April 25th: Study and Meditations For Good Shepherd Sunday

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**26-29. **Certainly faith and eternal life cannot be merited by man’s own efforts: they are a gift of God. But the Lord does not deny anyone grace to believe and be saved, because He `wishes all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). If someone tries to avoid receiving the gift of faith, his unbelief is blameworthy. On this point St. Thomas Aquinas teaches: “I can see, thanks to the light of the sun; but if I close my eyes, I cannot see: this is no fault of the sun, it is my own fault, because by closing my eyes, I prevent the sunlight from reaching me” (“Commentary on St. John, ad loc.”).

But those who do not oppose divine grace do come to believe in Jesus. They are known to and loved by Him, enter under His protection and remain faithful with the help of His grace, which is a pledge of the eternal life which the Good Shepherd will eventually give them. It is true that in this world they will have to strive and in the course of striving they will sustain wounds; but if they stay united to the Good Shepherd nothing and no one will snatch Christ’s sheep from Him, because our Father, God, is stronger than the Evil One. Our hope that God will grant us final perseverance is not based on our strength but on God’s mercy: this hope should always motivate us to strive to respond to grace and to be more faithful to the demands of our faith.{Navarre Bible]

30
The Father and I are one."

• The Father and Son are one in mind, will and action. Jesus does not say merely that he and the Father are “at one” but that that they are “one thing.” One in the bond of the Holy Spirit, we cannot, therefore, divide the essential unity of the Trinity when we distinguish between the three Divine Persons.
• This is one of Jesus’ hard sayings which provoke the wrath of the Jews as we hear in the next verse: “The Jews again [the first time was in John 8:59] picked up rocks to stone him.”

**30. **Jesus reveals that He and the Father are one in substance. Earlier He proclaimed that God was His Father, “making Himself equal with God”–which is why a number of times the Jewish authorities think of putting Him to death (cf. 5:18; 8:59). Now He speaks about the mystery of God, which is something we can know about only through Revelation. Later on He will reveal more about this mystery, particularly at the Last Supper (14:10; 17:21-22). It is something the evangelist reflects on at the very beginning of the Gospel, in the prologue (cf. John 1:1
and note).

“Listen to the Son Himself”, St. Augustine invites us. “I and the Father are one.' He did not say, I am the Father’ or I and the Father are one [Person].' But when He says, I and the Father are one,’ notice the two words [we are]' and one’…For if they are one, then they are not diverse; if [we] are', then there is both a Father and a Son" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 36, 9). Jesus reveals that He is one in substance with the Father as far as divine essence or nature is concerned, but He also reveals that the Father and the Son are distinct Persons: "We believe then in the Father who eternally begets the Son; in the Son, the Word of God, who is eternally begotten; in the Holy Spirit, the uncreated Person who proceeds from the Father and the Son as their eternal Love. Thus in the three divine Persons, "coaeternae sibi et coaequales", the life and beatitude of God perfectly One superabound and are consummated in the supreme excellence and glory proper to uncreated Being, and always there should be venerated Unity in the Trinity and Trinity in the Unity’” ([Pope] Paul VI, “Creed of the People of God,” 10). [Navarre Bible]

**Ver. 27. **Christ here says that his sheep hear his voice, and follow him: but let us ask ourselves, Do we cling close to this heavenly shepherd? Do we follow him, both by our faith and by our lives? Do we know him, and hear his voice? Do we fly from strangers, the world, the flesh, and the devil? If so, we are his sheep indeed; and if we persevere, he will bring us, in spite of the world, the flesh, and the devil, to the pastures of eternal life. But if we run away from our shepherd, to follow these strangers, we must expect to fall a prey to wolves. (Med. vol. ii. p. 417) Haydock Commentary]

 

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From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

753 In Scripture, we find a host of interrelated images and figures through which Revelation speaks of the inexhaustible mystery of the Church. The images taken from the Old Testament are variations on a profound theme: the People of God. In the New Testament, all these images find a new center because Christ has become the head of this people, which henceforth is his Body. Around this center are grouped images taken “from the life of the shepherd or from cultivation of the land, from the art of building or from family life and marriage.”

754 "The Church is, accordingly, a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ. It is also the flock of which God himself foretold that he would be the shepherd, and whose sheep, even though governed by human shepherds, are unfailingly nourished and led by Christ himself, the Good Shepherd and Prince of Shepherds, who gave his life for his sheep.

