The Good Shepherd's Herd

Fourth Sunday of Easter

03 May 2020

First reading                                                                        Acts 2:14, 36-41
Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. . . Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”
And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Second reading                                                        1 Peter 2:20-25

If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Gospel                                                                     John 10:1-10

Jesus said to his disciples, “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.

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.

Reflection

By Gary Tulabut

Are you granting the front liners’ simple requests from us?

What are they?

Staying at home. And along with it, social distancing, wearing face mask, and washing of hands. These are very basic, aren’t they?

Just stay home and you help save lives. If you have something else to give, better. But even if we cooperate by just staying home, it is already a big help.

You don’t have to sacrifice like the front liners to save lives. Just stay at home.

But why can’t everybody do it? I hope you can. And I hope you do.

If you do, what can you say about those who do not follow the rules? Are you annoyed with them? Irritated even?

You know what, at home, only my younger sister has a quarantine pass. When she goes out to buy necessities,  she is all wrapped with extra clothes, complete with gloves, face mask and goggles. And she follows social distancing.

When she comes back home, we almost shower her with disinfectant alcohol. Then, her extra outer clothing goes straight to the washing machine. All the goods she buys are disinfected. We even wash fruits and vegetables with soap. And if we buy readily cooked food, we heat them again before consuming.

But look at what others do. They roam around as long as they can keep away from barangay officials and the police. Some gossip. Others gamble. Others drink alcoholic beverage. As if nothing serious is happening.

Worst, I heard from the news, there were some who just received amelioration and used the money for drugs.

But then, of course, there are those who really have nothing. They lost their jobs. Some are “no-work, no-pay” like me. Vendors cannot sell. Drivers are banned from transporting people. They don’t know where to get rice for the day. No money to buy medicine for mom and dad who are both seniors. And there are many other sad stories you will see on the news.

How can we tell them, “Stubborn! Hard-headed!”? Simple things you cannot do. Right?

Today in the second reading, St. Peter said in his first letter, “If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God.” (1 Peter 2:20)

St. Paul said to the Galatians, “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

You keep on doing the right things, but it seems nothing is happening?

Don’t give up. Just continue doing good even if the rest do not mind at all. Following the government, especially in times like these, shows what kind of sheep we are. Are we part of the good sheep, or are we the black sheep?

In his letter to the Romans, St Paul said,” Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves.

If you are among the privileged (those who have enough), these are the right times to obey the authorities, no matter what your political affiliations are. Don’t be a black sheep; be a good one.

And if you are more than privileged (you have more than enough), then why not be a shepherd to others and show that you really are part of the herd of the Good Shepherd?

Prayer

Father, forgive us for our stubbornness. Help us to be more considerate, compassionate and obedient for the sake of many. We continue to pray, please put an end to COVID-19 and grant complete and immediate healing to Your people. In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.

Shepherds

“ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. “

First Reading: Acts 13:14, 43-52

But they passed on from Perga and came to Antioch of Pisid'ia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. And when the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God.

         

But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted what was spoken by Paul, and reviled him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, `I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

         

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed And the word of the Lord spread throughout all the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and went to Ico'nium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Psalm: Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5

Second Reading: Revelation 7:9, 14-17

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence.They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their  shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Gospel: John 10:27-30

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Reflection
By Benj Santiago

“My sheep hear my voice;


I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

No one can take them out of my hand.” (Jn: 27-28)

In today’s Gospel, I vividly see an image of a loving, caring shepherd. The “Good Shepherd” who is willing to lay His life for His flock. And His flock is not just the chosen people. His sheep are those who hear His voice, those who follow Him. Even the Gentiles (non-Jews) are part of His flock. When Paul and Barnabas spoke to the Gentiles: “The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region.”

In Jesus’ time, to be a shepherd is a low level job. Even in today’s standards, the shepherds are still low level farm hands. Whole day you take care of nothing but your flock. That could be boring and tiring. If you do not really care about your flock, they get to stray away or is lost and you don’t do anything about it for what you care about is just the pay you get from it. But Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He continues to show us that He is even willing to give up His life for us. The Psalmist says “The LORD is good: his kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.” The question is do we know Him? Do we hear His Voice? Do we follow Him? How?

I have been consistently attending the Light Of Jesus Community for more than 4 years now. I attend the weekly gathering which is aptly called “The Feast” at PICC. Weekly, I get a dose of inspiration from Bro. Bo Sanchez; the Spiritual Leader of the community. I have deepened my relationship with our Lord through the love filled, and most often down to earth and funny sharing of this wonderful person, called Bo. It is where I learn to know more about Jesus, hear His Voice through the sharing, and follow Him by doing what I am inspired to do for my fellowmen. The disciples had Jesus as their Shepherd. The Gentiles had Paul and Barnabas as their shepherd. I have Bro Bo as my shepherd. Now, I am doing my best to be worthy to shepherd people too to the right path, the greener pasture, to “springs of life-giving water.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You and glorify You for You have given us Your only begotten Son to be our Good Shepherd. May we continue to hear His voice and follow Him in our day to day activities. May we know Him more dearly so we can follow His example of being a good shepherd to our own family, our friends, our entire community, and most especially to people who do not know Him yet. All this we ask in the mighty name of our Good Shepherd, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen!

