Rev. James M. Donohue, C.R.
Father Jim is the Vicar-Provincial of the Ontario-KentuckyProvince and a professor and chair of the Theology Department at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD., where he has taught since 1996. His research and publications deal primarily with the rites of sickness, dying, and death. He teaches courses in systematics, such as Christology and Sacraments, and in pastoral education, such as theology of Lay Ministry, Skills for Ministry, and Youth Ministry.
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
April 22, 2018
GATHERING TIME (10-15 minutes)
Introduction to the Word:
At times, when we hear Christians speak of the afterlife, it sounds as though they are influenced more by Plato than by the New Testament. Christians often will reflect upon the immortality of the soul. However, that is only half of the story, for Christians believe not only in the immortality of the soul, but also in the resurrection of the body! Every time we recite the Apostles’ Creed together, we are reminded that we believe “… in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” It was Plato who maintained that we should want to get free of the material world and our bodies which imprison us. The New Testament, on the other hand, has a very different view of the material world, our bodies, and how they are involved in our future destiny.
From the beginning, God saw God’s creation as something that is “good.” Each step of creation in Genesis 1 is concluded with God’s observation that it is “good.” It is into this good creation that God freely entered, taking on the reality of the created universe and entering into the history of humankind. In this regard, we might think of the ancient Christological hymn in Philippians 2, where we were reminded on Passion Sunday that “though He was in the form of God,” Jesus “emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave.” The bodily resurrection of Jesus means that Jesus has taken “the very stuff of creation” into the life of the Trinity. This act of God—raising Jesus bodily from the dead—is the anticipation of our own destiny. The resurrection of Jesus is the “first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:20), for He is the “firstborn from the dead” (Col 1:18) and the “firstborn of many brothers and sisters” (Rom 8:29). God’s plan for us is that we will be united with God. By taking on flesh and suffering death, Jesus has, through His resurrection, blazed a path for us to follow so that God’s most wonderful plan for us will be realized.
Warm Up Activity:
When you think of life after death, how do you imagine it? Do you think of an immortal soul? A resurrected body? Does it make any difference what we imagine? If you think it does not matter, think about some of the implications for our body and all the elements of the created world if they are discarded in the end. If they are not part of God’s final plan, does it really matter how we treat our bodies and all of creation? What would we make of Paul’s declaration that in the end “All things will be summed up in Christ” (Eph 1:10)?
The Table of the Word
Through much of the Old Testament period, people thought that the dead went to “Sheol,” the abode of the dead. It was a rather bleak existence, devoid of light, sound, feelings, and, in the view of most, even the presence of God. In the centuries before Jesus, many Jews began to believe that there must be something else to look forward to, other than this type of “non-existence” in Sheol. This new hope in a different future emerged during the terrible persecutions of King Antiochus Epiphanes IV, a Syrian king who wanted the Jewish people to abandon their ancestral customs, including following the law, circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, etc. The situation was so bad—you can read about it in 1 Maccabees 1-2—that people began to reason that if God’s faithfulness cannot be experienced in this world, then it MUST manifest itself in the world to come. In this view, at the end of time, there will be a resurrection of all the dead. This resurrection will involve a judgment so that those who seem powerful in this world—like the wicked King Antiochus—will be revealed for who they are: evil tyrants who brought about suffering to innocent people and who are deserving of everlasting death. But, in this judgment, those who seem foolish—i.e., those who would not give in to the King, even to save their lives—will be revealed for who they are: good and faithful people who are deserving of everlasting life. (See Daniel 12:2—“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, others to reproach and everlasting disgrace.”)
At the time of Jesus, there were different Jewish religious groups in Palestine. While the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, other groups, such as the Pharisees, looked forward to the end of time when all would be raised from the dead. After Jesus’ death, His disciples began to proclaim a rather startling thing: that Jesus had been raised from the dead. The difficulty with this (besides the claim of being raised from the dead!!!) is that Jewish belief thought that this would happen not to one person, but to everyone, and that it would happen at the end of time. For the earliest followers of Jesus, then, this could only mean one thing: it is the beginning of the end! Hence, even today, we think of ourselves living in “the end time,” only waiting for the final results of the victory that has already been won over sin and death. In this light, Jesus is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:20), for He is the “first born from the dead” (Col 1:18) and the “firstborn of many brothers and sisters” (Rom 8:29).
Leader: As we gather to hear God’s Word proclaimed, we pray for a heart open to God’s Spirit of mercy and forgiveness.
Lord Jesus, you are our cornerstone,Lord, have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you love us and call us your children,Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you lay down your life for your own,Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray
(together)
What love you have bestowed on us, O God,
that we should be called your children, born again in Christ by water and the Spirit.
What love you have lavished that we should be gathered into the fold of a Shepherd whose life is freely given for us. Keep us safe, make us one,
and gather all your scattered children into the one fold of this one Shepherd.
We ask this through the Lord Jesus, our Passover and our peace, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever. Amen
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION TIME(45 minutes)
(As Christians we believe that the WORD of God we hear proclaimed each Sunday is an empowering Word, and that God is present in the Word proclaimed. This is the Word that God wants us to hear today. The dynamic of the Small Christian Community, namely, reflecting on our life-story within the context of this Word, and sharing the insights of these reflections, is such that God’s Spirit becomes present, and the gifts of the Spirit are experienced as empowering and life-giving. )
FIRST READING(Acts 4:7–12)
While Peter and John were speaking to the people about the resurrection of Jesus, the captain of the temple arrested them and placed them in custody.