**458 **The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God’s love: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

**706 **Against all human hope, God promises descendants to Abraham, as the fruit of faith and of the power of the Holy Spirit. In Abraham’s progeny all the nations of the earth will be blessed. This progeny will be Christ himself, in whom the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will “gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” God commits himself by his own solemn oath to giving his beloved Son and “the promised Holy Spirit . . . [who is] the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.”

590 Only the divine identity of Jesus’ person can justify so absolute a claim as “He who is not with me is against me”; and his saying that there was in him “something greater than Jonah,. . . greater than Solomon”, something “greater than the Temple”; his reminder that David had called the Messiah his Lord, and his affirmations, “Before Abraham was, I AM”, and even “I and the Father are one.”

 

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Here are a few questions for study and reflection from my weekly Scripture study:

In the First Reading we see how the preaching of the Apostles had both successes and resulted in persecution. How has your witness to Christ seen its share of both of these? How do the promises of the Second Reading encourage you in both the joys and sorrows of your Christian walk?

Given the social conditions at the time of this event (see above), what might be the real intent of the Pharisee’s questions in verse 24?

How do the Jewish leaders interpret Jesus’ claim to be one with God (verses 31-33)? What is their reaction? Do you think they are misinterpreting Jesus’ words?

What difference does it make that Jesus is God and not just a man? Would the promise of verse 28 mean much otherwise?

Do these verses imply “once saved, always saved? Why or why not (see Matthew 10:32-33; Colossians 1:22-23; Hebrews 12:14; John 15:2-6; CCC 161-162)? What, then do these verses imply? If no one can take Jesus’ sheep out of his hand, what power does the world or the devil have over you? How then can a sheep of his be lost?

What has convinced you that Jesus is the Messiah? What “old ways” of looking at Jesus must you overcome by faith?

 

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http://alwaysready.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/2496the-good-shepherd-posters.jpg

 

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A meditation for practical application from Catholic Matters:

APPLICATION: Christ, the Son of God, is our Shepherd. He has laid down his life for us, his sheep, as he himself said (10: 11). Today he tells us in these verses which have been read, that his sheep know his voice and that they follow him. We have a very simple criterion here for judging the truth and sincerity of our faith. Do we always know his voice, do we always follow him?

The enemies of Christ, and of our eternal welfare are blaring forth their Gospel of degradation and destruction from all sides. Their message to us is to forget the future, get all the pleasure and power and prosperity we can out of this short life. It matters not to them that by so doing we are bringing suffering, slavery and misery on our fellow-men. They wish us to think of ourselves only, to let the weaker or the milder take what they deserve.

What our modern self-appointed teachers of the new heaven-on-earth for the few forget, is that all this was tried before and failed miserably. The great empires of the past, built on the same pagan philosophy as that of our new “saviors,” flourished for a while. The Masters satiated with power and pleasure, the slaves living in despair and degradation are part of history—but one by one they collapsed from internal corruption.

But something more important still which our modern world-renovators forget, or do not like to remember, is that our time on this earth is but a passing phase in our life. Our true life, our unending existence, begins when we leave this world. This is no “old-wives’ tale,” this is no opium for the common people. This is rational deduction of the reasoning of the greatest minds in human history down through the centuries. It is the universal conviction of the common men of all ages and climates. Above all, and beyond fallible human reasoning, this is the revelation that God the Creator of the universe has deigned to give to men.

Today we are once more reminded of this one basic and solid fact of life. We are destined for an eternal life. Our Good Shepherd, Christ our Savior, promised to give us this eternal life, if we listen to his voice and follow him. Any sane man or woman who knows this true fact of life can turn a very deaf ear to the modem vendors of false, temporary happiness. “They have not the truth in them” (Jn. 8:44).

 

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From Daily Reading & Meditation by Don Schwager

“My sheep hear my voice, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand”

Scripture: **John 10:27-30 **

27 *My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; *28 and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. 29 *My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. *30 *I and the Father are one." *

Meditation: Do you know the peace and security of the Good Shepherd who watches over his own? The Old Testament often speaks of God as shepherd of his people, Israel. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1). Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! (Psalm 80:1) We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3). The Messiah is also pictured as the shepherd of God’s people: He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms (Isaiah 40:11). Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd who will risk his life to seek out and save the stray sheep (Matthew 18:12, Luke 15:4). He is the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).

