Fourth Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 50
25 APRIL 2021 A.D.


Reading I
Acts 4:8-12

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said:
“Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
   which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”


Responsorial Psalm
118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
   for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
   than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
   than to trust in princes.
R.  The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
   and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
   it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
   we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
   and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   for his kindness endures forever.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.


Reading II
1 Jn 3:1-2

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.


Alleluia
Jn 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
Jn 10:11-18
Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
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.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”



Overview of the Gospel:

~ This Sunday’s gospel reading is closely tied to the episode of the healing of a blind man in the
preceding chapter (John 9ff). Jesus’ opponents steadfastly refuse to believe he has performed this
miracle, probably because it would mean accepting his authority. As a result, they remain blind guides
to the people (John 9: 39-41; Matthew 15:12-14).

~ In contrast to these leaders, Jesus presents himself as the Good Shepherd (this discourse actually
starts at verse 10:1). The theme of God as a shepherd was very important in the Old Testament
(Ezekiel 34; Genesis 48:15; 49:24; Micah 7:14; Psalm 23:1-4; 80:1, etc). King David, composer of
Psalm 23, was the Old Testament proto-type of the shepherd (see 1 Sam 17:32-37), as was Moses and
his successor, Joshua (Numbers 27:15-23).

~ As the Good Shepherd, Jesus will watch over his own, protecting them and keeping them united as one
flock attentive to only his own voice (verse 16). Ironically, immediately following this discourse (verses
20-21), Jesus’ opponents show a marked lack of unity among themselves.
[courtesy of: Vince Contreras: "Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics"]


"He did what he said he would do: He gave his life for his sheep, and he gave his body and blood in the Sacrament to nourish with his flesh the sheep he had redeemed (John 6:51)." ~St. Gregory

Thanks!