Monday

4th Week of Easter

1st Reading: Acts 11:1-18

In Jerusalem Peter Justifies His Conduct
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[1] Now the Apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles
also had received the word of God. [2] So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the
circumcision party criticized him, [3] saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised
men and eat with them?" [4] But Peter began and explained to them in order: [5]
"I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, something des-
cending, like a great sheet, let down from Heaven by four corners; and it came
down to me. [6] Looking at it closely I observed animals and beasts of prey and
reptiles and birds of the air. [7] And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter;
kill and eat.' [8] But I said, 'No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever
entered my mouth.' [9] But the voice answered a second time from Heaven,
'What God has cleansed you must not call common.' [10] This happened three
times, and all was drawn up again into Heaven. [11] And that very moment three
men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. [12] And
the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brethren also
accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. [13] And he told us how he
had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and bring
Simon called Peter; [14] he will declare to you a message by which you will be
saved, you and all your household.' [15] As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell
on them just as on us at the beginning. [16] And I remembered the word of the
Lord, how He said, 'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the
Holy Spirit.' [17] If then God gave the same gift to them as He gave to us when
we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?"
[18] When they heard this they were silenced. And they glorified God, saying,
"Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life."

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Commentary:

1-18. Some members of the Jerusalem community are shocked to learn that
Peter has eaten with people who are legally unclean and has allowed them to be
baptized without first being circumcised.

"The circumcision party" refers, therefore, to those Christians who are scanda-
lized by the Gospel's attitude to the ritual prohibitions and ethnic exclusiveness
of the Mosaic Law.

The Apostle's address has a positive effect and sets their mind at ease. This
attitude of the disciples, who are interested only in the will of God and the spread
of the Gospel, shows how ready they are to accept instruction: their initial reserve
was quite conscientious. Peter once again describes the vision he received
(10:9-23), to show that if he had not baptized Cornelius he would have been dis-
obeying God.

This account of the vision differs slightly from his earlier one, the main addition
being in verses 15-16, which connect the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
(2:1ff) with His descent on the Gentile converts at Caesarea (10:44).

Unfortunately the stubborn Judaizing tendencies exhibited by some members of
the infant Church took a long time to disappear, as is dramatically borne out in
some of St. Paul's letters: he refers to "false brethren secretly brought in, who
slipped in to spy on our freedom which we have in Jesus Christ, that they might
bring us into bondage" (Galatians 2:4) and warns Christians to be on their guard
against fanatics of the Law of Moses who are self-serving and "want to pervert
the Gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:7).

Gospel Reading: John 10:11-18 (Cycle A)

The Good Shepherd (Continuation)
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[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, be-
cause 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 abun-
dant 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 hire-
ling; 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 charac-
terize our personality, and be at the foundation of our priestly identity" (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 be-
havior 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 redemp-
tive 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: "Re-
member 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 be-
long 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, minis-
ters 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 price-
less 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).


Gospel Reading: John 10:1-10

The Good Shepherd
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[Jesus said to the Pharisees,] [1] "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not
enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief
and a robber; [2] but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
[3] To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own
sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he
goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. [5] A stran-
ger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice
of strangers." [6] This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand
what He was saying to them.

[7] So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the
sheep. [8] All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did
not heed them. [9] I am the door; if any one enters by Me, he will be saved, and
will go in and out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

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Commentary:

1-18. The image of the Good Shepherd recalls a favorite theme of Old Testament
prophetic literature: the chosen people is the flock, and Yahweh is their shepherd
(cf. Psalm 23). Kings and priests are also described as shepherds or pastors.
Jeremiah inveighs against those pastors who had let their sheep go astray and
in God's name promises new pastors who will graze their flocks properly so that
they will never again be harassed or anxious (cf. 23:1-6; also 2:8; 3:15; 10:21;
Isaiah 40:1-11). Ezekiel reproaches pastors for their misdeeds and sloth, their
greed and neglect of their responsibility: Yahweh will take the flock away from
them and He Himself will look after their sheep: indeed, a unique shepherd will
appear, descended from David, who will graze them and protect them (Ezekiel
34). Jesus presents Himself as this shepherd who looks after His sheep, seeks
out the strays, cures the crippled and carries the weak on His shoulders (cf.
Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7), therefy fulfilling the ancient prophecies.

