Difference between revisions of "Easter 4C"

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=== 2 Esdras ===
=== 2 Esdras ===
<p>Therefore I say to you, O nations that hear and understand,<br>
"<b>Wait for your shepherd</b>; <br>
he will give you everlasting rest, <br>
he will give you everlasting rest, <br>
because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand.<br>
[2 Esdras 2:34]
[2 Esdras 2:34]<BR>
</p><p>Rise therefore and eat some bread, and do not forsake us, <br>
<BR>Rise therefore and eat some bread, and do not forsake us, <br>
<b>like a shepherd who leaves the flock in the power of savage wolves</b>." <br>
[2 Esdras 5:18]
[2 Esdras 5:18]<BR>
== New Testament Texts ==
== New Testament Texts ==
=== Matthew ===
=== Matthew ===

Revision as of 23:52, 19 April 2010



  • Acts 9:36-43 & Ps 23
  • Rev 7:9-17
  • John 10:22-30

Introduction: The Good Shepherd

As the following citations indicate, the metaphor of the (good) shepherd is found in several parts of the Bible.

Reflecting the role of shepherd in ancient oriental societies, this term has a rich history as a title for rulers and teachers as well as being a metaphor for God. In the early Christian texts we see this rich complex of traditions being applied to Jesus.

Hebrew Scriptures


Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.
23The archers fiercely attacked him;
they shot at him and pressed him hard.
24Yet his bow remained taut,
and his arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25by the God of your father, who will help you,
by the Almighty who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26The blessings of your father
are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains,
the bounties of the everlasting hills;
may they be on the head of Joseph,
[Genesis 49:22-26]


Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint someone over the congregation 17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is a festival; seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep without a shepherd." [Numbers 27:15-17]

2 Samuel


Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders2 of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" [2 Samuel 7:1-2]

1 Kings

Then Micaiah3 said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, 'These have no master; let each one go home in peace.'" [1 Kings 22:17]


He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.
[Isaiah 40:11]

and he shall carry out all my purpose";
[Isaiah 44:28]

Then they remembered the days of old,
of Moses his servant.
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is the one who put within them
his holy spirit,
[Isaiah 63:11]


Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers [Heb: shepherds] transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after things that do not profit.
[Jeremiah 2:8]

I will give you shepherds after my own heart,
who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
[Jeremiah 3:15]

For the shepherds are stupid,
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flock is scattered .
[Jeremiah 10:21]

Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,
they have trampled down my portion,
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.
[Jeremiah 12:10]

But I have not run away from being a shepherd in your service,
nor have I desired the fatal day.
You know what came from my lips;
it was before your face.
[Jeremiah 17:16]

[Jeremiah 23:1-4]

Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,
for the days of your slaughter have come--and your dispersions,
and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
35Flight shall fail the shepherds,
and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock.
36Hark! the cry of the shepherds,
and the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is despoiling their pasture,
[Jeremiah 25:24-36]

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."
[Jeremiah 31:10]

I will suddenly chase Edom away from it;
and I will appoint over it whomever I choose.
For who is like me? Who can summon me?
Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?
[Jeremiah 49:19]

My people have been lost sheep;
their shepherds have led them astray,
turning them away on the mountains;
from mountain to hill they have gone,
they have forgotten their fold.
[Jeremiah 50:6]

I will suddenly chase them away from her;
and I will appoint over her whomever I choose.
For who is like me?
Who can summon me?
Who is the shepherd who can stand before me? [Jeremiah 50:44]

with you I smash shepherds and their flocks</b>;
with you I smash farmers and their teams;
with you I smash governors and deputies.
[Jeremiah 51:23]


The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them--to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.
17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats: 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?
25 I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely. 26 I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27 The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28 They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid. 29 I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the insults of the nations. 30 They shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God. 31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture1 and I am your God, says the Lord God.
[Ezekiel 34:1-31]


But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
3Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return
to the people of Israel.
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth;
5and he shall be the one of peace.
[Micah 5:2-5a]

Shepherd your people with your staff,

the flock that belongs to you,
which lives alone in a forest
in the midst of a garden land;
let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
[Micah 7:14]


Your shepherds are asleep,
O king of Assyria;
your nobles slumber.
Your people are scattered on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
[Nahum 3:18]


For the teraphim utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
the dreamers tell false dreams,
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they suffer for lack of a shepherd.
My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;22
and will make them like his proud war-horse.
[Zechariah 10:2-3]

Listen, the wail of the shepherds,

for their glory is despoiled!
Listen, the roar of the lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed!
4 Thus said the Lord my God: Be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them kill them and go unpunished; and those who sell them say, "Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich"; and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 7 So, on behalf of the sheep merchants, I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. I took two staffs; one I named Favor, the other I named Unity, and I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I disposed of the three shepherds, for I had become impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, "I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die; what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let those that are left devour the flesh of one another!" 15 Then the Lord said to me: Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd. 16 For I am now raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for the perishing, or seek the wandering,23 or heal the maimed, or nourish the healthy,24 but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
17Oh, my worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
Let his arm be completely withered,
his right eye utterly blinded!
[Zechariah 11:3-17]

"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,

against the man who is my associate,"
says the Lord of hosts.
Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8In the whole land, says the Lord,
two-thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one-third shall be left alive.
9And I will put this third into the fire,
refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, "They are my people";
[Zechariah 13:7-9]


The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff-- they comfort me.
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
[Psalm 23]

O save your people, and bless your heritage;

be their shepherd, and carry them forever.
[Psalm 28:9]

Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,5
and their form shall waste away;
Sheol shall be their home.
[Psalm 49:14]

from tending the nursing ewes he brought him

to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel, his inheritance.
[Psalm 78:71]

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
[Psalm 80:1]

O come, let us sing to the LORD;

2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
3For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
6O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
7For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
[Psalm 95]

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

2Worship the LORD with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
3Know that the LORD is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him,
bless his name.
5For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
[Psalm 100]


The sayings of the wise are like goads,
[Ecclesiastes 12:11]

Deutero-Canonical Writings


Then I will lead you through Judea, until you come to Jerusalem; there I will set your throne. You will drive them like sheep that have no shepherd, and no dog will so much as growl at you. For this was told me to give me foreknowledge; it was announced to me, and I was sent to tell you."
[Judith 11:19]


The compassion of human beings is for their neighbors,
but the compassion of the Lord is for every living thing.
He rebukes and trains and teaches them,
and turns them back, as a shepherd his flock.
[Sirach 18:13]

2 Esdras

"Wait for your shepherd;
he will give you everlasting rest,
[2 Esdras 2:34]

like a shepherd who leaves the flock in the power of savage wolves."
[2 Esdras 5:18]

New Testament Texts


"And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
[Matthew 2:6]

[Matthew 9:36]

[Matthew 18:12]

[Matthew 25:32]

"I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
[Matthew 26:31]


[Mark 6:34]

"I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.'
[Mark 14:27]


"Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
[John 10:1-2]

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away--and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

[John 10:11-16]


[Acts 20:25-26]


[Hebrew 13:20]

1 Peter

[1 Peter 2:25]

[1 Peter 5:4]


and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
[Revelation 7:17]

Jesus Database

Liturgies and Prayers


Other recommended sites include:

Music Suggestions
