A blessed Easter to all.

Every year, the fourth Sunday of Easter is dedicated to the theme of Jesus the Good Shepherd. It is an image that has always been loved by Christians who from the third century onwards had begun to portray Jesus as a young shepherd: dressed in a short robe, with a belt around his waist, and shoes on his feet: as the shepherds of that time used to dress. And so, too, was represented in the sarcophagi or engravings on stone coffins. Such representations meant that the people trusted this shepherd even at the time that they had to cross the dark valley of death; a reference to psalm 23.

Today, this image immediately brings to mind the picture of Jesus carrying the little sheep on his shoulders. that he managed to rescue from the ravine where it had fallen. Or Jesus leading his flock to the oasis where they can feed and quench their thirst. But, in order to understand today’s Gospel message, we must cancel this beautiful image.

In today’s text, Jesus does not propose a parable but an enigma – ‘paroimiai’ in Greek. A puzzle that makes one think and must be decoded, because it is not easy to understand. In fact, in the end the evangelist will point out that the listeners had not understood the references that Jesus was making. Once they understood who Jesus was alluding to, precisely about them, they were enraged and at some point, exclaim: “This is a madman … why do you keep listening to him?” What did Jesus say that was so provocative to them?

If Jesus had simply presented himself as the shepherd of a dozen disciples it wouldn’t have bothered anyone. But here, his listeners are outraged and hurt by the ‘puzzle’ because they understood very well that the characters that Jesus was referring to, that is, the thieves and robbers, it was precisely about them. Then in the end, they would try to capture him, they would take stones to stone him and Jesus was forced to take refuge on the other side of the Jordan.

First of all, who are these outraged listeners? They are the Pharisees, they are the leaders of the people, the temple priests. And you have to keep in mind the place and the occasion when this took place. Everything takes place in Jerusalem, in the temple or somewhere near the temple. Jesus has already expelled the vendors from the sacred arcade.

And the occasion when Jesus has presented this riddle is also important. It is during the festival of tents, the festival of light. There Jesus appeared as the light of the world. It’s the feast when Jesus has opened the eyes of the man born blind. And in the end, he had said: ‘There are some who think they see, but they are blind, they are orejudiced about their convictions, about their certainties and they don’t let their eyes open.’

It is precisely to open the eyes of these people that Jesus presents his enigma. Let’s listen:At that time Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber. But shepherd of the sheep enters through the gate. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

The beginning of the speech is abrupt and provocative. Jesus says that some, instead of entering through the door climb the wall and enter the enclosure to catch and kill the sheep. What situation is he referring to? Who does him allude to? About whom is he talking about? To understand this, we must explain what the enclosure is. Our thought probably and immediately goes to the sheepfold where the sheep live quietly until the thief who enters, attacks them and kills them. The Greek word used here is: ‘αυλην ‘=’ aulé ‘, which many translators translate as sheepfold but this takes us out of the way. This term appears 177 times in the Old Testament and it never means sheepfold, but ‘atrium’, or lobby in general: the temple courts.

This is the place to which Jesus refers. It is there where the sheep are kept locked up to be exploited and even killed. What does the venue represent? It represents the religious institution practiced by the simple people. This institution has instilled in them a false image of God. A God who is good to those who obey his commandments, and he is severe with those who dare to transgress them. A God who wants to be served and grants his favors to those who offer sacrifices, prayers, burnt offerings, solemn liturgies.

From this conception is born a religion administered by the spiritual guides, by the priestly class who are very interested in presenting themselves as mediators of the Lord’s favors. And, as compensation, this priestly class … what do they want and what do they get?They deceive their devotees by their catechesis and crave for honors, favors and important offerings of devotees. These devotees are simple people… and these are the sheep locked in the enclosure of their false religious convictions.

Jesus was not the first to make this complaint. Many times the Old Testament denounces the false guides of the people of Israel. In the Ancient Middle East, the image of the shepherd was applied to the Mesopotamian kings, or to the pharaoh of Egypt who was called ‘the shepherd of all people’. The shepherd who watches over his subjects. And remember that his symbol was precisely the curved walking stick of the shepherd.

By contrast, in the Old Testament no king is called a ‘good shepherd’. The kings of Israel are presented as wicked shepherds who, instead of feeding the flock, seek their own profit, scatter and kill… says the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 34. And Jeremiah in chapter 23 says: “Woe to the shepherds who misled and scatter the sheep of my pasture” (Jer 23:1). In the Old Testament the shepherd is God … “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want …”.Also, the beautiful image of Isaiah chapter 40: God carrying the little sheep on his shoulders… slowly leading the mother sheep’ and then the ‘shepherd’ will be the messiah.’Thieves and robbers’ who are they? They are all those who keep people locked upsomewhere to take advantage of them and even kill them, take their lives.

