by Fr. Jose “Joesum” Sumampong, Jr.
April 25, 2021
Fourth Sunday of Easter (B)
Acts 4: 8-12 / Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 21, 29 /
1 John 3: 1-2 / John 10: 11-18
SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST, THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Word: We must not forget that that the sentence begins with “I am”. In Hebrew the very name of God is the sacred “tetragram” Y H W H, the four-letter word which no one dares to utter and which means “I Am” (Exodus 3:14). Hence, whenever Jesus uses this phrase, and without even naming himself explicitly, he daringly declares Who He Is, who is the unique Savior of man – excluding all the false gods and false saviors who pretend to lead mankind.
I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). In the ancient Middle East, “The shepherd who leads his flock” is a classic and symbolic description of gods and kings. In the Bible too this phrase is applied to God: “The Lord is my shepherd, nothing indeed shall I want” (Psalm 23:1).
The Good Shepherd is now described by Jesus in opposition to all those fake “saviors” who promise the moon. The hour of danger is the hour of truth; the false shepherd, who is only a hireling and works merely for money, is ultimately seeking exclusively his own interest. He cares a fig for the flock. At times, he is even ready to howl with the wolves. At any rate, he is not the one to risk his life: his prime concern is to save himself. For this reason he says, “A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep” (John 10:12-13).
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Order: We know how much men are searching for genuine guides—for godly persons able to analyze the situations, diagnose the future, drive out the threatening dangers and bring security. We also have heard various statements poured down on us from our radios and television sets, when certain personages speak as if they possessed the truth and seemed to know all that has to be done for the future. In such a context of debasement and devalued speeches, the assertion of Peter in today’s first reading sounds like a trumpet call: “This (Jesus of Nazareth) is the stone which was rejected by the builders, but which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else (Acts 4:12).
Fr. Lope Robredillo is asking, “What are we to make of this Biblical teaching? Does this mean that there is no other means of salvation apart from Jesus, since it was only he who underwent passion, death and resurrection in obedience to the Father? If the body of Jesus is the Church, does this imply that outside the Church there is no salvation, and therefore the individual attains salvation only through his explicit membership in the Church, which is the sole mediator of Christ’s salvation? Are we then to affirm that all other non-Christian religions are false, Christian sects are in error, mere human attempts at coming in contact with the divine world which is revealed in Jesus Christ? Are we then to propose that we must bring everybody to the Church if all are to be saved? Can we tell those outside the Church that they cannot partake of eternal life, since the grace of salvation comes only through the Church?”
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Realities: 1.Longfellow could take a sheet of paper, write a poem on it and make it worth $60,000. That is talent.
Rockefeller could sign a piece of paper and make it worth millions. That is capital.
Uncle Sam can take an ounce of gold and stamp an eagle on it and make it worth $40. That is money.
A mechanic can take material worth $5 and make it into an article worth $50. That is skill.
A merchant can buy an article worth 80 cents, put it on his counter and sell it for a dollar. That is business.
God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it, cleanse it, put his holy Spirit into it and make it a blessing to all humanity. That is salvation (Sunshine, Salvation)
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Direction: In you, LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice deliver me; incline your ear to me; make haste to rescue me! Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to save me. You are my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead and guide me. Free me from the net they have set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, LORD, faithful God. You hate those who serve worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD. I will rejoice and be glad in your love, once you have seen my misery, observed my distress. You will not abandon me into enemy hands, but will set my feet in a free and open space. (Psalm 31:1-10).
Realities: Longfellow could take a sheet of paper, write a poem on it and make it worth $60,000. That is talent.
Rockefeller could sign a piece of paper and make it worth millions. That is capital.
Uncle Sam can take an ounce of gold and stamp an eagle on it and make it worth $40. That is money.
A mechanic can take material worth $5 and make it into an article worth $50. That is skill.
A merchant can buy an article worth 80 cents, put it on his counter and sell it for a dollar. That is business.
God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it, cleanse it, put his holy Spirit into it and make it a blessing to all humanity. That is salvation (Sunshine, Salvation)
Realities: 2.Don Bosco, the heroic friend of young boys, had such a great influence on them that the enemies of God swore to kill him. He was ruining their devilish work.
Several times they tried to trick him to secret places where they could kill him; they sent him to fake sick calls; they summoned him on missions late at night. But each time, just as they were about to seize him, a great big dog would suddenly appear on the scene, apparently from nowhere and would defend the priest. After chasing Don Bosco’s would-be murderers away, the dog would just as suddenly disappear. Don Bosco called him “Grigio”. No one could ever explain whose dog it was or how he came there. Even the saint did not know. However, it was generally believed that his was his guardian angel who had taken the form of a dog. (Pastor Paterno, Guardian Angels)
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Realities: 3.There was this little caterpillar – the green kind you find on leaves, with many many legs and short hair over its body. Now it was a weekend in summer and he was strolling along a big superhighway. Suddenly he felt hungry, and saw over on the other side of the road a most luscious meadow. So he took a left turn and just began to put his first tiny feet on the edge of the asphalt road, when along came a human. His foot got so close, it might have crushed the caterpillar. He pulled himself together a bit…and then saw the human bend down and say, “Hey, man, what are you trying to do? Are you crazy? You would not get farther than half a metre and that would be the end of you … Listen – look – don’t you see how many cars are racing by? There are 20 a minute – cars, PMVs, trucks, trailers … “ But the caterpillar knew nothing about all these noisy things … “Listen,” continued the human. “Don’t be stupid. Forget the whole thing. Face it: you were born on this side of the road and let it go at that.” According to the law of averages, this human was right: the chances of getting safely across that road were slim. So, his advice was to stay where you are … and make the best of it. Don’t take chances.
“You are so small,” said the human, “and so slow.” But the caterpillar only saw the other side of the road and its tasty green – and he was hungry. Twenty cars a minute – that’s over a thousand an hour … not much of a chance. “You can’t make it. Six metres of asphalt for a small caterpillar? Who do you think you are, anyway? What are you against so many cars? Just nothing. You’re one of the smallest creatures – defenseless, no armour, no speedy legs, no sharp teeth.” But the caterpillar sees only the green and starts across the road – no hurry, no fear, no tactics. Five trucks go by. One semi-trailer. He goes and goes and goes and gets to the other side. The Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you … “ (Pastor Paterno, Provide)
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4.“More than ever before, today we realize that the world is characterized by a diversity of religions and sects. In the Philippines, we find a number of them: Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity and, lately, New Age. And even in Christianity itself, we are aware of the various churches and communities that claim to be the true Church founded by Christ: in addition to the Roman Catholic Church, we have the various Protestant Churches, the Iglesia ni Kristo, Ang Dating Daan, Jesus the Healer and various fundamentalist and Pentecostal churches, movements and sects.“In the face of this diversity of religious beliefs, there seems to be an attitude of many, even Catholics, from one which is skeptical toward non-Christian religions and Christian sects to one which accepts any form of religion. For them, since all religions and sects are means to have contact with the divine world and to salvation, it does not matter whether one is a Muslim or Christian, or whether one is a born-again Christian or a Catholic. According to this view, all religions are of equal value; ours is not any better than any other religion. What is of utmost importance, it is proposed, is that one is sincere in one’s religious belief, and one can be saved in it.” (Fr. Lope C. Robredillo, “Salvation in Jesus’ Name Alone”, CBCP Monitor).