Acts 2.14a,36-41 | 1 Peter 2.20b-25 | John 10.1-10

We are on the fourth Sunday of Easter, called Good Shepherd Sunday. Easter is this liturgical season characterized by the joyful encounter with the risen Jesus and the courageous witness of His victory over death.

Today the evangelist John tells us the parable in which Jesus is the gate for the sheep, the One who came so that the sheep might have life and have it abundantly.

There were many sheep and shepherds in Israel. They took the sheep out of the fold to graze in the grass and drink water, protecting them from wolves, and then brought them back safely to the fold.

In the Old Testament, the image of the shepherd and the sheep was already associated with God's care for His people. The Lord was the Shepherd and Israel was His flock.

In telling the parable, Jesus said that the sheep did not recognize the voice of strangers and that they fled from them. He said that there were thieves and robbers who had entered the sheepfold—without going through the gate—only to steal, kill, and destroy.

Surely Jesus was referring to the false prophets who preceded Him and to the religious and political leaders who mistreated the people.

Jesus implied that He was the Shepherd of the sheep, to Whom the gatekeeper opened the gate, and that He walked ahead of all His sheep, who followed Him because they knew His voice.

Then Jesus affirms that He was the gate for the sheep, and that only the sheep that entered the fold through Him would find pasture and be saved. The Good Shepherd had come so that the sheep might have life and have it abundantly.

Let us interpret this passage from the Gospel in the light of Easter Season. The resurrected Jesus is the Good Shepherd Who literally gave His life for His sheep. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus gave His disciples eternal life.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, feeds us, frees us from evil, and leads us safely to the fold of Heaven.

This Easter, let us listen to the voice of the risen Jesus and follow His voice. He knows us and wants the best for us. He satisfies our hunger and thirst with His Body and Blood, the Eucharist, food of eternal life, so that we may live united in joy. Let us be a Church that zealously cares for the most suffering, whom the Good Shepherd wishes to feed through us.

Today the evangelist Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles about Peter's preaching to the Jews of Jerusalem, under the action of the Holy Spirit, poured out at Pentecost, seven weeks after Easter.

It was a surprising preaching that united about three thousand Jews to the Christian faith.

Peter transmitted to them the keryma - a Greek word that means announcement. In short: God has made Jesus, crucified by the Jewish religious leaders, Lord and Christ; to receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Jews had to convert and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, saving themselves from that corrupt people. It was a promise addressed to both Jews and pagans - all those who were far away, and whom the Lord God called to Himself.

Like the apostles, we too receive the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and we have the commitment to proclaim this kerygma with joy and courage to our generation. It is a powerful message, capable of converting many hearts to God and making humanity and the world better.

Today the apostle Peter speaks to us in his first letter about the passion and death of Christ on the Cross, through which the Christian passed from the death of sin to live in righteousness.

Peter said that the Christian is called to please God, patiently enduring the suffering that comes from doing good, following the example of Christ.

Jesus placed His cause in the hands of the One who judges justly, without repaying the injuries suffered with threats.

Let us cherish the Cross of Christ, who bore our sins in His own body. We were like lost sheep, but now let us return to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who guards our lives.

To Him be all honor, glory, power, and worship, forever!