GOSPEL, John (10: 22-30)
Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John
Jesus Is Rejected by the Jews
22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah,[a] tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand.[b] 30 The Father and I are one.”
The Gospel of the Lord
REFLECTION
In view of the ultimatum made to Jesus by the Jews: “If you are the Messiah, tell us openly”. Jesus says that the works he does show his divine origin but they are hard of heart and do not accept him as a Shepherd
Those who believe and listen to the voice of the Shepherd and through Him the Father, create a communion of eternal life.
Christ defines Himself as the good shepherd and only the true shepherd is willing to lay down his life for his flock in the moment of danger. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. But the mercenary, who is neither a shepherd nor owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away; and the wolf ravages and disperses them. The mercenary does not care about the sheep.
He differs from the mercenary because he knows his sheep and is known to them. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father”. “I give my life for the sheep…
We belong to Christ; we are the sheep in his flock, because we hear his voice. The risen Christ of our faith is our Shepherd who knows us personally by name and so opens to us the door to eternal life. With the prayer that our Lord taught the Apostles ‘Our Father’ in the verse line “Your Kingdom come”, we find the foundation of his hope, a utopia and the Christian project that changes history, this moment in the prayer combines a precise balance between patiently waiting and its´ accomplishment .
PRAYER
PSALM 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.