Breaking the Word

4^th week in Easter Time, Monday – 9^th May 2022– Gospel: Jn 10,1-10

The Good Leader

There were two ways to enter a sheepfold, depending on whether one wished to shepherd the sheep or do harm to them. The one who enters by deception is a thief; the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd. Jesus, the Good shepherd, first presents himself as the gateway for his flock. He exhibits leadership as shepherd of God’s flock and the door to God. The opposing religious leaders are thieves and bandits, who treat their sheepfold badly. The gatekeeper has no hesitation in letting the true shepherd into the fold. In contrast to the bad leaders, Jesus is the way through which the sheep are protected and the way of access to good pasture. He is the mediator who will provide them with what they need and desire: i.e., both secure protection and abundant nourishment.

4th Sunday of Easter – 08th May 2022 — Gospel: Jn 10,27-30

Recognizing the Divine Within
Jesus’ portrayal of his sheep is a description of authentic believers. Three pairs of sentences (Jn 10,27-28), of which several parts express both the faith of the sheep and the goodness of the Shepherd, by means of correlatives. On the one side, each pair of clauses point out the progress of human act and state, i.e., metaphorically referring to the sheep. The clauses on the right side pour down the divine gift, i.e., the act or gift of the Shepherd. This ensures the believer’s spiritual blessings for every step taken to follow the divine voice. The pairs proceed in a climax from the first response of the conscience which recognizes the divine voice to the eternal home which is in the Father’s presence.

1)     “My sheep hear my voice” … “and I know them”.

2)     “And they follow me” … “and I give them eternal life”.

3)     “And they shall never perish” … “no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

By reading each pair in the order of the text, we notice how at each stage the gift is proportioned to the faculty which can receive it (ear, feet, and body).  True discipleship is a gift of recognizing the divine within you. It is recognizing the shepherd’s voice in one’s heart and being attuned to follow it. The end result is that the faith in Jesus, the Shepherd unites the believer not only to Jesus but also to his Father, who has the package of life security in the present and life eternal in the next.