Monday May 9, 2022

Monday of 4th Week in Easter

 

Open Church: All Are Called                                    

“I have come that they may have life – life in abundance,” says Jesus, the Good Shepherd. He is the door to all. In the first reading, Peter defends his action of baptizing the pagan Cornelius on the same grounds: also pagans are called to accept the Gospel and the Holy Spirit comes down on them too, although apparently, the same Christians seem to have understood the case of Cornelius and his household as an exceptional instance. Is the Church – are we – open to accept all? What do we do to make this a reality? Remember, Jesus had come to bring life to all.

 

First Reading: Acts 11:1-18 

The news travelled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it—heard that the non-Jewish “outsiders” were now “in.” When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: “What do you think you’re doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?”

So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: “Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying. I fell into a trance and saw a vision: Something like a huge blanket, lowered by ropes at its four corners, came down out of heaven and settled on the ground in front of me. Milling around on the blanket were farm animals, wild animals, reptiles, birds—you name it, it was there. Fascinated, I took it all in.

 “Then I heard a voice: ‘Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.’ I said, ‘Oh, no, Master. I’ve never so much as tasted food that wasn’t kosher.’ The voice spoke again: ‘If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.’ This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the sky.

 “Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them, I and six friends, to the man who had sent for me. He told us how he had seen an angel right in his own house, real as his next-door neighbor, saying, ‘Send to Joppa and get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’ll tell you something that will save your life—in fact, you and everyone you care for.’

 “So I started in, talking. Before I’d spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus’ words: ‘John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?”

Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. “It’s really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!”

 

Gospel: John 10:1-10 

“Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”

Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

 

Prayer

Lord our God, Father of all,
you sent your Son, Jesus Christ among us
to reveal to us that you care about people
and that your love extends to all,
without any distinction of race or culture.
Give us a great respect for all people,
whatever way they come,
and let your Church embrace all cultures,
that Jesus may truly be
the Lord and Shepherd of all,
now and forever. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Identify the voice of the Shepherd

A sheepfold in the Palestinian settings of Jesus’ times were enclosures surrounded by stone-walls on which were placed bundles of thorns. Brambles are allowed to grow on it to prevent sheep from exiting and thieves from entering. The enclosure could be in front of a house, built outdoors, or on mountain slopes. A single sheepfold built on a mountain slope could be used by several shepherds together who bring their sheep at night; they would take turns to stay awake and keep watch while others slept.

Armed with a stick, the gate-keeper would squat at the entrance of the fold—that had no door. In that position, he himself became “the door.” Only those, whomever he allowed to pass through, could approach the sheep. Jesus assumes the role of the one who watches over the sheep-fold and hence, in the second part of today’s gospel Jesus says, he is “the Gate.”

When the night is over, when a shepherd stands at the entrance, the sheep would immediately recognize his steps and voice and followed him. From this experience of the people of the land, Jesus narrates this parable.

The true shepherd knows his sheep by their names, and calls them “one by one.” For Jesus, anonymous crowd does not exist. He takes interest in each of his sheep. He pays attention to the gifts, strengths, and weaknesses of each of them. This is what we read about God in the prophesy of Isaiah: “He carries the lambs in his bosom, gently leading those that are with young” (Is 40:11). He understands their difficulties, helps and respects them.

There are also thieves and bandits around. Who are they? They could be the religious and political leaders who put on the mask of shepherds who create an impression of caring for the people’s welfare, but in reality, are greedy of domination and exploitation; their methods were violence and lies. Jesus uses three verbs to summarize their works of death: They steal, kill and destroy.

Today’s Gospel has an insistence on the “voice of the shepherd” that is “heard”, “recognized”, and immediately distinguished from that of the strangers’. After the resurrection, the disciples could not recognise Jesus when they saw him face to face. He was mistaken for a wayfarer, a ghost, a gardener but His voice was unmistakable and they recognised him.

Today this voice continues to resound, crisp and alive in the words of the gospel. It is the only voice that would sound familiar to the disciple. Those who are “taught by the Spirit” are able to discern the voice of the shepherd. Let us be attentive to that voice that ensures us green pastures, abundance of water and protection from the enemies.

 

Video available on Youtube: Identify the voice of the Shepherd