The next day the rulers, elders and scribes assembled. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.
“This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
SECOND READING (1 John 3:1–2)
Beloved: See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God; and that is what 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 will be had not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL(John 10:11–18)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John. Glory to you, O Lord.
Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, which is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away – and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
“For this reason 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 of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Lectio Divina means “sacred reading.” It was a popular form of prayer in the early Church. This Word proclaimed today is God’s own Word, God’s way of speaking to you today through his own Spirit. So take a few moments to be quiet, allowing this Word you have just heard to touch you as you reflect quietly on the three readings. Is there a word or thought that somehow attracts you or has your interest? If so, simply identify it—no need to explain it—just identify it.
COMMENTARY:
First Reading: If we read a bit further, we find that the religious authorities recognize that Peter and John were “uneducated, common men” who had been with Jesus. As they confer among themselves as to what they should do, the religious authorities realize that the disciples have performed a “notable sign.” They think that they can silence the disciples with a warning to not speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter responds: “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard!” Although the religious authorities want to punish them further, they fear the response of the people who “praised God for what had happened.” Interestingly, the disciples—these ordinary unlearned people—are now confronting the same authorities who had put Jesus to death. The Spirit gives the disciples the courage and the wisdom to respond, just as Jesus had promised: “When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defence will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say” (Lk 12:11-12). This story also portrays the early hostility that the Jewish religious authorities had toward the early followers of Jesus—a split that was probably well underway at the time that Luke writes Luke-Acts.
Second Reading: The expression “children of God” can be connected to the Prologue of John’s gospel where the author maintains that believers in Jesus are called “children of God.” This designation does not come from “natural generation” or “human choice” or “a person’s decision,” but from God (John 1:12-13). The power to bring about this new relationship has been given to Jesus and it is bestowed on those who accept Him. In John 3 where Nicodemus (a member of the Sanhedrin) is instructed by Jesus about being born anew, Nicodemus mistakenly thinks that Jesus is saying that he needs to be “born again” instead of being born “from above.” The latter phrase clearly indicates that becoming “children of God” is God’s work. This idea is reinforced in the story that follows the one with Nicodemus, when John the Baptist responds to the presence of Jesus, saying, “No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven” (John 3:27).
Gospel: The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd was the most popular one in the early Church—and no wonder. The Old Testament has many significant passages that use this image to describe God’s care for God’s people. We might think of Psalm 23 as an example: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall lack. In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul.” The image of the shepherd is also used by Jeremiah who accuses the leaders, both religious and secular, of failing to “shepherd” Israel: “The experts in the law did not know me; the shepherds rebelled against me” (Jer 2:8). Pleading for Israel to return to the God’s ways, God promises to provide Israel with a new kind of shepherd: “I will appoint for you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently” (Jer 3:15). The gospel writers see Jesus as this type of shepherd. Mark tells us that when Jesus looks out at the vast crowd,His heart was moved with compassion, “for they were like sheep without a shepherd” (6:34). John reminds us that Jesus, unlike the hired hand, is willing to lay down His life for His sheep. This is a wonderful image that points to a practice among shepherds in the hill country. They would make a rough enclosure for the sheep out of natural surroundings, such as a rock wall and gathered brush, with an opening for the sheep to enter at night. Then the shepherd would lie down across the opening as he slept. In other words, the only way that someone or something could threaten the sheep would be “over his dead body!” We might also note the inclusive nature of this shepherding, for Jesus will unite other sheep with His flock so that“there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16).
(Allow about 5 – 10 minutes for the participants to react to the Commentary
to identify a newly discovered insight or a new idea.)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
1. “Jesus is the stone, rejected by you the builders; it has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11).
This quotation is actually a metaphor of the crucifixion: Jesus, rejected by part of His own people, is revealed to be the saviour of the world.
a)What practices and/or policies of today’s society, business, and politics give evidence that Jesus, the cornerstone, is still being rejected today? Which of these behaviours especially disturbs you? Share your thoughts.
b)What current family customs and practices also make it difficult to accept the notion that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith? Share your opinions and experiences.
c)What “faith responsibilities” do you find especially burdensome in this time of your life? How do you manage the obstacles even when they weigh you down?
2. (1 John 3:1) “See what love the Father has given that we should be called the children of God.”
We are God’s children, now. If God’s children, that means we share God’s own life.There was no doubt in Peter’s mind whose power was at work in the stunning healing and many miracles being worked in the days following Jesus’ resurrection.
a)How does being a child of God shape your outlook, goals, relationships, and accomplishments? Share your thoughts.
b)Where do you see traces of the divine in your daily life? In other people’s lives?
3. (John) “…and I lay down my life for my sheep.”
a)How are we called to be shepherds in our own life? Can you identify times that you laid down your life for someone in your care?
b)Think for a few moments of those other sheep, not of this fold who hear and model theteaching of Jesus. Share your observations.