Texts taken from the Missalette “On Your Word” March-April 2023

4th Sunday of Easter (A)
4th week, psalter

FIRST READING

From the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:14a, 36-41)
[On the day of Pentecost,] Peter stood up with the Eleven and raised his voice to address them: «Let the whole house of Israel know with certainty that God has made both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified». When they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles: «What are we to do, brothers?». And Peter said to them: «Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all those who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God will call». With many other words he bore witness and exhorted them: «Save yourselves from this corrupt generation!». Then those who accepted his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added. – The Word of God.

Commentary on the first reading

The passage concludes Peter’s first discourse to the people. One decisive statement by the Apostle sums up the entire preceding exposition: «God has made both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified», that is, he has given his divine name - and therefore his power - precisely to the one whom Israel rejected and condemned to an infamous death, considering his claim to be the Son of God, the Christ, to be blasphemy. Peter’s words reach the hearts of those present, showing them the enormity of the evil they have committed. Sharper than a double-edged sword, in fact, the word of God is sent to discern and save, not to condemn. The crowd perceives the grace of that preaching and opens itself to faith. Peter, in accordance with the mandate he received from the Risen One, can then invite them to repentance and Baptism «in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins». To be sacramentally immersed in the person of the Crucified and Risen One means making effective the salvation he has accomplished. Therefore the Apostle adds: «You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit», the seal of new life in Christ.

SECOND READING

From the first letter of Saint Peter the Apostle (1 Pt 2:20b-25)
Beloved, if, while doing good, you patiently endure suffering, this is pleasing before God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his footsteps: he committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; when he was insulted, he did not return insults; when he suffered, he did not threaten revenge, but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the wood of the cross, so that, no longer living for sin, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. You were wandering like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. – The Word of God.

Commentary on the second reading

Baptism, by removing original sin, gives those who receive it the new identity of children of God. To characterize this transformation more precisely, Peter uses very specific terms: those baptized in the Church are living stones, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Yet this “privilege” requires the acquisition of a new mindset and a way of life conformed to Christ. Differences in social or cultural status lose their significance, because all disciples find their unity in Christ and all are equally «strangers and pilgrims» (1 Pt 2:11) in this world, all equally servants of God. Therefore Peter offers Jesus himself as a model, who, with patience and gentleness, takes upon himself the sin that is not his in order to destroy it in his humanity. Humanity is thus freed from slavery to sin and can live «for righteousness», which is love and mercy. Through Baptism, the Christian is made a member of Christ, and is therefore called to share in his passion in order to participate in his glory in heaven, together with all the brothers and sisters whom, through his life, he will have helped to save.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John (Jn 10:1-10)
At that time, Jesus said: «Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold through the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice: he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his sheep, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers». Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus said again: «Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it abundantly». – The Word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

The image of the Good Shepherd is dear to many of us. It teaches us about God’s tenderness and love for every person. At the same time, however, it gives us a clear invitation: go out. We are struck by this shepherd who drives the sheep out of the fold, making them pass, one by one, through the gate that he himself is. Jesus is our “safe way out”, the only one who shows us a demanding but authentic path, a new direction worth setting out on. The shepherd walks ahead of his sheep, who freely follow him because he calls them by name, that is, he knows their lives. All this happens outside the fold: to love means to go toward others; to love means risking loss; but loving can never mean possessing, because those who love set free. Let us go out! Let us go out from our mental enclosures, from our selfishness. Let us go out from fear, from the darkness of doubt. Let us go out from pain, sadness, and loneliness. Let us go out, because only in this way can we meet the Shepherd who came among us so that people «may have life and have it abundantly». Abundantly means that God truly wants to go beyond all limits with us. Let us not settle for merely surviving, but let us go beyond all limits in love!