Mr. and Ms. Good Deeds

“ Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those people throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread, and by our understanding, give them peace and joy. “  – Mother Teresa 

First Reading: Ezekiel. 34:11-12, 15-17

For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were  scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal (but the sleek and the strong I will destroy), shepherding them rightly. As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.

Resp. Psalm: Psalms 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6

Second Reading: 1Cor. 15:20-26, 26-28

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the first fruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will (also) be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

" When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations  will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Reflection:

By Beth R. Eguia

The last Sunday of the Ordinary Time commemorates the Solemnity of Christ the King.  This reminds us to live a righteous life everyday for we never know the time and the hour He will call us. At the end of time, the sheep and the goats will be separated, with the sheep at the right and the goats at the left. And God will account for the good deeds the sheep have done while the goats will be thrown over to hell.

The same thing applies for us, doing a good deed whether big or small should come as a natural way of living. It does not have to be known by others for God sees every small detail we are doing each day. What constitutes a good deed? It should be done for others without expecting anything in return. To an employee, it could be praying for his not so good boss and continue serving him well. To a taxi driver, returning the exact exchange of taxi fare to his passengers. To a street vendor, selling items at the right price and using a correct weighing scale. To a student, studying hard and not cheating on exams, or helping his parents at home in doing household chores without asking anything in return.

There are a lot of good things in us. We just have to learn to use them well and ask the Holy Spirit to empower us. Most of the times, the environment and the people can influence the way we live. So it is important that we are rooted to the source of goodness and truth and that is God. How do we do that? Through constant prayer, we should ask for this grace to live a righteous life for we cannot do it alone. We need God’s mighty hand to battle the evil around us so that when we see Him face to face, we are all prepared to meet Him. And He will say to us “Welcome Mr./Ms. Good Deeds. I have been expecting you.”

Prayer:

Dear Lord, as we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, may we always be reminded of Your great love for us and to do good for others. Grant us the grace to live our lives in a  righteous way each day. Amen.

Hearing Aid

Fourth Sunday of Easter
25 April 2010


The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.


First reading Acts 13:14,43-52 3
Paul and Barnabas carried on from Perga till they reached Antioch in Pisidia. Here they went to synagogue on the sabbath and took their seats. When the meeting broke up many Jews and devout converts joined Paul and Barnabas and in their talks with them Paul and Barnabas urged them to remain faithful to the grace God had given them.
The next sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of God. When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly. ‘We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans. For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said:
I have made you a light for the nations,
so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’
It made the pagans very happy to hear this and they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside.
But the Jews worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in defiance and went off to Iconium; but the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 99:1-3,5

Second reading Apocalypse 7:9,14-17
I, John, saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. One of the elders said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb, they now stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun nor scorching wind will ever plague them, because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.’

Gospel John 10:27-30
Jesus said:
‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;
I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life;
they will never be lost
and no one will ever steal them from me.
The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone,
and no one can steal from the Father.
The Father and I are one.’

Reflection
By Grace Madriñan

My mother has a hearing problem for a long time now that she got used to quiet solitude. Most of the time, she does not respond to our call or question unless you wave at her to get her attention. When I finally had some budget, I accompanied her to the doctor so she gets a hearing aid. At first, she was hesitant. Even with the hearing aid, she had difficulty responding or understanding our voice during the trial fitting. "It is all noise" she said, and that it was irritating. But I insisted that she still gets it because I believed her comprehension and hearing will improve in time.

Soon enough, my mother became used to having this gadget tucked in her ear. She started hearing the noise around the house. “Has it always been this noisy?” one day she asked. Later on, the noise started to become clearer and she began to recognize them even without looking. She has managed to filter the sounds in her mind and segregate the noise from those that matter listening to. The best day came when she finally turns and responds when she hears our call.

I believe we all need our hearing aids too. Sometimes, we are drowned with the noise of this world that we become deaf to things worth listening for. And because of this, we fail to hear God’s voice. He may have already given us clear instructions but we failed to recognize them. This is why we need to put on our hearing aids which may come in different forms: the Eucharist, the Bible, religious and inspirational readings, and music as well as our Catholic communities. The more we are exposed to any of these ‘hearing aids’, the more we will be able to recognize His voice in our lives, and the more we will respond to His call.

As it is written in today’s Gospel, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

Father, thank You for being patient with us. Often we choose to listen to the call of this world rather than Your voice, yet You continuously reach out to us through different mediums. May we single out Your voice and recognize You through the depths of our hearts. In Jesus’ name, this we pray. Amen.

Next week on God-speak
Live Life For Others