First reading, Acts 4:8-12 explained: After describing the Ascension of Jesus in the first chapter and the Descent of the Holy Spirit in the second chapter, the Acts of the Apostles describes in its third chapter Peter’s healing and preaching ministry. The healing of the cripple and the resulting evangelization by Peter resulted in his arrest by the Temple guards. They hauled Peter, with John, his companion, to the assembly of the leaders, elders and the scribes. Today’s reading tells us that in the trial before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:5-22), Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit to bear a renewed Easter witness to the Son of God, Jesus Christ the Nazarene, who had been unjustly crucified, but whom God had raised from the dead. Peter explained that he had healed the cripple in the name of Jesus, whom the Jews had despised and rejected but whom God had made into the cornerstone (kephale gonias in Greek), of the Kingdom of God. What moved Peter to act on behalf of the cripple was his Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who, as the Good Shepherd, cares for such people. In imitation of the Lord who had always cared for the sick and the lowly, Peter was also moved by the same risen Lord to command the healing, then reach out to assist the cripple to stand, — which he did — and then, “walking, leaping and praising God,” the formerly-crippled may, fully healed, entered the Temple with Peter and John. The people, recognizing the formerly crippled beggar, flocked to the pair in great excitement. It was then that Peter made the startling statement about salvation coming only through Christ Jesus: “Salvation is to be found through Him alone. In all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us.”

SOURCE: Fr. Tony's Homilies / Used with permission

Second Reading, 1 John 3:1-2 explained: The New American Bible in its introduction to John’s letters states that John wrote these letters to the Judeo-Christian community some of whose members were advocating false doctrines (2:18-26; 3:7). They refused to accept the full Divinity and full humanity of Jesus, disregarded the commandment of love of neighbor, refused to accept Faith in Christ as the source of sanctification, and denied the redemptive value of Jesus’ death.  After recognizing and correcting these errors, John, in today’s second reading, reminds his people that they should remember their privileges. First, it is their privilege to be called the children of God. John clarifies that we are not merely called the children of God; we are God’s children in actuality. It is by grace, through Baptism, that we become God’s children. The more we know and love the God we believe in, the more we will strive to act and live as God’s children, and so, gradually become more and more like the God we believe in. The culmination of all our privileges as children of God will occur when Christ appears, for only then will we see him “as He really is,” and then we shall be like Him!

SOURCE: Fr. Tony's Homilies / Used with permission

Gospel exegesis: The context: It was in the wintertime, probably the time of the Jewish Hanukkah feast (the Feast of Dedication), which commemorated the triumph of the Jewish commander Judas Maccabaeus over the Syrian leader Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 165 B.C.  Jesus was walking on the east side of the Temple, which offered protection against the cold winds from the desert.  The Jews had gathered round him.  They were not sure whether or not Jesus was the promised Messiah.  They tried to assess the situation by asking Jesus whether he was the Christ or simply a wandering preacher, one of the many wandering preachers and healers.   Instead of giving them a straight answer, Jesus tells them that he is the Good Shepherd and explains to them his role as such.

Shepherds in the Old Testament:  In the Old Testament, the image of the Shepherd is often applied to God as well as to the leaders of the people.  The book of Exodus several times calls Yahweh a Shepherd.  Likewise, the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel compare Yahweh’s care and protection of His people to that of a shepherd.   “He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against His breast and leading the mother ewes to their rest.” (Is 40:11).  Ezekiel represents God as a loving Shepherd Who searches diligently for his lost sheep.  Psalm 23 is David’s famous picture of God as The Good Shepherd: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want; He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul.”(Ps 23:1-2). The prophets often use harsh words to scold the selfish and insincere shepherds (or leaders of the people),  of their day. For example, the Lord God, through Jeremiah, decrees: “Doom for the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed and scattered”(Jer 23:1). Through Ezekiel, the Lord God scolds the religious leaders promising them, “Trouble for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shepherds ought to feed their flock” (Ez 34:2).

