Jesus the Good Shepherd, the Sheep Gate, is not just for the Jews. As God commanded Peter, it was time for the Church, as the sheep pen of the Good Shepherd, to let its sheep gate open for what Jesus called "another sheep"(John 10:16) to be brought in. So, Peter, the first representative of the Good Shepherd, reached out to Cornelius, a Roman centurion with kind heart and sense of justice, to bring Gentile sheep in.
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Today’s Gospel Reading (John 10:1-10) is the
narrative precedes the Gospel Reading of yesterday, Fourth Sunday of
Paschaltide, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Because this is on Cycle B,
the reading was drawn from John 10:11-18.
From the Sunday Gospel Reading (John 10:11-18), we
know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who willingly lays down his life for the
sheep under his care – to protect. He explained that this is in the will of the
Father. And, He loves him as he is obedient to this will of the Father to lay
down his life for the sheep. Jesus refers “laying down his life for his sheep”
to his death on the Cross for our redemption and salvation. And this is the
will of the Father (Matthew 26:39// Mark 14:36//Luke 22:42).
Basically, in John 10:11-18, Jesus tells that he is
sent by the Father to care for His sheep and serves as the protecting shield
for the sheep through self-sacrifice. This is what Jesus meant by saying, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep”(John 10:11), in case thieves and robbers
breaking in the sheep pen to attack or snatch the sheep for not listening to
the Good Shepherd (John 10:1, 8). Given Exodus 12:3-7,12-13, the Good Shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep, shedding his blood, along with water, (John
19:34), as the Pesach (Passover) Korban (Sacrifice), to protect those who
listen to God through Moses, while God’s wrath passes over. Thus, Jesus the
Good Shepherd lays down his life on the Cross, as Pesach Korban, and Agnus Dei
(Lamb of God)(John 1:29; cf. Revelation 7:14).
Through the blood of the Good Shepherd, as lays down
his life, his sheep are shielded. Therefore, it is the blood of Pesach Korban (Exodus 12:3-7, 12-13) as
well as, the blood of the Lamb to save (Revelation 7:14). This is why Jesus is
our Parakletos (Advocate)(1 John
2:1), and the Holy Spirit is another Parakletos
(another Advocate) (John 14:16). And, the Holy Spirit is an integral part
of the armor of God to protect us (Ephesians 6:10-18). And, the Good Shepherd
is, after all, the Divine Mercy, as the way he protects us by laying down his
life, shedding his blood, along with water (John 19:34), reflects these words
of Jesus the Divine Mercy:
The
two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes
souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls...
These
two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized
Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross.
These
rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell
in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. I desire
that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Mercy. Diary of St. Maria Faustina, #299
In today’s Gospel Reading (John 10:1-10), Jesus
identifies himself as the sheep gate (John 10:7).
Jesus also said that he is the Good Shepherd (John
10:11, 14).
So, what is Jesus, the sheep gate or the Good
Shepherd?
Actually, there is no need to debate on this,
because Jesus is the sheep gate as he needs to be so. Likewise, he is the Good
Shepherd as he needs to be so. In terms
of the Christological truth of Jesus, there is no place for dualism – “either-or”
thinking.
An important question is what it means that Jesus is
the sheep gate – what did Jesus mean by saying:
I
am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out
and find pasture (John 10:9).
By being the gate, Jesus is the entrance to his
sheep pen. As the gate, Jesus controls opening and closing so that only his
sheep can come and go through it. Those do not belong to his sheep pen are shut
out. That is why Jesus has the keys to the Kingdom, as the sheep pen points to
the Kingdom. When Peter identified Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of Living God,
Jesus gave the keys of the gate to him (Matthew 16:16-19).
As the sheep gate, Jesus let only his sheep in and
out with his keys. But, if the sheep are attacked upon being deceived or
tempted by thieves or robbers, because they did not listen to him, Jesus, as
the Good Shepherd, defends them and brings snatched ones back. For this, he has
already laid down his life. And, now he
has been risen. Thus, nobody and nothing can take his life away, and he now has
the authority, given by the Father, to lay it down again, if it is in the
Father’s will.
As the sheep gate, and as the Good Shepherd, Jesus
is all about defending us and saving us, besides nurturing us with the Living
Bread of Life (John 6:51), which is also the Word and the Holy Spirit (John 6:63).
That is why Jesus is Parakletos
(Adovocate) (1 John 2:1) and, as so said to St. Faustina, he is the Divine
Mercy, as well.
To nurture us, Jesus came to let us have life in
abundance (John 10:10), feeding us with himself, the Living Bread of Life, so
that we may have eternal life (John 6:51).
Let us also keep in mind that this sheep gate (John
10:7) is rather narrow and small (Matthew 7:13-14). The path that leads to the
small gate of the Kingdom is narrow (Matthew 7:14). And this path itself is
also Jesus, as well (John 14:6).
The First Reading today (Acts 11:1-18) describes
Peter explaining to Jews who became followers of Jesus why he and six other
disciples were mingling with the Gentiles in the house of a Roman centurion, as
they found it unbelievable that Peter did such a thing. It sounded as if
violating Deuteronomy 14:21.
In juxtaposing Acts 11:4-17 to Acts 10:9-48, you see
that Peter entered the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and even baptized
him and his family, not out of his whim but because of God’s command.
God commanded to go beyond what was understood about the Torah restriction in their association with the Gentiles, as well as, the dietary issues. The Jews considered that many of foods of the Gentiles were not kosher. But, if God tells it is OK to eat as the Gentiles eat, then, what can you do?
So, Peter did not protest God’s command to reach out
to the Gentiles, Cornelius and his family, as well as his Roman friends and so
forth, in his house. And God wanted Peter to eat with them what they eat and
minister to them.
This is a new breakthrough to the nascent
Church. God commanded Peter to open up
the Church also to faithful Gentiles, without any discrimination, as Gentiles
like Cornelius are, after all, what Jesus called another sheep to be brought
into his sheep pen (John 10:16). And, God had already directed Peter, who was
commissioned by Jesus to do the Good Shepherd’s work (John 21:15-19), to
shepherd the qualified Gentiles. God let the sheep gate open to Gentiles like
Cornelius through Peter.
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