I am the Good Shepherd

The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Ir-Raba’ Ħadd tal-Għid

Messalin B  289

Reading 1         -             ACTS 4:8-12

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: “Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.  There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari  -   mill-Ktieb ta' l-Atti ta' l-Appostli 4, 8-12

F'dak iż-żmien,  Pietru, mimli bl-Ispirtu s-Santu, wieġeb: "Kapijiet tal-poplu u xjuħ, intom illum qegħdin tistħarrġuna fuq il-ġid li għamilna lil wieħed marid, u  biex dan fieq.  Mela kunu afu intom ilkoll, u l-poplu kollu ta' Israel, jekk dan ir-raġel hu hawn quddiemkom qawwi u sħiħ, dan ġara bis-saħħa tal-isem ta' Ġesu' Kristu ta'  Nażaret,  li intom sallabtuh u li Alla qajmu mill-imwiet  Dan Ġesu' hu l-ġebla li intom, il-bennejja,  warrabtu u  li saret  saret il-ġebla tax-xewka.   F'ħadd ħliefu  ma hemm salvazzjoni, għax imkien taħt  is-sema ma  hemmx isem ieħor mogħti lill-bnedmin li  bih aħna għandna nkunu salvi."  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                   PSalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

R. (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone or:  Alleluia.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.                                                R.

I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.                                          R.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.                             R.

Salm Responsorjali                    -              Salm 117(118) 

R/   Il-ġebla li warrbu l-bennejja saret il-ġeba tax-xewka. Jew   Hallelujah,  Hallelujah,  Hallelujah.

Faħħru 'l-Mulej, għaliex hu tajjeb,

għax għal-dejjem it-tjieba tiegħu!

Aħjar tistkenn fil-Mulej

milli tittama fil-bnedmin.

Aħjar  tistkenn fil-Mulej

milli tittama fil-kbarat.                 R/

Niżżik ħajr talli weġibtni

u kont għalija s-salvazzjoni tiegħi.

Il-ġebla li warrbu l-bennejja

saret il-ġebla tax-xewka.

Bis-saħħa tal-Mulej seħħ dan:

ħaġa tal-għaġeb f'għajnejna.                     R/

Imbierek minn ġej f'isem il-Mulej!

Inberkukom  minn dar il-Mulej.

Alla tiegħi, jien lilek inkabbar..

Faħħru l-Mulej, għaliex hu tajjeb,

għax għal dejjem it-tjieba tiegħu!          R/

Reading 2         -              1 JohN 3:1-2

Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Qari     -   mill-Ewwel Ittra ta' San Ġwann 3,1-2

Egħżież,  araw b'liema għożża ħabbna l-Missier; nistgħu nissejħu wlied Alla, u  hekk  aħna tassew. Għalhekk id-dinja ma tagħrafniex, għax ma għariftx lilu. Egħżież, issa aħna wlied Alla, imma  x'se nkunu 'l quddiem mhuwiex irrivelat lilna. Madankollu nafu li meta jidher`,  aħna nkunu bħalu, għax narawh kif inhu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                                                                JohN 10:11-18

Jesus said:  “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju  -   skond San Ġwann Appostlu 10, 11-18

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal:  "Jiena r-ragħaj it-tajjeb. Ir-ragħaj it-tajjeb jagħti ħajtu għan-nagħaġ tiegħu. Il-mikri, li mhuwiex ir-ragħaj, u li n-nagħaġ mhumiex  tiegħu,   jara l-lupu ġej, u jħalli n-nagħaġ, u jaħrab; u l-lupu jaħtafhom u jxerridhom.   Mikri hu, ma   jħabbilx rasu min-nagħaġ. Jien r-ragħaj it-tajjeb; jiena nagħraf in-nagħaġ tiegħi, u n-nagħaġ tieghi jagħarfu lili,  bħalma l-Missier jagħraf  lili u jiena nagħraf lill-Missier; u għan-nagħaġ tiegħi  nagħti ħajti.    Għandi wkoll nagħaġ oħra, li mhumiex   minn dan il-maqjel: lilhom ukoll jeħtieġ li niġbor, u  huma  jisimgħu leħni, u jkun hemm merħla waħda,  ragħaj wieħed. Għalhekk  iħobbni l-Missieri, għax jiena nagħti  ħajti, biex nerġa' neħodha.   Ħadd ma  jeħodhieli,  iżda jien nagħtija minn rajja.  Għandi setgħa li  nagħtiha, u għandi s-setgħa li nerġa neħodha; din hi  l-ordni li ħadt mingħand Missieri." Il-Kelma  tal-Mulej

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Father Cantalamessa on the Flock of Christ

The Fourth Sunday of Eastertide is called "Good Shepherd Sunday." To understand the importance that the theme of the shepherd has in the Bible, one must go back to history.

The Bedouins of the desert give us today an idea of what was, at one time, the life of the tribes of Israel. In that society the relationship between the shepherd and the flock is not only of an economic type, based on interest. An almost personal relationship was developed between the shepherd and the flock. Days and days were spent together in solitary places, without any one around. The shepherd ended up by knowing everything about each sheep; the sheep recognized the voice of the shepherd, who talked frequently to the sheep, and distinguishes his voice among all others.

This explains why God made use of this symbol to express his relationship with humanity. One of the Psalter's most beautiful psalms describes the security of the believer in having God as shepherd: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Subsequently the title shepherd is given, by extension, also to those who act for God on earth: kings, priests, leaders in general. But in this case the symbol is divided: It no longer evokes images of protection and security, but also of exploitation and oppression.

Along with the image of the good shepherd appears that of the evil shepherd, of the mercenary. In the prophet Ezekiel we come across a terrible accusation against evil shepherds who only feed themselves, followed by God's promise to look after his flock himself (Ezekiel 34:1ff).

In the Gospel Jesus takes up the idea of the good and evil shepherd, but with a novelty. "I am the good shepherd!" he says. God's promise has become a reality, exceeding all expectations. Christ does what no shepherd does, no matter how good he is: He is prepared to "Give my life for the sheep."

The man of today rejects with contempt the role of the sheep and the idea of a flock, but he does not realize that he is completely inside it. One of the most obvious phenomena of our society is its "massification." We let ourselves be led in a supine manner by all kinds of manipulation and concealed persuasion.

Others create models of well-being and behavior, ideals and objectives of progress, and we follow them; we go behind them, afraid to be out of step, conditioned and kidnapped by advertising. We eat what they tell us, we dress as they show us, we speak as we hear them speak, in slogans. The criteria by which the majority let themselves be led in their choices is "Così fan tutti" (Everybody does it), of Mozartian memory.

Look how the life of the masses develops in a large modern city: It is the sad image of a flock that goes out together, is agitated, and crowds the cars of trains and subways and then, in the evening, returns to the sheepfold empty of self and of freedom. We smile in amusement when we see a people filmed in fast-forward, moving by leaps and bounds, speedily, as puppets, but it is the image we would have of ourselves if we looked with less superficial eyes.

The Good Shepherd, who is Christ, proposes that, with him, we experience liberation. To belong to his flock is not to fall into "massification," but to be preserved from it. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17), says St. Paul.

Here the person emerges, with his unique richness and true destiny. The son of God emerges, still hidden, of which the second letter of this Sunday speaks: "Beloved, now we are children of God, though we do not yet know what we shall be."

[Translation by ZENIT]  © Innovative Media Inc.