Jesus made three promises to his followers. He promised them everlasting life. If they accept him and follow him, they will have the life of God in them. Jesus also promised them a life that would know no end. Death would not be the end but the beginning; they would know the glory of indestructible life. Jesus promised a life that was secure. Jesus said that nothing would snatch them out of his hand, not even sorrow and death, since he is everlasting life itself. Our lives are safe in his hands. The security Jesus offers is an abiding relationship with the living God, and membership with his flock, the people of God. Jesus also promises the security of peace and protection from evil and the greatest harm that could befall us – eternal destruction. The Lord does not spare us from all trouble. In this life we will experience pain, suffering, sickness, and death. But through these the Lord will lead us to ultimate victory and safety in his everlasting home. Even in the midst of our sufferings we can find a peace and security which no one can give except God alone. We can confidently follow the Lord wherever he leads, trusting that nothing can keep us from God if we surrender our lives to him. Have you placed your life securely in God where it belongs?

Cyril of Alexander, a 5th century church father comments on Jesus as our Good Shepherd:

*“He shows in what manner a shepherd may be proved good; and He teaches that he must be prepared to give up his life fighting in defense of his sheep, which was fulfilled in Christ. For man has departed from the love of God, and fallen into sin, and because of this was, I say, excluded from the divine abode of paradise, and when he was weakened by that disaster, he yielded to the devil tempting him to sin, and death following that sin he became the prey of fierce and ravenous wolves. But after Christ was announced as the True Shepherd of all men, He laid down his life for us *(1 John 3:16), fighting for us against that pack of inhuman beasts. He bore the Cross for us, that by His own death he might destroy death. He was condemned for us, that He might deliver all of us from the sentence of punishment: the tyranny of sin being overthrown by our faith: fastening to the Cross the decree that stood against us, as it is written (Colossians 2:14). Therefore as the father of sin had as it were shut up the sheep in hell, giving them to death to feed on, as it is written in the psalms (Ps. Xlviii.16), He died for us as truly Good, and truly our Shepherd, so that the dark shadow of death driven away He might join us to the company of the blessed in heaven; and in exchange for abodes that lie far in the depths of the pit, and in the hidden places of the sea, grant us mansions in His Father’s House above. Because of this he says to us in another place: Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you a kingdom (Luke 12:32).

Do you listen attentively to the voice of the Good Shepherd and obey his word?

*“Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd. In you I place all my hope and I entrust myself to you completely. Increase my confidence in your saving grace and in your abiding presence.” *

 

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A meditation on the Second Reading from The Word Among Us:

**Meditation: Revelation 7:9,14-17 **

***God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:17) ***

In terms of eternity, how important is what you are doing now? Maintaining this perspective can help show you what’s important on your journey toward heaven. Focusing on the splendid plans God has for us can help us not get caught up in distractions or side roads that go nowhere. Consider, for example, what is in heaven and what is available here to speed us on our journey.

There, in the company of the saints and angels, God shelters us with his presence. Here, we know his presence at times when he shelters us through a near miss in a car accident or allows things to happen that prevent a questionable relationship from becoming more serious.

There, hunger and thirst are no more. Here, we can share what we have by contributing to our local food cupboard or give as little as a drink of water to someone in Jesus’ name.

There, the sun will not cause us to wither. Here, sitting a long time in an uncomfortably warm waiting room can teach us patience and hope.

There, the Lamb seated upon the throne will be our shepherd. Here, the Lamb guides us in the Eucharist and through the church.

There, God will wipe away every tear. Here, as we sit with a loved one in the last stages of cancer, we can wipe away tears ourselves as we minister Jesus’ love.

Thanks to the redemption Jesus won for us, heaven is our inheritance, and every day brings us one step closer to our true home. What’s more, every day that we live in the hope and expectation of that home, God gives us countless opportunities to manifest the glory of heaven to the world. So enjoy the trip today, knowing that the destination is amazing!

“How glorious are your promises, O Lord! Through your Son, we can experience an eternity of your love. Lord, I revel in this promise today, even as I take up the call to work out my salvation in you.”

