(Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter Year B / Vocation Sunday)
Even though
today’s readings are replete with several themes, however the theme that
overlaps in all, is that of the risen Lord, and his continued work of redemption
in and through the Church. Beyond that, today the Church fixes her gaze on the
mystery of love, which the Father has revealed to us through His Son, the Good
Shepherd. The first reading speaks of the risen Lord carrying out his saving
work in the world, and this was made manifest through the healing of the
crippled. At the heart of that passage is the affirmation that the “name” which
saves is the name of the crucified-risen Lord. The heart of today’s Gospel lies in the presentation of the risen Lord
as the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep, orchestrated in and through his sacrifice
on the Cross. The second reading brings
to light our present participation and it’s ‘not yetness’ in the risen Christ,
for “we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be”. In
all, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who was crucified and has risen for love of us.
Through his Passion, Death and Resurrection
Jesus demonstrates immensely that he is the Good Shepherd who has power to lay
down his life for his sheep and also the power to take it up again (Jn.10:18).
In the first reading from the Acts of the
Apostles (Acts 4:8-12) we encounter
a particular pattern common in the Acts of the Apostles and similar as well to
that of the fourth Gospel. That is the procedure of presenting a discourse
after a miracle must have taken place. In the context of this reading, the
discourse therein comes after the healing of the crippled man. Here, Peter shifts from the fact of the
immediate miracle to the proclamation of what or who makes the miracle possible,
that is, the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ., crucified and risen. In this
perspective, healing is in close connection to salvation. Healing here, is the sign of the reality of salvation. In Greek, both
words come from the same verb ‘sōthenai’,
which stands to indicate to be saved or made whole. Peter made mention of the name of Jesus, as a
powerful name. A journey back to history lane, reveals that some of the early
Christian exorcists employed the formula “in the name of Jesus” to heal the
sick. In his name salvation is made possible, the sick are healed, and those in
bondage are set free. Indeed, true,
whole and authentic salvation is made available in and through his Name.
At the heart of every believer is the
fundamental desire for salvation. The desire for salvation can be manifested in
a number of ways, it can be in the need for security, for liberation, purification,
for fullness of life and love, for the need to overcome some barriers etc.
However, the overriding question that arises from this desire is: who can save man? Here, we can find an
answer in the Acts of the Apostles in the words of St. Peter, “there is no
salvation in no other” if not in Jesus Christ of Nazareth (cf. Acts 4:10-12). Like Peter we have to firmly believe and
proclaim that there is no salvation in no other except in Jesus Christ. There
is no salvation in magic (whether white or black), there is no salvation in
spiritism, and there is no salvation in gods made by human hands. St. Peter in his words reminds us that we have a
common mission to carry out in this world: to proclaim that Christ is truly
risen and only in him there is salvation. Jesus is the only Savior of the
world, there is no other (v.12). We have to proclaim and make him known not
with mere words, but with facts and with a transformed life.
One
may probably ask: why is it in Christ
that we can find salvation? It is because He delivered us from the dominion
of darkness and from the pit of sin. He helps us to recover what we have lost,
that is, our human and divine dignity as children of God. Little wonder, St.
John tell us “You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by
letting us be called God’s children – which is what we are” (1Jn. 3:1). What indeed is the motive
for offering his life? The motive is that “He came so that we might have life
and have it in abundance” (Jn. 10:10).
However, this is not automatic, for we are called to make an effort, to welcome
him, to accept him, “to those who did accept him he gave power to become
children of God” (Jn. 1:12).
Secondly, he regains for humanity her true and authentic destiny, the eternal
life, where there is fullness of life and of love, where the contemplation of
God will take a different dimension, for “we shall see him as he really is,
face to face” (1Jn. 3:2).
The second reading (1Jn. 3:1-2) calls our attention to the mystery of God’s love, and
through the paschal mystery we see in a glaring manner: “what love the Father
has given us” (v.1), the Father “who
did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for the sake of us all” (Rm. 8:32). The passage further reinstates the filial relationship that
exists between God and his people. And it
is traceable to the paternal sensibility of Jesus, who accorded to his
disciples and to us the privilege to call God “Abba Father” (cf. Rm. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). St. John
opines that the world did not know “him”, probably not referring to the Father,
but Christ. This of course is in connection with the Pauline statement that the
rulers of the world did not know Christ, if not they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8). In
St. John’s parlance too, those Jews that
crucified Jesus similarly symbolize the unbelieving world that rejects God’s revelation
in and through his Son, Jesus Christ. This serves as a breach between the
second and the first readings, particularly, with the assertion “you”,
referring to the ‘Israelites’: “You crucified Jesus Christ of Nazareth”.
St. John tells us that through faith and
baptism, we have a common fundamental vocation and dignity. We are children of God not in a
metaphorical sense, but we are God’s children really, and thus participants
of his divine life. The full splendor of
this dignity will be fully revealed in the world to come. We are therefore called to a full communion
of life with God in eternal life: “we will be like him, because we shall
see him as he is”, that will be the divine realization of our human destinies. In
that bid, we have to spend our earthly existence in accordance with our
vocation and dignity as God’s children (agere seguitur esse). Every
Christian therefore is called to live and realize his or her vocation as a child
of God. This has to be done according to one’s state of life, “There are many
different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit” (1Cor. 12:4).
