Reflection on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 25, 2021. Year B
Readings
Acts 4:8–12
1 Jn 3:1–2
Jn 10:11–18
Theme: The Model Shepherd
The reading today from John’s gospel presents Jesus as the model shepherd in his spirit of dedication and willingness to surrender his life for his sheep. The letter of John speaks of the graced outcome of the shepherd’s death: our becoming children of God. This Jesus, moreover, is the only way to the Father as Peter tells his hearers in Acts. In him alone is salvation, which is now extended to all humanity.
First Reading — Acts 4:8–12
This short kerygmatic discourse of Peter before the Jewish religious authorities is couched in the apologetic language which these speeches assume when directed to such an audience. It centers on the proclamation of death-resurrection with the strong Lucan antithesis: “you crucified,” “God raised” (v 10). It is in the name of Jesus as Lord (v 10; 2:36; Phil 2:11) that the cripple was healed (v 9) and that salvation is offered to the world (v 12).
Contrast appears again in the quotation from Ps 118 (v 11). This familiar text, which in its original sense saw Israel as the rejected stone, is applied to Christ, the one rejected by his own people and now become the foundation stone of the new covenant. It was evidently a commonly cited text in the early church (Lk 20:17; Mk 12:10; 1 Pet 2:7). The note of contrast is carried forward: rejection by his own, acceptance by God. Both the effectiveness and the exclusiveness of the professed Lordship of Jesus is strongly affirmed (v 12; 1 Cor 3:11).
Responsorial Psalm — Ps 118
This thanksgiving psalm echoes the sentiments of an individual, perhaps the king, who here represents the experience of the collective Israel. The psalm expresses gratitude to Yahweh for deliverance in liturgical terms connected with temple worship.
The exhortation to collective praise of Yahweh for his covenant fidelity is extended to the nation (v 2), then to the priests (v 3) and Jewish converts (v 4). The right hand is the warrior’s source of strength and protection, here used figuratively for Yahweh’s power to deliver his people (v 16). He has brought Israel (“I”) back from the edge of defeat and destruction to live again in his presence (v 17). This insignificant country, demeaned by the great powers of the time, has become a centerpiece of the international scene solely because of Yahweh’s evident favor (v 22).
This psalm points to the superiority of the Lord’s protection over that of any human agent. V. 26 is an invocation of the priests upon the temple pilgrims. The sense is: “Blessed in the name of the Lord be he who comes (enters).…”
Second Reading — 1 Jn 3:1–2
Children (v 1): A term of affection in the Johannine community (2:1; 2:18; 2:28; Jn 21:5), it arises, like the Pauline “sons of God” out of the new relationship in Christ that constitutes believers as members of God’s family. We may be called … we are: with the latter given particular emphasis in the Greek text, it moves the designation beyond a mere figurative appellation.
This passage makes three affirmations.
First, the failure of the world to acknowledge their new relationship to God should come as no surprise to the Christian community, since it failed to recognize Christ as well (v 1; Jn 15:18f; 17:14ff). “World” is used here not as the object of God’s love (Jn 3:16) but as the arena of evil.
Second, the love of God, which is the Spirit life, is also a pledge of the glory yet to come (v 2). This notion of the new life initiated here as issuing forth in the life to come is a strong Johannine theme (Jn 4:14; 6:40). Since Christ is the “firstborn of the dead” (Col 1:18), believers are destined to be transformed as he was; this is a transformation already begun in the recognition of God in the face of Jesus (2 Cor 3:18).
Third, by reason of their hope and their conformity to Christ, Christians are held to duplicate in their lives the virtues of Jesus (v 3; 2:29).
Third Reading — Jn 10:11–18
The Johannine Jesus is the model (rather than “good”) shepherd. The shepherd theme, not infrequent in the Hebrew scriptures, appears early in the gospel tradition (Mk 6:34; 14:27) and here receives a later and more explicit elaboration. This is a late first century reflection on Christ’s pastoral mission. Under two headings, Jesus is presented as the dedicated shepherd.
First, he gives his life for his flock, something alien to the thinking of a hired hand. The latter’s mercenary interests are in no way comparable to the unqualified dedication of the true shepherd (vv 11f).
Second, the true shepherd is personally familiar with his own. There is a mutual experiential knowledge between Christ and the Christian which is a reflection of the knowledge of the Father and Son. This motif of the mutual relationship between Jesus and the Father being extended to include the believer (the indwelling) figures prominently in Jesus’ later priestly discourse (Jn 17).
I have other sheep (v 16): A probable reference to the Gentile mission of the early church (11:52; 12:20–23; 17:20). The verse stresses the church’s universal mission.
The Father’s love for Jesus is linked to his redemptive offering (v 17). The verse is important for early Christian soteriology. Christ’s offering is the new Adam’s positive response to God which cancels the first Adam’s disobedience (Rom 5:15–19; Heb 10:5–10). It is through this generous offering of Christ that the love of God for humanity is manifest (Rom 5:8). Moreover, John is also at pains to show that Christ’s death was part of the divine plan (v 18). It was not due to human machinations or the manipulating efforts of his opponents. This is verified by his resurrection, an act impossible to anyone held captive by human mortality. This is a more developed soteriology wherein Christ is the principal agent in the resurrection and not the Father as in earlier sources (Acts 2:24; 4:10; Rom 1:4; 4:24).
Words say a great deal. There are, for example, interesting differences between shepherding and herding. A flock is shepherded or pastured; cattle are herded. Both terms pass figuratively into our everyday speech. Herding, generally applied to a group or a crowd, conjures up images of coercion and restriction. Sheep, however, require a different type of treatment than cattle. They are fragile and mostly defenseless in the face of a threat. They are handled with care and their domestic bent results in a bonding between shepherd and sheep. The Bible is strongly attached to the shepherd image because it is so rich in expressing love and concern. The term “pastoral” has long been a part of church language and is often contrasted with more detached and objective sounding expressions as “legal” and “structural.” Pope John XXIII called Vatican II a pastoral council, one that was to point up the care for people and a concern for humanity. And to a very considerable extent, it succeeded in doing just that. But to “herd” people evokes images of frightened masses jammed into boxcars headed for Auschwitz or of people led out to die in mass graves.
Shepherding and pasturing have a warmth that tell us so much about what is expected. We call our local religious leader our pastor. It is applied, of course, to pope, bishop, or parish priest, but most frequently it is used of the person on the local scene. And the truth of the matter is that the title says so much that it readily becomes a measuring stick for performance. Today, the many lay people who collaborate with the pastor in ministry are called the pastoral team. The mandate is simply to be what we are called. Jesus remains our model shepherd. He gave his all for each of us and now calls us each by name. To mirror Christ is to manifest availability and a true sense of service — as the scripture says, when it’s convenient or inconvenient. And, in addition, we know our people — their needs, their concerns, their joys and sorrows. To reach the twilight of life with that accomplished confers a joy all its own. Shepherding, pastor, pastoral. What’s in a word? Sometimes, very much indeed.
