah 3:15 is fulfilled.

2. The sacrament of the priesthood makes present to the Church the love and care of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. This is the specific character of the sacrament. It is a charism of leadership that is servant-leadership and exercised for the good of the Church. Because of this, the priesthood is not a career like that of a lawyer or a doctor. It is a vocation that is professed before the Church by one who has been called to serve the Church. Thus one who enters the seminary does not necessarily end up becoming a priest: the Church through competent authorities will have to see the signs that verify one as having the charism to be a priest. Praying for vocations to the priesthood has the concomittant obligation of encouraging such vocations to prosper in one’s family or neighborhood.

3. The fulness of the priesthood is found in the bishop. Those called “priests” (they who in the early Church were called “presbyters”) are extensions of the bishop: they take their authority from him who has the fulness of the priesthood. Thus a “priest” does not have an authority of his own except that which has been given to him. To teach, govern and sanctify is something that a bishop shares with him. It is for this reason that when praying for priests, bishops should not be forgotten. After all, they are the ones who will answer to God for the priests under their care.