(Good Shepherd sunday )

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Acts 4:8-12

 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,

Spoke up, “Leaders of the people! Elders! It is a fact that we are being examined today for a good deed done to a cripple. How was he healed? You and all the people of Israel must know that this man stands before you cured through the Name of Jesus Christ the Nazarean.

You had him crucified, but God raised him from the dead. Jesus is the stone rejected by you the builders which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other Name given to humankind all over the world by which we may be saved.”

 

Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29 (22)

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

1 John 3:1-2

See what singular love the Father has for us: we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know him.

 Beloved, we are God’s children and what we shall be has not yet been shown. Yet when he appears in his glory, we know that we shall be like him, for then we shall see him as he is.  

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

John 10:11-18

 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Not so the hired hand or any other person who is not the shepherd and to whom the sheep do not belong. They abandon the sheep as soon as they see the wolf coming; then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep. 

This is because the hired hand works for pay and cares nothing for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father. Because of this I give my life for my sheep.

I have other sheep that are not of this fold. These I have to lead as well, and they shall listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock since there is one Shepherd.

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 freely. It is mine to lay down and to take up again: this mission I received from my Father.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

Read: Jesus proclaims himself as the Good Shepherd who cares very much for the welfare of His sheep. He will even lay down his life for His sheep. He will gather all his sheep into one fold, even those who are still not yet with him. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Reflect: The Good Shepherd is an image of pastoral leadership that Jesus offers as a guide for later followers who will be in positions of power and authority on His behalf. It is a form of leadership taken from the daily life of people during the Lord's time.

Thus, modern men and women called to pastoral leadership must know and understand the context of this image of leadership. Then they can apply it in leading and managing the flock of God entrusted to their care.

So what are the basic elements of a Good Shepherd style of leadership? First, there is self-sacrifice for the safety of the flock. The shepherd faces all adversaries that try to harm the flock.

Their safety is his or her primary concern. Second, communication is strong and credible such that the flock hears and listens to his or her voice. The Good Shepherd never tires of looking after not only the sheep in the fold, but seeks and brings back those who have strayed from the fold.

It is therefore a leadership style based on concern for the flock. It is not conscious of its own dignity and power, but of responsibility and service.

Respond: How does your leadership style square off with the good shepherd style? We may not be the top-tier managers of our workplace but we are leaders in our home, community, perhaps in the chapel, or parish, or religious organizations we belong to. Have the courage to modify your approach to power and authority. That is, be in sync with the Lord's proposal to lead with service and love for your flock.