GOSPEL POWER |APRIL 27, 2021

TUESDAY | 4th Week of Easter| Gospel: Jn 10: 22 – 30

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear

my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

REFLECTION

Though action is supposed to speak louder than words, this  logic does not seem to apply in this Gospel episode. The  Jews ignore the works that Jesus accomplishes in his Father’s  name, and yet they demand from him a plain verbal confession that  he is the Messiah. Jesus makes no attempt to convince them, for their  unbelief simply shows that they are not among his sheep. Again, we  encounter here the mysterious tension between divine determination  and human freedom. It is the Father who gives Jesus his sheep. And  Jesus recognizes them precisely because they accept his revelation  and follow him. But the Gospel is careful not to give the impression  that those who reject the revelation are also rejected by God. Such  human decision is never viewed as outside the scope of the divine  saving will. There is every reason to hope.

PRAYER

Jesus, Good Shepherd, may we always recognize your voice amidst the  multiplicity of voices that compete for our attention. Amen.