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Questions for Individual Reflection or Group Discussion

Acts 13:14,43-52; Psalm 100:1-3,5; Revelation 7:9,14-17; John 10:27-30

1. In the first reading, Luke describes the moment when St. Paul obeys God’s command and begins giving the Good News of Christ to the Gentiles. With whom do you think God is asking you to share the news of Christ? What keeps you from doing it? The reading ends with: “The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52). Why do you think this was so?

1. In the Responsorial Psalm, we hear these words: “Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands: serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful song” (Psalm 100:1-2). What are some of the reasons listed for this joy and gladness? Our own joy and gladness is not a shallow giddiness. Because of Christ, death’s “victory” over us has been destroyed. We will live forever in an eternal experience of the love of God our Father! What can you do to make your life a greater reflection of this expectation?

1. In John’s vision of Heaven in the Second Reading, we are told of the vast number gathered around the throne of God, “from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” God’s mercy and love is for everyone. Are there people from nations, races, or tongues you exclude from your love? What about the person who cut you off in traffic? What about a boss or co-worker? What steps can you take to reflect God’s love to these persons?

1. In the Gospel, Jesus says “my sheep hear my voice”. What practical steps can you take this week to make yourself more available to “hear” the voice of Christ?

1. Also in the Gospel, are there any more comforting and reassuring thoughts than the knowledge that we are held in the Father’s and Jesus’ hands and that no one can change that? Does your daily life reflect that confidence? What can you do to build your confidence in this reality for your life?

1. In the meditation, we hear these words: “Thanks to the redemption Jesus won for us, heaven is our inheritance, and every day brings us one step closer to our true home.” How important are these words to you? Do you believe that as you ponder this heavenly reality, it will impact the way you live out your life on earth?

 

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Hearing the Voice of the Good Shepherd — A Biblical Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C

As we move away from the day of Christ’s resurrection, the Sunday Scripture readings for the Easter Season help to deepen our understanding of what happened to Jesus and to the Church through his triumph over death. On the Second Sunday of Easter, we looked carefully at the wounds of Christ and renewed friendship with him at table in a locked upper room.

The Third Sunday of Easter this year [C] enabled us to peer into the intimate lakeshore scene, leading us through the ruins of denial and despair, and offering us a chance to recommit ourselves to loving Christ as friends.

On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, we encounter the Good Shepherd who is really the beautiful or noble shepherd who knows his flock intimately. “Good Shepherd Sunday” is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations in the Church. In all three liturgical cycles the Fourth Sunday of Easter presents a passage from John’s Gospel about the Good Shepherd.

In the Old Testament, God himself is represented as the shepherd of his people. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” [Psalm 23:1]. “He is our God and we are his people whom he shepherds” [Psalm 95:7]. The future Messiah is also described with the image of the shepherd: “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care” [Isaiah 40:11].

In the Bible and the ancient Near East, “shepherd” was also a political title that stressed the obligation of kings to provide for their subjects. The title connoted total concern for and dedication to others. Shepherd and host are both images set against the background of the desert, where the protector of the sheep is also the protector of the desert traveler, offering hospitality and safety from enemies. The rod is a defensive weapon against wild animals, while the staff is a supportive instrument; they symbolize concern and loyalty.

The Ideal Image of the Good Shepherd

This ideal image of the shepherd finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is the “Good Shepherd” who goes in search of the lost sheep; he feels compassion for the people because he sees them “as sheep without a shepherd” [Matthew 9:36]; he calls his disciples “the little flock” [Luke 12:32]. Peter calls Jesus “the shepherd of our souls” [1 Peter 2:25] and the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of him as “the great shepherd of the sheep” [Hebrews 13:20].

Today’s Gospel passage [John 10:27-30] highlights two important characteristics of Jesus’ role as shepherd. The first has to do with the reciprocal knowledge that the sheep and shepherd have: “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.” The sheep remained for many years in the company of the shepherd who knew the character of each one and gave them affectionate names. Thus it is with Jesus and his disciples: he knows his disciples “by name,” intimately. He loves them with a personal love that treats each as if they were the only one who existed for him.

