IV Sunday Easter:[C]:Acts 13:14, 43-52; Rev 7:9, 14-17; Jn. 10:27-30

Introduction: The fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, and it is the “World Day of Prayer for Vocations.”  The scripture lessons for this day concern the role of the shepherds of God’s flock in the Church. Each year on this Sunday, we reflect on the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who devotedly and kindly takes care of his flock. The title "pastor" means shepherd.  A shepherd leads, feeds, nurtures, comforts, corrects, and protects his flock—responsibilities that belong to every Church leader.  The earliest Christians saw Jesus as the fulfilment of the ancient Jewish dream of the good shepherd.  

Readings: In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we are presented with the apostolic work of Paul and Barnabas in Antioch. They boldly preached the Gospel of Christ to the pagans; of course, this did them no good whatsoever in the eyes of the world —they were cast out.  But they were happy to be cast out because they had sowed the seeds of the Gospel among the people and won many converts. They are presented to us as a model for ministry in the Church.  In the second reading we are told about what it will be like in heaven under the care of The Lamb who will be our shepherd and who will lead us to springs of living water.  For our Gospel reading we have the last part of Chapter 10 of John’s Gospel. In the other two years of the liturgical cycle we take in turn the other two sections of this chapter dedicated to the Good Shepherd. This year we have just the last few verses from Chapter 10.

Exegesis: Jesus plainly tells us three things, namely: 1) that we are the gift of the Father to Jesus; 2) we are his and no one can steal us from him and 3) he will give us eternal life.

First, we are the gift of the Father to Jesus. We don’t come to Jesus by ourselves - no, we are led by the Father. What a wonderful reassuring thought this is. That the Father is so interested in us and finds us so precious that he chooses to entrust us to his Son.

Second, that no one can steal us from Christ. Yes, we can reject him ourselves, if we are foolish enough to do so, but no one can take us away from him. With this in mind we need have no real fear of persecution or temptation.

Thirdly, he will give us eternal life; indeed it is his own life that he shares with us—the divine life. There is no greater thing that could happen to us than to be taken up into heaven to live with God forever.

Joke:   A man in an Armani suit, Ferragamo shoes, the latest Polarized sunglasses and a tightly knotted power tie emerges from his shiny silver BMW car, approaches a shepherd guarding his flock, and proposes a wager: "Will you give me one of your sheep, if I can tell you the exact number in this flock?"  The shepherd accepts.  "973," says the man.  The shepherd, astonished at the accuracy, says, "I'm a man of my word; take the sheep you have won."  The man picks a ‘sheep’ and begins to walk away.  "Wait," cries the shepherd, "Let me have a chance to get even.  Will you return my animal if I tell what your job is?”  "Sure," replies the man.  "You are an economist for a government think tank," says the shepherd.  "Amazing!" responds the man, "How did you deduce that?”  "Well," says the shepherd, “you drove into my field uninvited.  You asked me to pay you for information I already know, answered questions I haven’t asked, and you know nothing about my business.  Now put down my dog; it is not a sheep.”

Situations: Jesus also states very clearly I and the Father are one. This is Jesus declaring openly his divinity. That he is human is clear to his hearers, but for him to say I and the Father are one is a declaration of divinity beyond all doubt. The next line in the text, not part of our reading today is: The Jews fetched stones to stone him. They see this declaration as the highest form of heresy and, of course, this is what ultimately leads to his passion and death.

Practical Applications: 1) And we think about the need for Good Shepherds for the local communities scattered throughout the world in towns and villages. We think about our need for priests, good priests, priests who will lead us and serve us and bring us the sacraments.

2) This is the living community of the Church. This is how the faith is handed on, not by the preaching of sermons but the living sermon of our faith lived out in our communal celebration of the mass every week. Each person is vital; each person is a living part of the Body of Christ here on earth; each person giving an example to the next generation that being part of the Church is the most important thing they do.

3) Don’t worry about inspiring young people to be priests or religious; they will come along somehow or other. No, concentrate on the next generation in our Church; concentrate on handing on the faith to all the young people who live among us.

Introduction: IV Sunday of Easter

Message:  Know that Jesus is the Lord, the Lamb on the throne who will shepherd his flock and give them eternal life.  In his name, Paul and Barnabas proclaim the word of God to Jew and Gentile alike.

Saints and events in this week: 23-Tuesday-Saint George, martyr; Saint Adalbert, bishop, martyr; 24-Wednesday- Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest, martyr; 25- Thursday-Saint Mark, Evangelist.