From the fourth Gospel (Jn. 10:11-18) we read the Good
Shepherd discourse. The image of the Good Shepherd is an image that speaks of
care, humility, accessibility and dedication, it inspires confidence. The
parable of the Good Shepherd in the New Testament is the continuation of the
Old Testament’s prophetic tradition that called God, the shepherd of Israel (cf. Is.40:11). Upon proper perusal
into the fourth Gospel one discovers that the
Jesus of John made several declarations on his identity, and one of those
declarations appears twice in this Gospel periscope: “I am the Good Shepherd”
(vv.11.14). And the basic point of this declaration is the fact that the Good Shepherd
lays down his life for his sheep (vv.11b.15b.17.18),
which is repeated four times in the passage. This basic point of the laying down of his life accentuates the
importance and centrality of his “self-giving” in the liturgical season in
which we are. It goes a long way to remind us that the risen Lord is the
Jesus of Nazareth that laid down his life, “greater love than this no man has,
for a man to lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13). He offers his
life spontaneously, freely and gratuitously, for the sake of love. Christ
indeed is the Good Shepherd who with his supreme witness and test on the Cross
gave his life for His sheep. There is a touching event that happened during the
First World War, a French soldier was terribly wounded. So as a result, his arm
was seriously disfigured by wounds that it had to be amputated. The medical
doctor felt so sorry for him, because he was a handsome man; however he had to
carry out the operation. After the operation he stood at the bedside of the
young man, when the man regained consciousness, he told him: “I am so sorry
that you lost your arm”. The young man retorted immediately: “Sir, I did not
lose it, I gave it to France”. Similarly, Jesus did not lose his life, he gave
it to us.
Yes! He is the Good Shepherd that defends
his sheep from wolves, and today there are many of those wolves, who have only
come to destroy Christ’s flock. They are wolves in forms of false prophets,
false evangelists, ministers of prosperity who
relegate the themes of repentance and God’s kingdom to the background.
However, particularly interesting are the following words of Jesus: “I know my
own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father” (v.14b). Knowledge here is predicated upon the readiness to obey his words and
to do his will. And the knowledge existent between Jesus and his own is an
offshoot from the knowledge existent between Jesus and the Father. As such, the model of this rapport is the reciprocal
knowledge existent between Jesus and the Father (v.15). By knowledge
here, we mean experiential knowledge, not mere head knowledge. Ours therefore is a knowledge that is
derived from our encounter with the risen Lord. This knowledge propels us
to obedience, for “in this way we know that we have come to know him, if we
keep his commandments” (1Jn.2:3). At
long last, this knowledge leads us to
our eternal destiny, for St. John tells us: “And eternal life is this: to
know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn. 17:3). Thus, we cannot but join
our voices together to that of Simon Peter in affirming and proclaiming: “Lord,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed,
and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn. 6:68-69).
Drawing
the issue further, here we see a detailed presentation and representation of
Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Jesus himself explains the intimate relationship
that exists between the sheep and the Shepherd. He talks about a mutual
knowledge that co-exists between the Shepherd and the sheep: “I know my sheep
and my sheep know me” (v.14). Not just a mutual knowledge but also a
personified knowledge: “the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his
own sheep and leads them out” (v.3).
As such, it is not a relationship where
one is active, and the other is passive, not a subject-object relationship, but
in the vocabulary of Martin Buber an “I-Thou” relationship.
Besides, in the context of this Gospel passage we come in contact with biblical
exclusiveness and inclusiveness, for Jesus speaks of ‘his own’ and ‘other sheep’,
that are not of the fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice”,
this underlies the mission of the Church at all times, especially in our
contemporary world, the task to bring people together, without any
discrimination of race, sex, rank or color. The Gospel on its part gives us indications on how to carry out our
mission on earth. The style and the spirit is that of the Good Shepherd,
“who offers his life for his sheep”. It
is a style of service, love and availability toward others. We are all
called to the imitation of the Good Shepherd, for if we are shepherds like him,
God will be always with us, as He was and is with Him, and we will have nothing
to fear or to tremble. Therefore, we are all invited to emulate the qualities
of the Good Shepherd, in the different spheres and dimensions of life, how do
we strive to become good shepherds of those entrusted to us. Jesus told Peter:
“tend my sheep” (Jn. 21:16). How do
you tend his sheep in your care? As parents do we ensure the Christian
education of our children?
Above all, today as we celebrate the World
Day of Prayer for Vocations, let us pray so that, all in their specific calling
may realize their primordial vocation as God’s children and the mission of
proclaiming the message of Salvation, in accordance with one’s calling and the
gifts received. It was Pope Paul VI who in 1963, desired to dedicate this
Sunday, commonly known as the Good Shepherd Sunday, to the Sunday for Vocations,
and that is the reason behind our celebration of the World Day of Vocations
today. However, today specifically is a special day of prayer for vocations to
the priestly, religious and other forms of consecrated life. As we celebrate Vocation
Sunday we pray that God may instill in the minds and hearts of young men and
women the desire to serve Him in a radical way. And for all those who are
Shepherds in and for the Church we pray that they may continue to be authentic
imitators of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Amen!!!
(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)
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