Continued on next post…

 

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There is also a second aspect of the shepherd’s vocation in today’s Gospel. The shepherd gives his life to his sheep and for his sheep, and no one can take them out of his hand. Wild animals and thieves were a nightmare and constant threat for the shepherds of Israel. Herein lies the difference between the true shepherd who shepherds the family’s flock, and the hired hand who works only for the pay he receives, who does not love, and indeed often hates, the sheep. When the mercenary is confronted with danger, he flees and leaves the sheep at the mercy of the wolf or bandits; the true shepherd courageously faces the danger to save the flock.

The sheep are far more than a responsibility to the Good Shepherd: they are the object of the shepherd’s love and concern. Thus, the shepherd’s devotion to them is completely unselfish; the Good Shepherd is willing to die for the sheep rather than abandon them. To the hired hand, the sheep are merely a commodity, to be watched over only so they can provide wool and mutton.

Faith is a Gift from God

Today’s Gospel passage presents to us one of the deepest mysteries of the human spirit. Faith, the ability to hear and to follow a call, is a gift to Jesus and a gift to the followers of Jesus. Why are some capable of hearing that leads to faith? Why are some capable of recognizing the Father in the words of Jesus? The only answer presented is that faith is a gift. Our God and his Son are shepherds that care for us and know us and even love us in our stubbornness, deafness and diffidence. Do we really rejoice in hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd?
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The Basic Characteristics of the Shepherd**

I cannot help but call to mind the profound teaching on the Good Shepherd that was offered to us by Pope Benedict XVI during the mass of inauguration of his Petrine Ministry five years ago, on Sunday April 24, 2005 at the Vatican. In his very first homily as the Successor of Peter, Pope Benedict said:

One of the basic characteristics of a shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ Whom he serves. ‘Feed my sheep’, says Christ to Peter, and now, at this moment, He says it to me as well. Feeding means loving, and loving also means being ready to suffer. Loving means giving the sheep what is truly good, the nourishment of God’s truth, of God’s word, the nourishment of His presence, which He gives us in the Blessed Sacrament.

Benedict continued:

For the Fathers of the Church, the parable of the lost sheep, which the shepherd seeks in the desert, was an image of the mystery of Christ and the Church. The human race – every one of us – is the sheep lost in the desert which no longer knows the way. The Son of God will not let this happen; he cannot abandon humanity in so wretched a condition. He leaps to his feet and abandons the glory of heaven, in order to go in search of the sheep and pursue it, all the way to the Cross. He takes it upon his shoulders and carries our humanity; he carries us all – he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.

The External and Internal Deserts

…The pastor must be inspired by Christ’s holy zeal: for him it is not a matter of indifference that so many people are living in the desert. And there are so many kinds of desert. There is the desert of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of loneliness, of destroyed love. There is the desert of God’s darkness, the emptiness of souls no longer aware of their dignity or the goal of human life. The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast. Therefore the earth’s treasures no longer serve to build God’s garden for all to live in, but they have been made to serve the powers of exploitation and destruction. The Church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance.

…My dear friends – at this moment I can only say: pray for me, that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me, that I may learn to love his flock more and more – in other words, you, the holy Church, each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves. Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another.”
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The Task of the Shepherd**

…Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him. The task of the shepherd, the task of the fisher of men, can often seem wearisome. But it is beautiful and wonderful, because it is truly a service to joy, to God’s joy which longs to break into the world.

Father Thomas Rosica, CSB
CEO Salt + Light Catholic Television Network

 

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From The Road to Emmaus, by Brian Pizzalato

In this Sunday’s Gospel we encounter one of the most well-known phrases of Scripture: “I am the good shepherd" (Jn 10:11, 14). Jesus repeats this phrase twice to make sure we understand it.

Beginning in John 10:1, the section right before this week’s gospel, Jesus begins to speak in terms of the imagery of shepherds and sheep. “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers…The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy,” (Jn 10:7-8, 10) he says.

With these words, Jesus is presenting an indictment the current shepherds of God’s people, namely the Pharisees. Jesus is accusing them of being thieves who come to steal, kill and destroy. The Pharisees “…held counsel with the Herodians against him [Jesus], how to destroy him” (Mk 3:6). The high priest, the chief priests and the elders “…took counsel together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him” (Mt 26:4).

Jesus brings a word of condemnation upon them by bringing to mind the false shepherds of the Old Testament.

During the time before Babylon came to conquer the Southern Kingdom of Judah God says, “‘Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!’ says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: ‘You have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord’” (Jer 23:1-2).

