4th Sunday of Easter, May 3, 2020

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Gospel: John 10:1–10

Themes: In Jesus we trust; He gives us life in abundance

John 10:1–10

Jesus said to the Pharisees: “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

A distillation of ideas from various sources, including “America”, “First Impressions” and others:

We now jump from post resurrection narratives to a speech Jesus made to the Pharisees earlier in his ministry right after he cured the man born blind; this is common in the lectionary where readings are not necessarily sequential, but are often organized thematically. But why inset this speech here? John Harrington, S.J, said: through his resurrection the slain Lamb has become for straying sheep “the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” This startling transformation is a neat summary of what Christians believe about the paschal mystery. I also think it is to remind us that Jesus’s whole life had a mission, a purpose. There were many hints in John of what this purpose was, and who Jesus was, but there is a hope here that after realizing the importance of the resurrection as an event, we must also realize that it is part of the entire mission of Jesus, and therefore, the mission of all his disciples down through the ages: to care for one another and a shepherd does the sheep, and to bring life in abundance wherever and whenever we can to those around us.

We begin today to consider two images that Jesus gives of himself: the first is that of a gate and the second that of a shepherd.

We have to imagine a sheepfold as an area surrounded by walls or wooden fencing but open to the sky, and with only one entrance.  The walls kept the sheep from wandering and protected them from wild animals at night.  Only a genuine shepherd enters the sheepfold through the single gate.  Thieves and brigands will try to enter by another way, such as by climbing over the walls or breaking through the fence. “All who came before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep do not listen to them.”  Jesus is referring to all the “false shepherds”, including some of the Pharisees and religious leaders of his time who are quite unlike the true prophets of the past. The real shepherd, however, enters by the gate and is recognized and admitted by the gatekeeper (the one mentioned above who sleeps across the entrance).  There are many sheep in the sheepfold belonging to different shepherds so the shepherd calls his own sheep out one by one.  He then walks ahead of them and they follow their shepherd because they know his voice.  They never follow strangers.  (This is quite different from the European or Australian custom where the sheep are driven from behind.)

We are told that his hearers failed to understand the meaning of what Jesus said.  They failed to realize that the parable applied particularly to the religious leaders. (Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in this section—those who purported to be examples of proper religious observance). So he spoke more clearly: “I AM the gate of the sheepfold.”  On the contrary, Jesus, as the Gate, the Way, has come “that they may have life and have it to the full.”  This is a constant theme we have heard many times already and especially in chapter 6 about Jesus as the food and nourishment giving us life. But it is not mere existence that Jesus promises here, it is life in abundance. What do we think Jesus means by life in abundance?

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • How do you respond to the biblical imagery of sheep and shepherds? Is it helpful? Or does it put you off? Why?
  • Have you even been a position to guide someone else? How did it work out? How did you feel?
  • Have you ever been nurtured in your faith life by someone who had your best interests at heart?
  • Have you been aware of the promptings of the spirit in your own life to date? Where did it lead you?
  • What do you see is your role in this Catholic community of which you are a part?
  • How someone speaks to us can be life-giving or harsh and destructive… What has generally been the quality of things spoken to you—harsh and unforgiving, or inviting and nurturing, calling you to growth and to life?
    What is the quality of your messages to others?
  • What in our culture keeps us from hearing the voice of the good shepherd?
    How do you distinguish His voice from all of the other voices that clamor for our attention? (our prevailing culture, advertisers, messages from our childhood, for example)
  • From “Sacred Space,” a service of the Irish Jesuits:
    What lifts your spirit, satisfies your soul, gives you lasting peace and fills you with life?
    What drains you, steals your energy, leaves you lifeless and empty?
    Native Americans have been known to tell their children that deeply imbedded in our hearts are two wolves each wanting to kill the other… the child is meant to ask: “And who wins?” The parent wisely answers: “The one you feed the most.”
    What wolf are you feeding?
  • In what ways are you only half-alive (boredom, pain, loneliness, sadness)?
    When have you felt gloriously alive?
  • What does it mean to you to “have life”?
    How about “life in abundance”? Does this mean that you should always expect to be rich, health, important, successful? Does it mean you should always love what you do, be excited about your life, be happy all the time? Insert your definition/expectation of the promise to have life in abundance…
  • What does it mean to you to be alive in Christ?
    Walter Burghardt, S.J. said: “Eternal life does not begin at death, it begins when we believe.” Or as John 17 puts it: "Eternal life consists in this; that they know you, the only true God, and the one you sent, Jesus Christ.”
    Do you realize you are living in eternal life right now?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

One translation of Psalm 23 is : “The Lord is my Shepherd, he keeps me from wanting what I can’t have.”
“And what you thought you came for is only a shell, a husk of meaning from which the purpose breaks only when it is fulfilled, if at all. Either you had no purpose or the purpose is beyond the end you figured and is altered in fulfillment.” (T.S. Eliot: “Little Gidding”)
I make a list of all the things I want at this moment.
Then I think of something that I really wanted that I didn’t get; and something that I didn’t even want that somehow came my way. How have these things impacted my life for good or for ill? Have I been able to see the hand of God working things out for the best? I go back to the list of things I want and offer each one to the wisdom of the Shepherd's providence.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read Psalm 23, then transpose the words so that you are speaking directly to God. (i.e. “Lord, you are my good shepherd, I shall not want. Rich and green are the pastures where you give me repose,” etc.) Savor each phrase as you speak from your heart to the God who loves you and wants what is best for you, the Lord who wants you to be happy in your relationship with your God. Then Imagine God Speaking the words of this psalm to you directly: “I am your good shepherd, you shall want nothing.” At the end, take time simply to be silent and rest in the immensity of God’s loving embrace.