The Word On Sunday: The Shepherd who only knows how to count to One

April 21, 2013

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Ir-Raba’ Ħadd tal-Għd

Messalin C 207

Reading 1 - Acts 13:14, 43-52

Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the sabbath they entered the synagogue and took their seats. Many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God. On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said. Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,we now turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, I have made you a light to the Gentiles,that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.” The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region. The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari - Atti tal-Appostli 13, 14. 43-52

F'dak iż-żmien, Pawlu u Barnaba minn Perge baqgħu sejrin sa ma waslu f'Antjokja ta' Pisidia. F'jum is-Sbit daħlu fis-sinagoga u qagħdu bilqiegħda. U meta xterdet il-ġemgħa tas-sinagoga, ħafna, kemm mil-Lhud u kemm mill-proseliti twajba, marru ma' Pawlu u ma' Barnaba, u dawn ħeġġewhom biex jibqgħu fil-grazzja ta' Alla. Is-Sibt ta' wara, tista' tgħid il-belt kollha nġabret biex tisma' l-kelma tal-Mulej. Il-Lhud, meta raw il-folol, imtlew bil-għira u bdew imieru lil Pawlu u jidgħulu. Imma Pawlu u Barnaba bil-kuraġġ kollu qalu: "Hekk kien meħtieġ, li l-kelma ta' Alla titħabbar lilkom l-ewwel. Billi intom qegħdin twarrbuha, u jidrilkom li ma tistoqqilkomx il-ħajja ta' dejjem, aħna se nduru fuq l-pagani. Għax hekk ordnalna l-Mulej: "Jien għamiltek dawl tal-ġnus, biex twassal is-salvazzjoni sa truf l-art." Il-pagani, meta semgħu dan, bdew jifirħu u jigglorifikaw il-kelma tal-Mulej, u dawk kollha li kienu magħżula għall-ħajja ta' dejjem emmnu. Hekk il-kelma tal-Mulej baqgħet tixtered mal-art kollha. Imma l-Lhud xewxu n-nisa twajba u magħufa u wkoll il-kbarat tal-belt, u qajmu persekuzzjoni kontra Pawlu u Barnaba u keċċewhom 'il barra minn arthom. Huma farfru għal fuqhom it-trab minn ma' riġlejhom u marru Ikonju. Iżda d-dixxipli mtlew bil-ferħ u bl-Ispirtu s-Santu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5

R. (3c) We are his people, the sheep of his flock. or:R. Alleluia.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song. R/

Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends. R/

The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations. R/

. Salm Responsorjali - Salm 99(100)

R/ Aħna l-poplu tiegħu u n-nagħaġ tal-merħla tiegħu.

Għajtu bil-ferħ lill-Mulej fl-art kollha,

aqdu bil-ferħ lill-Mulej,

idħlu quddiemu b'għana ferrieħi. R/

Kunu afu li Jaħweh hu Alla:

hu ħalaqna, u aħna tiegħu,

aħna l-poplu tiegħu u n-ngħaġ tal-megħa tiegħu. R/

Għax twajjeb il-Mulej,

għal dejjem it-tjieba tiegħu;

.minn żmien għal żmien il-fedelta' tiegħu. R/

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Reading 2 - Revelations 7:9, 14b-17

I, John, had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. Then one of the elders said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “For this reason they stand before God’s throne and worship him day and night in his temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them. They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Qari - Apokalissi ta' San Ġwann Appostlu 7, 9. 14-17

Jien, Ġwanni, ħarist,u ara, kien hemm kotra kbira li ħadd ma jista' jgħoddha, minn kull ġens u tribu', minn kull poplu u lsien, weqfin quddiem it-tron u quddiem il-Ħaruf , lebsin ilbiesi twal bojod, u bil-friegħi tal-palm f'idejhom. U wieħed mix-Xjuħ qalli: "Dawn huma dawk li ġejjin mit-taħbit il-kbir, u l-ilbiesi tagħhom ħasluhom u bajduhom fid-demm tal-Ħaruf. Għalhekk jinsabu quddiem it-tron ta' Alla, lejl u nhar jaqduh fit-tempju tiegħu; u dak li qiegħed fuq it-tron jeħodhom jgħammru taħt il-kenn tiegħu. Ma jbatux aktar ġuħ, anqas għatx ma jagħmel bihom aktar; ix-xemx ma taħkimhomx, u anqas ebda għomma, ladarba l-Ħaruf, li hemm f'nofs it-tron, ikun ir-ragħaj tagħhom; u hu jwassalhom ħdejn ilmijiet tal-għejun tal-ħajja. U Alla jixxuttalhom kull demgħa minn għajnejhom." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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Gospel - John 10:27-30