From earliest times, Christian art found its inspiration in this touching image of
the Good Shepherd, thereby leaving us a representation of Christ's love for each
of us.

In addition to the title of Good Shepherd, Christ applies to Himself the image of
the door into the sheepfold of the Church. "The Church," Vatican II teaches, "is
a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ (cf. John 10:1-10).
It is also a flock, of which God foretold that He Himself would be the shepherd (cf.
Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11ff.), and whose sheep, although watched over by
human shepherds, are nevertheless at all times led and brought to pasture by
Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd and Prince of shepherds (cf. John 10:11; 1
Peter 5:4), who gave His life for His sheep (cf. John 10:11-15)" ("Lumen Gentium",
6).

1-2. The flock can be harmed in a subtle, hidden way, or in a blatant way through
abuse of authority. The history of the Church shows that its enemies have used
both methods: sometimes they enter the flock in a secretive way to harm it from
within; sometimes they attack it from outside, openly and violently. "Who is the
good shepherd? 'He who enters by the door' of faithfulness to the Church's doc-
trine and does not act like the hireling 'who sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees'; whereupon 'the wolf snatches them and scatters them'" (St. J.
Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 34).

3-5. In those times it was usual at nightfall to bring a number of flocks together
into one sheepfold, where they would be kept for the night with someone acting
as look-out. Then at dawn the shepherds would come back and open the sheep-
fold and each would call his sheep which would gather round and follow him out
of the pen (they were used to his voice because he used to call them to prevent
them from going astray) and he would then lead them to pasture. Our Lord uses
this image--one very familiar to His listeners--to teach them a divine truth: since
there are strange voices around, we need to know the voice of Christ--which is
continually addressing us through the Magisterium of the Church--and to follow
it, if we are to get the nourishment our soul needs. "Christ has given His Church
sureness in doctrine and a fountain of grace in the Sacraments. He has arranged
things so that there will always be people to guide and lead us, to remind us con-
stantly of our way. There is an infinite treasure of knowledge available to us: the
word of God kept safe by the Church, the grace of Christ administered in the
Sacraments and also the witness and example of those who live by our side and
have known how to build with their good lives a road of faithfulness to God" (St. J.
Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 34).

6. Christ develops and interprets the image of the shepherd and the flock, to en-
sure that everyone who is well-disposed can understand His meaning. But the
Jews fail to understand--as happened also when He promised the Eucharist (John
6:41-43) and spoke of the "living water" (John 7:40-43), or when He raised Lazarus
from the dead (John 11:45-46).

7. After describing His future Church through the image of the flock, Christ extends
the simile and calls Himself the "door of the sheep". The shepherds and the sheep
enter the sheepfold: both must enter through the door, which is Christ. "I", St. Au-
gustine preached, "seeking to enter in among you, that is, into your heart, preach
Christ: if I were to preach other than that, I should be trying to enter by some other
way. Through Christ I enter in, not to your houses but to your hearts. Through
Him I enter and you have willingly heard me speak of Him. Why? Because you
are Christ's sheep and you have been purchased with Christ's blood" ("In Ioann.
Evang." 47, 2-3).

8. The severe reproach Jesus levels against those who came before Him does not
apply to Moses or the prophets (cf. John 5:39, 45; 8:56; 12:41), nor to the Baptist
(cf. John 5:33), for they proclaimed the future Messiah and prepared the way for
Him. He is referring to the false prophets and deceivers of the people, among them
some teachers of the Law--blind men and blind guides (cf. Matthew 23:16-24) who
block the people's way to Christ, as happened just a little before when the man
born blind was cured (cf. John 9).
　

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].