4th Sunday of Easter (B) : 25th April 2021

Peter and John have cured a man who had been crippled, and their good deed is not what gets them thrown into prison. They are living in the days of The Spirit. Their faith and the actions which flow from that faith threaten the religious stability of the elders and leaders of the people.

Peter tells them exactly what they do not want to hear. They had raised the man to a walking condition through the power of the name of Jesus. Peter pushes his point a little farther. He reminds them all that Jesus was the one whom the leaders had crucified but was raised by God.

Peter concludes by telling them that Jesus, the stone they threw away, has returned as the foundation of the structure through which salvation is extended to the whole world.

Jesus lays down his life in response to his Father, and today’s Gospel states it all quite clearly.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, lays down his life for his flock. Jesus is not a hired man, but a man who knows himself and knows what is asked of him. His life was not taken but offered freely. He offers his life to us through the power of that resurrection.

We are then the co-recipients of his rising. The “command” he received from his Father is not only to lay down his life for all but to pick it up and extend that risen life to all the world.

“The Good Shepherd has risen! He has laid down his life for his sheep.