A little later we will try to identify and refer to some of these venues. They are not only the religious climbers but all the climbers of our society who climb all walls to achieve their goals of power, dominance and money. We are going to identify some of these precincts so that we allow ourselves to be taken out by the voice of the shepherd who does not want us to be slaves, or be exploited.

Jesus continues by saying: “The one who enters through the door is the shepherd of the flock. The gatekeeper opens it.” Who is this gatekeeper who recognizes the voice of the shepherd and distinguishes it from that of thieves? Who is this gatekeeper who, when he hears the voice of the shepherd who loves the sheep, immediately opens the door for him, lets him in because he knows that he leads them out of all slavery and leads her to freedom?

The gatekeeper is our conscience. We are well done. And immediately we know how to distinguish between who approaches us with love, who wants to make us happy, who wants to give us life and who, instead, wants to exploit us and deprive us of joy and life. If the conscience is not deformed and corrupted, it immediately recognizes that Jesus is the good, reliable person who wants our good.

Consciousness warns and denounces the falsehood of voices other than the voice of Christ. When the voice of Christ comes, through his gospel—we all have had the experience of it—we feel our conscience which tells us: ‘He is right. He wants you well. He wants to see you free, he wants to take you out of the compound where they’ve locked you up.’ The shepherd’s goal is to lead us to freedom, where life can be fully realized. And Jesus says: “He enters, calls them by name and he takes them out.”

The Greek verb used here it is a technical term, from the vocabulary of Exodus, God who makes the people of Israel come out of slavery; ‘Iazá’ in Hebrew means going out into wide spaces. ‘Zar’ is the enclosed place, where one is not free. In the Hebrew language, ‘freedom’ means going where there is breadth, where one is not enclosed. In fact, God has brought the people of Israel who were in Egypt, out of their narrowness towards wide and free spaces. And the gatekeeper recognizes the voice of this shepherd.

When the word of the gospel is heard, we feel in the depths of our hearts, a voice that tells us: ‘He is right; what he says is true; his word is life; He wants you to live; and he doesn’t come to exploit nor to oppress you.’

Let us now listen to what does the shepherd do after taking his sheep out of this enclosure:

“When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”

Although Jesus used this figure of speech, the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them. Once he has taken his sheep out, he walks before them. The Greek verb used here is ‘ekbálei’ which means: to throw out, to expel. Jesus cannot bear that people are locked up on these premises because they are exploited there, they are not free. He wants them to come out and Jesus takes them outside with his gospel, with his word. He calls everyone out of that place.

And Jesus was referring to the temple from where he had already kicked out the vendors. And then, like God in the Old Testament, had walked before his people to lead them to freedom, Jesus also walks before his sheep to lead them to life. Let’s try to mention some of these areas of which Jesus, through his gospel, wants to get us out.

The first could be a religious practice that is not an expression of authentic faith. There are many religious practices that we have inherited from tradition and of which we are still attracted. But when we listen to the gospel all these practices manifest their inconsistency.

The gospel wants to take us out. Let’s try to let ourselves free to enter a world that is more beautiful, that is broader, where we are happiest; where we enter into a relationship, in a dialogue with God who opens our hearts and makes us happy. Another enclosure that many still experience: a false image of God. A God imagined as a boss, a legislator, who imposes a code of conduct and becomes, in the end, in a rigorous judge.

The awareness of having observed all his precepts give a certain moral tranquility, therefore, the certainty of a retribution from the Lord. But this way of relating to God instills fear in the end; it does not give joy because it is false. God loves unconditionally and only when one receives this love we truly feel as free persons to love; while others, feeling tight and confined within the enclosure of this false image of God as it was preached, escaped from the enclosure, but to fall later in even worse places. The enclosure of the nonsense of life, or of debauchery, corruption and vice. But the gospel also reaches these precincts to take them outside. Then there are the enclosures of idols; those realities that then condition all our life options. The enclosure from which one lives for money. Those who live for one’s career, for success. If you live for these things, you are a slave. You don’t look up… you don’t see the friend… you don’t see the poor… you don’t see the needy… you don’t see the one in difficulty. You are locked in this enclosure, where you no longer live as a person.