During Jeremiah’s time, the people have chosen to follow their own plans, “and everyone will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart” (Jer 18:12). God reacts by saying, “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, saying, ‘We are delivered!’ – only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house…become a den of robbers in your eyes?” (Jer 7:8-11).

But the people fail to learn from God’s wrath and Jeremiah’s words. During the time of their captivity inBabylon, the shepherds have still not learned their lesson. “Thus says the Lord God: Ho, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them” (Ez 34:2b-4).

And when they return from exile, the prophet Zechariah speaks to them again about the same thing. After the exile, the people asked the shepherds to sacrifice to false gods in order to receive rain and vegetation. But, as God says through Zechariah: “The teraphim utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; the dreamers tell false dreams, and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for want of a shepherd. My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders” (10:2-3a).

Continued on the next post…

 

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The book of the prophet Malachi gives us more insight into the actions of the people and their relatioship with God during this time. First, the priest shepherds are offering polluted food upon the altar and offering blind animals to God as a sacrifice (cf. Mal 1:6-8).

Secondly, they are not teaching the truths that God has revealed. “For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction” (Mal 2:7-9).

Third, the people have wearied the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied him?’ By saying, ‘every one who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.’” (Mal 2:17).

Fourth, they are robbing God. “But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation of you” (Mal 3:8-9).

Fifth, they have spoken against the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the good of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? Henceforth we deem the arrogant blessed; evildoers not only prosper but when they put God to the test they escape’” (Mal 3:13b-15).

It must also be noted however, that within the contexts of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah, there is a note of hope. God promises that he will one day be their shepherd. Having seen the New Covenant, we already know that God has kept his promise.

God says, through Ezekiel: “I, I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out…I myself will be shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice” (Ez 34:11, 15-16; also cf. Jer 23:3; Zech 11:7, 12-13).

With all of this in the background Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” Jesus is the one who “will search for my sheep, and will seek them out” (Ez 34:11). Jesus is the one who “will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice” (Ez 34:16).

However, Jesus, as the good shepherd, goes beyond what any other shepherd would do for his sheep. “The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep…No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (Jn 10:11, 18a).

We can’t just expect Jesus to be our shepherd. In order to be a member of the one flock with the one shepherd we must listen to the voice of the good shepherd.

 

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[Fidelis]

A meditation on the First Reading from Presentation Ministries:

**FILL UPS **

“The disciples could not but be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” —Acts 13:52

What if the only thing you knew how to do was “to be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit”? After Paul and Barnabas were violently abused and thrown out of town, the disciples knew how to react in only one way — not with violence, fear, unforgiveness, or bitterness but “with joy and the Holy Spirit.”

What if we were rejected, insulted, or falsely accused? We would probably know how to react with something other than joy. However, Jesus’ early disciples could be filled with joy even in terrible circumstances (Acts 5:41) because they were also filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit crucifies our flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24). We no longer know how to react in our old carnal ways. The Spirit cries out “Abba” in our hearts (Rm 8:15; Gal 4:6), proclaims “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor 12:3), and fills us with love (Rm 5:5). Under these circumstances, we forgive and love our enemies and know only how to be filled with joy. Only those filled with the Spirit can react to persecution this way. Therefore, “happy are you when you are insulted for the sake of Christ, for then God’s Spirit in Its glory has come to rest on you” (1 Pt 4:14).

**Prayer: **Father, may I react to my enemies in such a way as to puzzle non-Christians.

**Promise: **“My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” —Jn 10:27

Praise: Praise the risen Jesus, Who died for His enemies and loves them with an everlasting love. Hosanna to the King of Love!

 

[Lev23]

Reading 1
Acts 13:14, 43-52

<<< Omitted from this reading are verses 15—43a, Paul’s sermon in the synagogue at Antioch >>>

Here is what was omitted-
**Acts 13:15-42
After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak.”
Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years.

"After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

"From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’

"Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.

"We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
" 'You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.'The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words:
" 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.'So it is stated elsewhere:
" ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’

"For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

“Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
" ‘Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.’”

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.**

 

[Fidelis]

Here is what was omitted-

It is a great sermon and worthy of a study in itself! Too bad it couldn’t be included in the Sunday readings!