Gospel for the 4th Sunday of Easter

From: John 10:11-18

The Good Shepherd (Continuation)

(Jesus said to the Pharisees,) [11] "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. [13] He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, [15] as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for My sheep. [16] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed My voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. [17] For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I may take it again. [18] No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from My Father."
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Commentary:

11-15. "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep": "Here", says St. John Chrysostom, "He is speaking of His passion, making it clear this would take place for the salvation of the world and that He would go to it freely and willingly" ("Hom. on St. John", 59, 3). Our Lord spoke further about giving abundant pasture; now He speaks about giving His very life: "He did what He said He would do", St. Gregory comments; "He gave His life for His sheep, and He gave His body and blood in the Sacrament to nourish with His flesh the sheep He had redeemed" ("In Evangelia Homilae", 14, "ad loc."). Hired men, on the other hand, run away if there is any danger, leaving the flock at risk. "Who is the hireling? He who sees the wolf coming and flees. The man who seeks his own glory, not the glory of Christ; the man who does not dare reprove sinners. You are the hireling; you have seen the wolf coming and have fled [...] because you held your peace; and you held your peace, because you were afraid" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann Evang.", 46, 8).

"Let them remember that their priestly ministry [...] is--in a special way--'ordered' to the great solicitude of the Good Shepherd, solicitude for the salvation of every human being. And this we must all remember: that it is not lawful for any one of us to deserve the name of 'hireling', that is to say, the name of one 'to whom the sheep do not belong', one who, 'since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees the wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; this is because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep.' The solicitude of every good shepherd is that all people 'may have life and have it to the full', so that none of them may be lost but should have eternal life. Let us endeavor to make this solicitude penetrate deeply into our souls; let us strive to live it. May it characterize our personality, and be at the foundation of our priestly identity" ([Pope] John Paul II, "Letter to Priests", 8 April 1979).

The Good Shepherd knows each of His sheep and calls it by name. This touching simile seems to be an exhortation to future pastors of the Church, as St. Peter will later on explain: "Tend the flock that is your charge, not for shameful gain but eagerly, not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:2).

"The holiness of Christ's Spouse has always been shown--as it can be seen today--by the abundance of good shepherds. But our Christian faith, which teaches us to be simple, does not bid us to be simple-minded. There are hirelings who keep silent, and there are hirelings who speak with words which are not those of Christ. That is why, if the Lord allows us to be left in the dark even in little things, if we feel that our faith is not firm, we should go to the good shepherd. He enters by the door as of right. He gives his life for others and wants to be in word and behavior a soul in love. He may be a sinner too, but he trusts always in Christ's forgiveness and mercy" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 34).

16. "One flock, one shepherd": Christ's mission extends to everyone even though His own preaching is addressed, in the first instance, to the sheep of the house of Israel, as He Himself revealed to the Canaanite woman (cf. Matthew 15:24), and even though He sent the Apostles on their first mission (cf. Matthew 10:6) to preach to the people of Israel. Now, however, foreseeing the fruits of His redemptive death (verse 15), He reveals that these will be applied to "other sheep, that are not of this fold", that is, Israel, and, after the Resurrection, He does send the Apostles to all nations (cf. Matthew 28:19), to preach the Gospel to all creation (cf. Matthew 16:15), beginning in Jerusalem and extending to all Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8). This fulfills the ancient promises about the rule of the Messiah covering the whole world (cf. Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 2:2-6; 66:17-19). The universal scope of salvation caused St. Paul to exclaim: "Remember that at one time you...were...separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:11-13; cf. Galatians 3:27-28; Romans 3:22).

The unity of the Church is to be found under one visible head, for "it was to the Apostolic College alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God" (Vatican II, "Unitatis Redintegratio", 3). It is a Catholic's constant yearning that everyone should come to the true Church, "God's one flock, which like a standard lifted high for the nations to see, ministers the Gospel of peace to all mankind, as it makes it pilgrim way in hope towards its goal, the fatherland above" ("ibid.", 2).

17-18. Jesus shows that of His own free will He will give Himself up to death for the sake of the flock (cf. John 6:51). Having been given supreme authority, Christ is free to offer Himself as a sacrifice of expiation, and He voluntarily accepts His Father's commandment, in an act of perfect obedience. "We will never fully understand Jesus' freedom. It is immense, infinite, as is His love. But the priceless treasure of His generous holocaust should move us to ask, 'Why, Lord, have you granted me this privilege which I can use to follow in Your footsteps, but also to offend You?' Thus we come to appreciate that freedom is used properly when it is directed towards the good; and that it is misused when men are forgetful and turn away from the Love of loves" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 26).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.