A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 25)
4th Sunday of Easter, Year A – May 15, 2011 *
“Follow the Shepherd”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 2:14a, 36-41 // I Pt 2:20b-25 // Jn 10:1-10
(N.B. Series 9 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
The Easter liturgy continues to hearten us with the presence of the Risen Lord in our midst, contemplated as Shepherd and guardian of the sheep (Jn 10:1-10). Jesus is the Good Shepherd because of his gentle care and loving commitment to the flock he pastures and protects. He is also the “gate for the sheep” because he is the way to salvation. As sheep gate, he leads us to eternal life.
Harold Buetow remarks: “Christianity came into the world not to demean people by calling them sheep, but to elevate them with the good news that every human being is created in God’s image, that all persons are precious because all are so loved by God that he gave his only Son … The importance of God’s sheep to the divine shepherd resulted in the notion of the sacredness of persons. (…) The leaders of Christ’s Church are called pastor, which means shepherd. May our pastors always lead us by example as well as words. May those who have wandered from the flock of God, whether through hurt or through apathy, rediscover their gateway to God. May we be open to the call for repentance, attune our minds to the sound of Jesus’ voice in more than just our immediate concerns, and allow him to shepherd us through life.”
The First Reading (Acts 2:14a, 36-41) dramatizes the effect of the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Risen Lord, upon a people who have opened their hearts to what the Easter witnesses preached. About three thousand Jewish pilgrims from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost, responded to their exhortation, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.” Repentance (metanoia) calls for a radical change of heart and way of life – from a life of self-seeking satisfaction to the love of God and service of others. It also implies a continuing movement and redirection of one’s daily choices toward the Lord. By introducing us into the life of the Trinity, baptism brings about the forgiveness of sins and pours upon us the renewing gift of the Spirit. Those who repented and were baptized in response to the apostolic preaching experienced the transforming grace of Jesus, who died and rose from the dead, and effectively manifested him as Lord and Messiah on that Pentecost day.
The Second Reading (I Pt 2:20b-25) is an impassioned appeal to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, the shepherd and guardian of souls. He suffered for us so greatly and completely that by his wounds we were healed. We were like sheep that had lost their way, but now we have been brought back to follow Christ, who showed us the redemptive meaning of suffering. To follow Jesus, the shepherd and guardian of souls, is to tread the life-giving path of sacrifice and assume his pastoral stance of personal giving and loving service.
The biblical scholar Jose Cervantes Gabarron comments: “Always to maintain oneself in the attitude of availability and service, even before those who cause unjust suffering, is the Christian vocation par excellence, following the example of Christ … This attitude of being available even in a situation of unjust suffering is valued as a grace, a gift from God, if it is accepted in virtue of the experience that one has of God and of doing good. It is not the pain itself that constitutes grace, but rather the suffering caused by doing what is good, or of countering evil with good just as Christ did.”
The following story gives insight into how we could manifest the gentle and caring attitude of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in daily life and initiate a “friendly move” that would reflect the Shepherd’s searching for the sheep (cf. Nona Birdges, “A Friendly Move” in GUIDEPOSTS, April 2011, p. 20-22).
I unpacked another box in the living room, carefully peeling away sheet after sheet of the newspaper protecting our picture frames, candleholders and vases. For a moment I stopped and peeked out the front window, hoping to see a neighbor coming up the drive to introduce herself. But there was no one. Only the sound of the wind. Like all the times I’d checked before.
It was late January, a month since my husband, teenage son and I had moved into our new house, and still not a soul has come over even to say hi, let alone bring a housewarming gift. What was up with my new neighbors? I looked out the window again. The skeleton-like trees in the front yard only added to my loneliness. It was odd, at 43, to feel like the new kid, wondering if I was going to be accepted.
I’d been excited about the move. There was more room, a space where we could grow a garden, even a swimming pool. Most of all we were in a real neighborhood. Where we’d come from, farther out into the country, we lived next to a highway, not the kind of place where people strolled over to borrow a cup of sugar or chat after dinner. I’d so looked forward to getting to know everyone. I’d asked God to help me meet some good friends here, never imagining it would be this difficult. Love your neighbors? I thought now. I’d settle for just knowing their names.
I had thought about making the effort to introduce myself. But the few times I’d seen people out in their yards it had been usually been just as they were getting home or on their way out. I didn’t want to impose and, well, I was busy too, rushing out the door to get to my part-time job at the college or to pick up dinner fixings at the grocery store.
I emptied a few more boxes, then decided to take a break to go to the mall. I got in the car and backed out of the driveway. Glancing behind me to look for traffic, I caught a glimpse of the house across the street. That’s odd, I thought. There was a wooden wheelchair ramp attached to the porch. I hadn’t noticed that before.
As I drove past the next-door neighbors’ I saw a big blue ribbon tied to their mailbox. They must have had a baby! I felt a tingle of excitement. I ought to get them a little gift, I thought.
I picked up a baby blanket at the mall and had it wrapped. On the way home I stopped to deliver it, introducing myself. “That’s so sweet”, the young mother said, cradling her newborn. “I wish I’d been able to come over and welcome you but I’ve hardly had a moment …”
“I know how it is”, I said. I could remember all those sleepless night with a new baby and how exhausted I’d been. My life was a breeze compared to hers. Back home I stared out the front window at the house across the street. That wheelchair ramp. Maybe there’s something I can do to help. Suddenly, unpacking another box of books didn’t seem that important.
I whipped up a batch of cookies and took them across the street. The woman who answered the door looked tired, but when she saw the plate in my hand her face broke into a smile. “My son broke his hip and had moved back in with us”, she said. “I’ve barely had a chance to leave the house.”
I gave her a hug, wishing I had come over sooner, but in the tightness of her embrace I felt something unexpected: friendship. That was the first of many hugs we’ve exchanged over the years. We’ve shared vegetables from our gardens, cookie recipes, countless joys and sorrows. The best way to make friends, it turns out, is to be one.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Do we treasure the intimate and loving relationship that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, forges with us, the flock he shepherds? Do we endeavor to pass through him, the “sheep gate” of salvation, to eternal life?
In this Eastertide, do we continue to cherish the gift of repentance and baptism in the Church, the community of faith? Do we welcome and pray for the newly baptized?
Do we realize the sufferings that “the shepherd and guardian of our souls” endured in order to save us? Do we resolve to hear his voice and follow him for “by his wounds we have been healed”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father,
your Son Jesus Christ suffered for us.
He left us a life-giving example
and we humbly desire to follow in his footsteps.
He carried our sins in his body to the cross,
so that we might die to sin
and live for righteousness.
By his wounds we were healed.
Once we were like sheep that have gone astray.
But now we have been brought back
to follow the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls.
Give us the courage
to cross the awesome threshold of the “sheep gate”.
Fill us with the strength of the Holy Spirit
that we may follow the Good Shepherd
to the verdant pasture of eternal life.
You are the almighty God
and the gracious Father of the Shepherd and the sheep.
We thank you and glorify you,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Follow in his footsteps … For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” (cf. I Pt 2:21b, 25)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that those who have gone astray like sheep may finally return to Jesus, the shepherd and guardian of souls. By your loving initiative and active charity, enable the people among you, especially the poor and the needy, the marginalized and the lowly, to feel the guiding hand of the Good Shepherd.
ACTION PLAN: That we may experience deeply the presence and the loving compassion of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 25).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US