The shepherd makes these people hear his word and explains to them what would be their benefits by staying in this enclosure- even if you can win the whole world but fail to find meaning in life? Then there are the enclosures of vices, of moral corruption. The enclosures of power that leads you to make concessions of all kinds, which justifies everything: truth and lies, lights and shadows… it does not matter. Within the enclosure, all what matters is obtaining power, obtaining pleasure and possessions. You become a slave and let yourself be carried away in this enclosure.

Then there are the enclosures of ideologies that enslave people; people you think and decide according to the ideology they have instilled in you, according to what the ideology imposes on you. Let’s think about how difficult it is to make those who are completely conditioned reflect, for example, of a certain political ideology. Let us consider an example.The enclosure that says ‘this is how everyone does’, the enclosure of cultural modelsembodied in concrete people, the ‘stars’, the models, successful people. Let’s also think about those cultural models where women are still marginalized, violated in her dignity, where she is excluded. It is the gospel that does not want people to stay in there.

And, on a personal level, the very common enclosures of regrets that prevent joy, prevent one going forward. When Jesus meets the people he never looks at their past. The past blocks you, locks you up, doesn’t let you open up to a full life. You are invited to look ahead, not to the past.

Jesus says: ‘Go in peace – don’t repeat the same mistake, but now celebrate.’ No to regrets… regrets self-punishment. Don’t stay in there. Enclosures of bitterness; rancor wants to make you pay for the mistake you have made. And this keeps you in the enclosure and makes you feel guilty for experiencing the joy of seeing you suffer. And it always reminds you of the mistake made. It makes you feel bad, dirty, wrong. When the rancor tells you: ‘look at what you have done … are you not ashamed? What are you going to do to forgive yourself?’

The one who speaks in this way is a thief who takes away the joy of building your future.We all have our enclosures within which we are locked and only the voice of the shepherd can set us free. Jesus did not come to take you out of an enclosure and take you to a better venue. NO.

Jesus came to take you out of all these enclosures and lead you to freedom. And when the gatekeeper hears the voice, it distinguishes it well and differentiates it from the voice of the stranger. And the sheep do not follow a stranger because they, too, immediately know the voice of the shepherd. The discernment to know who is the true shepherd and who is a thief is pronounced by the same sheep… because we are well made.

Everyone prefers the truth to lie. Instinctively one wants freedom; not slavery; life, not death. And now Jesus clarifies the enigmatic allusion about the door of the sheep. Let’s listen:So, Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” At this time, we would expect Jesus to say, “I am the good shepherd.” NO. He says, ‘I am the door of the sheep.’

Also, perhaps, we would expect him to say: “I am the door of the sheep gate.” NO. He has nothing to do with the enclosures… He is the door of the sheep. The sheep are out; he has already led them out with his word. Now they are free and must be oriented and they must pass through him, who is the door. What does it mean? To pass through Christ is to enter,finally, in the world of freedom; in the infinite space where one can really be a person, true person, good person like the good shepherd.

Let’s not confuse freedom with doing what you like. He who does what he wants, what he likes, the corrupt, the libertine is not a free person, he is a slave to his own instincts. He is not a real person. Only who passes through the door that is Christ has access to the world of freedom, to the kingdom of God. The synoptics also speak of this door when they say it is ‘the narrow door’. And Jesus invites: “Enter through the narrow door.”

He is the narrow door. He asks for self-renunciation, selfless love for others and even the gift of life to the enemy. But he is the only door to enter the truly human world. The world of those who love and only love. All other life proposals are tricks and pitfalls that make you plunge into death pits.

Then we have a statement by Jesus that surprises us: “All who came before me were thieves and assailants….” There we have the patriarchs, the prophets… Is it these people that Jesus is referring to? NO. What does it mean? All life proposals previous to the one he is doing were thieves.

Let’s try to remember all the past history: it was a story of violence, of looting because it was governed by the rule of competition, by the law of the strongest. The gospel also makes us see today how even being together, what we call ‘democracy’ which is no worse than the democracies of the past, is still a denial of fraternity and therefore it is still robbery and pillage.

Any proposal other than that of the gospel is banditry, lawlessness. Jesus says: “I am the door: whoever enters through me will be saved; you can go in and out and find pastures.”What is he trying to say? That one can enter and leave the fold whenever one wants? NO.You don’t go in and then you go out. You get out of all enclosures only once. You enter the new world, the world of freedom and will definitely get out of all the proposals of inhuman life.

In the end, the difference between Jesus’ proposal and that of thieves and robbers is this:”I came that you may have life, and have it in abundance.” The thief only comes to steal, kill and destroy.

It is the invitation for us to know how to distinguish, to let our conscience Know how to recognize the voice of Christ who wants to bring us to life.

I wish you all a good Easter and a good week.