A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 15, 2011 | Carl E. Olson
Readings:
• Acts 2:14a, 36-41
• Psa. 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6
• 1 Pet. 2:20b-25
• Jn. 10:1-10
Back in 2008, a major newspaper declared that Pope Benedict XVI is still a “mystery” three years into his pontificate. He remains, the reporter wrote, 
“something of a white-robed enigma to most Americans—including Catholics.” To which I say, maybe most Americans, especially Catholics, should pay attention a bit better. If they did, the supposed “mystery” of the Holy Father would be solved. And, in fact, one Catholic author correctly noted that Benedict “doesn't want the pope to be the object of people's faith or veneration. He wants that to be Jesus.”
Anyone who has spent some time reading the homilies, books, and essays of Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, knows how focused on Jesus Christ he is. I wonder: if reporters had been in Jerusalem two thousand years ago during the Feast of Pentecost, how might they have described the person and sermon of Peter? I suspect many would have been horrified at how exclusive and dogmatic the former fisherman was in his pronouncements: “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” How insensitive! How unsophisticated!
And what of Peter’s bold call for those listening to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins? Clearly Peter (the reporters might explain) would need to learn how to be more politically adept, sensitive to the diverse cultural and religious backgrounds of those present on that dramatic day. But, no, Peter simply said his piece: “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” How strange. How mysterious! And how powerful, for Luke notes that about three thousand persons were baptized on that day.
A few years ago the document Dominus Iesus (“On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church,” August 6, 2000) issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, upset many people—both Christian and non-Christian—because it upheld the Gospel uttered by Peter and the other apostles, albeit in a more elaborate and involved manner. Yet the document, for all of its theological nuance, was quite direct in its language:
“From the beginning, the community of believers has recognized in Jesus a salvific value such that he alone, as Son of God made man, crucified and risen, by the mission received from the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit, bestows revelation (cf. Mt 11:27) and divine life (cf. Jn 1:12; 5:25-26; 17:2) to all humanity and to every person.” (par 15).
The document further stated that “the truth of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lord and only Saviour”—including his incarnation, death, resurrection, and gift of salvation—“must be firmly believed as a constant element of the Church's faith” (par 13). The man responsible for that document was, of course, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.
If these statements were merely the creations of power-hungry leaders or confused men, they would indeed be pitiful, ridiculous, and false. But if they are true, they demand a simple response: acceptance or rejection. Jesus, in today’s Gospel, explains to the Pharisees that He is the gate for the sheep and that “whoever enters through me will be saved.” There are thieves and robbers who will attempt to steal the sheep. These include men who will say that Jesus was just a good man, a fine teacher, an enlightened guru, a moral philosopher, or a political activist. But Jesus claimed to have power over life and death, as well as the power to judge souls. Before Abraham existed, Jesus said, “I AM” (Jn 8:58); He left no doubt about His unique, supernatural character. It is why many loved Him while others loathed Him.
It is sometimes said that religion should unite people. This is misleading. Only true religion can unite people because it has the power to divide truth from falsehood. Jesus, who is Truth, causes such division, and in dividing He unites those who follow Him. Mysterious? Yes, but only to those who wander outside the gate, without a shepherd.
(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the April 13, 2008, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper in a slightly different form.)
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