(Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter Year C)
Vocation Sunday!
Once again this Sunday we have listened to the
Acts of the Apostles and the Apocalypse, the first speaks of “a multitude” that on the words of Paul
and Barnabas accepted the faith and are therefore destined for eternal life;
the second instead speaks of “a great
multitude” who stand before the throne and are led by the Lamb-Shepherd to
the springs of living water. Christ the Good Shepherd, the perfect Guide who
offered his life, is the “slain Lamb” spoken about in the second reading, and
he is always alive, “the Living One”, mysteriously,
but really present in his Church. In and through the Church He continues to
accomplish his mission of salvation. We see Paul and Barnabas in the first
reading, who proclaimed the word of God first to the Jews and later to the
pagans, so that the message of salvation will reach all nations.
This
fourth Sunday of Easter is commonly known as the Sunday of the “Good Shepherd”,
and also as the Vocation Sunday, as such we offer prayers for vocations
to the Priesthood and the Religious life. On this Sunday, in all the three cycles of the liturgical year we
meditate on the Gospel passage from the tenth chapter of St. John’s Gospel, therein the allegory and similitude of
the shepherd, sheep, flock etc. abound. At the center of this similitude is
the solemn affirmation of Jesus: “I am the Good Shepherd” (Jn. 10:11.14), or even as the perfect Shepherd, the true Shepherd,
for in him subsists all the qualities of
a good Shepherd. More importantly, the Good Shepherd is the symbol that is
at the center of today’s liturgy. The Good Shepherd that knows his sheep and
gives them life (Gospel). The Good Shepherd, that desires to save all, both the
Jews and Pagans alike, and to all he offers his life (First reading). The Good
Shepherd, that shepherds his sheep not only on this earth, but also in heaven,
for he leads them even to springs of living water (Second reading).
The
first reading (Acts 13:14, 43-52) is
a continuation of the Acts of the Apostle Series, and Acts gives a wonderful
picture of the Christian community after the events of Jesus’ death and
resurrection. It brings to the fore the
positive impact of the resurrection experiences on the apostles and the early
church. This passage presents the
audacious preaching of Paul and Barnabas at Antioch of Pisidia during the
first missionary journey. They preached in the synagogue and a certain number
of both Jews and Gentiles came to believe in their words of preaching, while others
rejected their message. On the face of rejection and opposition, they decided
to turn to the Gentiles. Indeed, the episode here reveals in no small way, that
the preaching of the word of God has no promise of success. That notwithstanding,
the word must be proclaimed even in the face of acceptance or rejection by men (cf. Ez. 3:5-7). The word of God is to be proclaimed faithfully in and out of season.
For it is the desire of the risen Lord to have the message of the Good News
preached to all: “go
and preach the gospel to the whole world” (Mk.
16:15; cf. Mt. 28:19-20), because the Good
Shepherd desires not to lose any of his sheep.
In the
second reading (Rev. 7:9, 14b-17) we see the imagery of sorrow that has been
turned into joy, this is orchestrated by the experience of the martyrs who have
come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. As such, the imagery of sorrow that has
been turned into joy situates the passage well into the context of the whole
Easter event. Furthermore, collocating
their suffering and sanctification in the Blood of the Lamb, the author reveals
the connection of their tribulation with the Paschal mystery. The phrase
“the blood of the Lamb” evidences the Paschal imagery. Towards the end of the
passage, the author introduced another imagery that of the Shepherd, for the
Lamb is the Shepherd who will guide the martyrs to springs of living water.
The
Gospel (Jn. 10:27-30) is taken from the
tenth chapter that began with the discourse on the good Shepherd. It is typical
of John to re-introduce an earlier theme, for it to be developed further. Be
that as it may, the earlier discussion on the Good Shepherd dwelt on the gate
and the Shepherd, instead this passage dwells
on the relationship of the sheep and the shepherd and the eternal life attached
to the discipleship, for this Jesus said in the present: “everyone who
believes has eternal life” and again “anyone who eats my flesh and drink my
blood has eternal life” (Jn.6:47.54). He
is the eternal life and he is in our midst. Moreover, he gives eternal life, not
only in the here, but also in the hereafter, because the assurance that they
(sheep) shall not perish or be snatched out of his hand was repeated for three
times.
To
understand this brief passage of the Gospel in in-depth we cannot but make
reference to the preceding verses, where the Jews with provocation, said to
Jesus: “How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the
Christ tell us openly” (Jn. 10:24);
but Jesus replied: “I have told you, but you do not believe. The works I do in
my Father’s name are my witness” (Jn.