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju

Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Ġwann. 10, 27-30

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal: "In-nagħaġ tiegħi jisimgħu leħni, u jien nagħrafhom, u huma jimxu warajja. U jiena nagħtihom il-ħajja ta' dejjem; u huma ma jintilfu qatt, u minn idejja ma jaħtafhomli ħadd . Missieri, li tahomli, hu akbar minn kulħadd, u ħadd ma' jista' jaħtafhom minn id l-Missier. Jien u l-Missier aħna ħaġa waħda." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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COMMENTARY by Father Cantalamessa

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday's liturgy.

The Good Shepherd only knows how to count to one

In all three liturgical cycles the Fourth Sunday of Easter presents a passage from John's Gospel about the good shepherd. After having led us among the fishermen last Sunday, this Sunday the Gospel takes us among the shepherds. These are two categories of equal importance in the Gospels. From the one comes the designation "fishers of men," from the other "shepherd of souls." Both are applied to the apostles.

The larger part of Judea was a plateau with inhospitable and rocky soil, more adapted to livestock than to agriculture. Grass was scarce and the flock had to continually travel from one spot to another; there were no walls for protection and because of this the shepherd always had to be with the flock. A traveler of the last century has left us a portrait of the shepherd of Palestine: "When you see him in a high pasture, sleepless, a gaze that searches in the distance, weather-beaten, leaning on his staff, ever attentive to the movements of the flock, you understand why the shepherd acquired such importance in the history of Israel that they gave this title to their kings and Christ assumed it as an emblem of self-sacrifice."

In the Old Testament, God himself is represented as the shepherd of his people. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" (Psalm (23:1). "He is our God and we are his people whom he shepherds" (Psalm 95:7). The future Messiah is also described with the image of the shepherd: "Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care" (Isaiah 40:11). This ideal image of the shepherd finds its complete realization in Christ. He is the good shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep; he feels compassion for the people because he sees them "as sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36); he calls his disciples "the little flock" (Luke 12:32). Peter calls Jesus "the shepherd of our souls" (1 Peter 2:25) and the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of him as "the great shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20).

This Sunday's Gospel passage highlights some of the characteristics of Jesus the good shepherd. The first has to do with the reciprocal knowledge that the sheep and shepherd have: "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me." In certain countries of Europe sheep are raised principally for their meat; in Israel they were raised above all for wool and milk. For this reason they remained for many years in the company of the shepherd who knew the character of each one and gave them affectionate names.

What Jesus wants to say with these images is clear. He knows his disciples (and, as God, all men), he knows them "by name," which for the Bible means their innermost essence. He loves them with a personal love that treats each as if they were the only one who existed for him. Christ only knows how to count to one, and that one is each of us.
The Gospel passage tells us something else about the good shepherd. He gives his life to his sheep and for his sheep, and no one can take them out of his hand. Wild animals -- wolves and hyenas -- and bandits were a nightmare for the shepherds of Israel. In such isolated places they were a constant threat. This was the moment in which is revealed the difference between the true shepherd -- the one who shepherds the family's flock, who does this for his life's work -- and the hired hand, who works only for the pay he receives, who does not love, and indeed often hates, the sheep.

Confronted with danger, the mercenary flees and leaves the sheep at the mercy of the wolf or bandits; the true shepherd courageously faces the danger to save the flock. This explains why the liturgy proposes the passage about the good shepherd to us during the time of Easter -- the moment in which Christ showed that he is the good shepherd who gives his life for his sheep.