Happy Sunday!
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Acts 4, 8-12; 1 John 3,1-2; John 10, 11-18: 4th
Sunday of Easter, Year B, April 25, 2021)
On this Sunday the readings again speak of the resurrection, the paschal
mystery of Jesus and its consequences for us. The first reading is the
beginning of the discourse of Peter after the healing of the cripple. The
leaders of the people and the elders asked him to account for the miracle that
has taken place, because they saw some diabolical influence in it. For Peter,
this is the occasion to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus. The second
reading speaks of our divine sonship. It reveals the great love that the Father
has for us to be called children of God, and the hope we have in Jesus a vision
full of God and perfect joy. The Gospel is that of the Good Shepherd. Jesus
alludes to his paschal mystery when he says that the good shepherd lays down
his life for the sheep. Between the shepherd and the sheep there is a
deep and very strong mutual relationship: I am the good shepherd - says Jesus -, I know my sheep and my sheep
know me. This reciprocal relationship is a participation in the
reciprocal relationship that exists between Jesus and the Father: I
know my sheep, says Jesus - and my sheep know me, as the Father knows me and I
know the Father. Jesus’ relationship with us is as an extension of his
life in the Holy Trinity. Due to this deep, personal, loving relationship, the
good shepherd offers his life for his sheep. He does not act like the
mercenary, who does not have a deep relationship with the sheep. In fact, the
sheep do not belong to the hireling; he sees in them only the profit that he
can draw and when he sees the wolf coming, he does not face it, but flees and
abandons the sheep; then the wolf can kidnap and disperse them. With this
comparison, Jesus wants us to understand that all his generosity is founded on
love. As a good shepherd, he loves his own and the time may, eventually, come
when to give one's life for them. This corresponds to the saving will of the
Father. Jesus says: For this the Father loves me: because I offer my
life. But then he adds: And then, will take it back
again. The two aspects of the paschal mystery are expressed: the first is
that of offering life and accepting death; the second is to resume life and
overcoming death. The Greek verb Jesus here does not, properly, mean to
offer, but to lay down. This makes us think of the gesture
that Jesus made at the Last Supper when he washed the feet of the apostles. On
that occasion he laid off (cf. John 13, 4) his garment as Lord
and Teacher, to become the servant of his disciples; then he took up his
garment again (cf. John 13,12). In this way Jesus refers to his paschal
mystery: the radical renunciation that he made of the honour to which he was entitled,
is expressed with the image of taking off his garment; the resurrection is
expressed with the image of taking back the garment. All this makes us think of
the paschal mystery as a voluntary humiliation, a voluntary acceptance of
suffering, but with a positive purpose: it is not a question of accepting
suffering and death as such, but of transforming them in a positive way for
means of love, so that they produce a fruit of new life. The resurrection is
the new life that Jesus obtained through his passion. He has obtained it for
us, and it is bestowed on us through baptism, which makes us children of God.
As he faces his mystery of death and resurrection, Jesus is aware that he is
fulfilling the will of the Father, a will full of love for us. Therefore, John
can say in the second reading: See what great love the Father gave us to be called
children of God, and we really are! Through Jesus’ paschal
mystery, we receive new life, the life of the children of God. Through the
passion and resurrection of Jesus our life is transformed in a very positive
way. We must rejoice and be grateful of the extraordinary goodness we have
received of being children of God. Even if it does not yet appear fully and we
are still in the time of trial, and suffering, we must, therefore live in
faith, we know by faith that we are already children of God and that, when
Jesus appears, we
will be similar to him because we will see him as he is and [that is, in his
glory].
In the first reading we can see the singular transformation that took place
in Peter after the resurrection of Jesus and the Pentecost. During the passion
he had denied his Lord and Master three times: a word of a servant was enough
to make him lose all courage and push him to deny Jesus. Peter had a generous
temperament, but he had put himself in a situation that had caused his
weakness. But, after the resurrection of Jesus, he is filled with the Holy
Spirit and shows wonderful strength. After the cripple who was at the door of
the temple was healed, he was arrested. But, instead of being frightened, he
faces this situation with great courage: he speaks freely to the leaders of the
people and to the elderly. With a certain irony, which reveals his great inner
freedom, he says to us: Today we are questioned about the benefit
brought to a sick man. Usually a person is questioned when he has
committed a crime; instead, in Peter’s case, the reason for his arrest was a
benefit to a sick man. Peter then gives a magnificent witness to the Lord when
he affirms: In the name of Jesus
Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead, he
stands before you safe and sound. Peter has the courage to
hold the leaders of the people and the elders responsible for the crucifixion
of Jesus, He faces the Jewish authorities with all the courage and authority
that comes to him from the resurrection of Jesus, He quotes a psalm in which it
is said that the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone, to
show that the passion and resurrection of Jesus were pre-announced by the
prophetic texts of Scripture. But he adds: The stone that, rejected by
you, builders.... With this addition, he shows that he is not afraid
to speak clearly to these authorities, in front of whom one, usually, feels
fear and not have the courage to testify. Peter gives a truly significant
testimony, because he affirms: In
no other is there salvation; in fact there is no other name given to men under
heaven in which it is established that we can be saved. In this way he
shows the universality of the salvation that Jesus has obtained for us. In no
other is there salvation; Jesus is the only Saviour. He was crucified, but
resurrected. Only through him can we obtain the new life that makes us children
of God and gives salvation. Peter speaks, firmly, to the leaders of the people
and the elders, and yet he has no contempt for them. Previously, he had said
that they had acted out of ignorance (cf. Acts 3,17), they had
not been aware of the enormous sin they were committing by condemning Jesus to
death on the cross. They are sinners, as are all other men, when the grace of
God does not illuminate their path and strengthen their will. Peter speaks
firmly to the leaders of the people, to arouse their conversion, and,
therefore, their salvation. It is necessary to convert, and recognize one's own
faults. God's forgiveness cannot reach those who persist in denying their
responsibilities. On the other hand, those who confess their sins with
confidence in God's mercy find salvation in Jesus Christ who died and rose
again. In fact, Jesus died for sinners, and rose to bestow divine and filial
life to them. This makes us understand the positive dynamism of the paschal
mystery of Jesus, a dynamism founded on love: The good shepherd offers his life for the sheep. This love is not
limited to a small circle of people. In the first reading Peter affirms that
Jesus is the Saviour of all, and in the Gospel Jesus says: «I have other sheep that are not of this
fold [the chosen people]; these too I must lead; they will listen to my voice
and will become one flock and one shepherd. The work carried out
by Jesus through his passion and resurrection is the unity of all in the love
of God: a work carried out in a very close union with the Father, the source of
all love. +John I. Okoye
(Graphics by Chukwubike)
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