The Good Shepherd in the New Testament: Introducing himself as the Good Shepherd of his flock, Jesus makes five claims in today’s Gospel:

1) He knows his sheep and his sheep hear his voice: Just as the Palestinian shepherds knew each sheep of their flock by name, and each sheep knew its shepherd and his voice, so Jesus knows each one of us, our needs, our merits, and our faults.  Of course, the knowledge talked of here is not mere intellectual knowing but the knowledge that comes from love and experience, and leads  one to express care and concern for all others. Jesus loves us as we are, with all our limitations, and he expects us to receive and return his love by keeping his word.  He speaks to us at every Mass, through the Bible, through our pastors, through our parents, family, and friends, and through the events of our lives.  “God whispers to us in our pleasures, He speaks to us in our consciences, and He SHOUTS in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world!” (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, Ch. 6 “Human Pain”).

2) He gives eternal life to his sheep by receiving us into his sheepfold through Baptism. Jesus also strengthens our Faith by giving us the Holy Spirit in Confirmation,  supplies food for our souls in the Holy Eucharist and the Divine words of the Holy Bible, and he makes our society holy by the Sacraments of Matrimony and the Priesthood.

3) He protects his sheep by placing them in the loving hands of his Almighty Father.  Without Him to guide us and protect us, we are easy prey for the spiritual wolves of this world: that includes Satan, as well as the seven deadly sins of   pride, avarice, envy, gluttony, anger, lust and sloth.

4) .  He goes in search of his stray lambs and heals his sick ones. In the first part of chapter ten of John’s Gospel, Jesus adds two more roles to the work of the good shepherd.  Jesus heals the wounds of our souls by the Sacrament of Reconciliation and strengthens us in illness and old age by the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

5) Jesus dies for his sheep:  Just as the shepherds of ancient days protected their sheep from wild animals and thieves by risking their own lives and even dying, so Jesus suffered and died in expiation for the sins of all people.

In the final part of today’s Gospel, Jesus invites those who are touched and saved by the love of the Shepherd, to shepherd and care for others. “There are other sheep that are not of this fold and these I have to lead as well.” Though Jesus cares for his own, he loves all of us and takes responsibility for all of us without exception, for God has created all of us and loves us all. Jesus ultimately dies because he cares for all peoples.

“The other sheep.” Jesus’ reference to other sheep and to one flock (v. 16) points to the universality and unity of the community of believers.  By “the other sheep” Jesus probably meant the poor, the tax collectors and sinners who were generally ostracized by society. Like the Jews, the earliest Church considered the Gentiles and unbelievers as the “other sheep”; that error ended while Peter was still living, and Paul combatted it throughout his ministry to the Gentiles.  We are now being challenged to recognize our own list of those whom we fear or scorn because their attitudes or behaviors differ from ours. Let us pray for the day when there will be “one flock, one Shepherd,” both in this world and in our own hearts.

Bishop Clarke provides us with  an excellent commentary on the “other sheep” and the responsibilities the Church recognizes  and teaches that we all have to them: “The document you refer to is called Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, which was issued in 1964 by the Ecumenical Council of Vatican II. In Chapter 2 it focuses on “The People of God.” The bishops insist that all people are called to belong to the new People of God, to a catholic unity (#13). The bishops recognized that there are non-Catholic Christians (#15), Jews, Moslems and even “heathens” who have never heard of Christ or God (#16). Yet, they are “related to the People of God in various ways,” and “those too may achieve eternal salvation” (#16) if they try to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience. We are all called to the fullness of Truth and the unity found only in the Roman Catholic Church. It is the sacramental life of the Church, God’s chosen way, that strengthens us on our spiritual journey. Together with the doctrinal safety provided by our Church’s official Magisterium (teaching office), we are enabled or empowered or offered the means to respond properly to our call to holiness. We are called to follow the Good Shepherd, and be united under the leadership of the Pope, who is the successor to St. Peter. So our Catholic task always remains the same: to spread the Good News by word and action, and do everything we can to work towards unity in the People of God under the leadership of our Holy Father, Pope  John Paul II. Until there is unity, our mission work is not complete. We respect other people’s beliefs; but we always lovingly invite them to come into the embrace of “one flock under one shepherd.” (Bishop Clarke).

SOURCE: Fr. Tony's Homilies / Used with permission