10:25), and he concluded on a sad note thus: “but you do not believe,
because you are no sheep of mine” (Jn.
10:26). In other words, the Jews were interrogating Jesus neither with the
intension to be enlightened nor to believe in him, rather they were in search
of something to accuse him of or to condemn him. Little wonder, the passage of
today begins with Jesus’ affirmation thus, “The sheep that belong to me listen
to my voice; I know them and they follow me; and I give them eternal life” (vv. 27-28).
However,
we cannot but re-emphasize an important element emerging from the passage about
following the Shepherd (discipleship), and
that is the fact that, to hear and respond to Jesus’ word is the decisive
element for man’s acceptance by God on the Last Day (cf. Lk. 12:8-9). As we heard in the passage, the unity of the
Father and the Son was intensified with the Son’s response. Or better, the
Father and the Son are one because of the Father’s call and the Son’s response.
As such, for a sheep to be united to the
Shepherd, the sheep must align to the words of the Shepherd.
In Jesus
subsists all the qualities of a Good Shepherd, for:
● He is the
promised messianic Shepherd (cf. Ez.
34:8.11-12 Ps. 23), he was prefigured by king David and announced as
the “light of the people”, that’s not only for the people of Israel but for all
men, “I have made you light to the nations, so that my salvation may reach the
remotest parts of the earth” (Acts
13:47) as in the first reading.
● He is the
perfect Shepherd, the true Shepherd, because he is the enlightened Guide,
“I am the light of the world”. He leads to the truth, while the Pharisees are
“blind guides” (Jn. 9:40-41).
● He is the perfect and true Shepherd
because he not only nourishes, protects and guides, but above all he offers his
life for his sheep and Jesus repeats it three good times in the tenth chapter. Jesus is
therefore the Good and the True Shepherd: For he gave his life for his sheep
and won victory over death through his resurrection.
In the
history of the chosen people (Israelites) you often speak of the mirabilia
Dei, of the great and wonderful things God did in favor of his people.
Similarly, we can talk about the mirabilia Boni Pastoris as
orchestrated in three dimensions or the three characteristics of Jesus, as the
true Shepherd and perfect Guide of the soul thus:
a) “I know
my sheep”, He “knows” his sheep, and not only that, he protects and loves
them. There is an intimate vital communion between Him and his disciples. The communitarian and social character of
faith do not in any way diminish the personal character of the relationship
between the Good Shepherd and every one of his sheep. For in the Jewish
language to know implies to love, to desire the good of the person. In the
Gospel of John to know can be identified almost with belief.
b) “I give
them eternal life”, He gives them eternal life, that is, he gives the
divine life that prevents death and eternal perdition. The greatest gift that
God has given us is the gift of life, not just life but eternal life. Little
wonder, in the second reading John tell us: “The Lamb in the midst of the
throne will be their Shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living
water” (Rev. 7:16). We may well affirm that, as the earthly
life is the precious gift of the Father, eternal life is a stupendous gift of
the Son, the risen Christ.
c) “No one
shall snatch them out of my hand”, there is no power, human, angelic or
diabolic above the power of the risen Christ, a power that Christ has received
from the Omnipotent Father. Men can cut
off the life-wire of this life, but they cannot snatch the sheep (his own) from
the hands of the Father and from the hands of Christ.
On the
other hand, there are three characteristics of the flock of Jesus or his
disciples, emanating equally from this passage:
►First, “they
listen to my voice”, his true disciples are those who are docile and
disposed in welcoming and accepting his words, teachings and invitations. They listen with the attitude of trust and
humility.
►Second, “they
follow” Jesus the Shepherd, following him entails walking on his footsteps,
having him as the ultimate reference point and putting into practice his
teachings.
►Third, “they
know” equally the Shepherd (cf.
Jn.10:14) and He knows them, there
is a reciprocal knowledge between the Shepherd and his sheep. This reveals
that between Jesus and his disciples there is not only a communion of thought,
“Make your own the mind of Christ” (cf.
Phil. 2:5), but also a sharing of existence: the life of the Father that is
transmitted to the disciples through the Son. And by inference, as his disciples, do we listen obediently to his
voice? Do we follow him? And do we know him as he knows us?
The
mystery of Christ and mirabilia surpass the human mind and
thought. Little wonder, the New Testament employed the use of many images to
express something of his infinite richness. It presents Christ as Master and
Prophet, God and Lord, Light and Life, Alpha and Omega, Savior and Emmanuel
etc. Above all, one of the most sublime
titles or images of Jesus is that of the Good Shepherd, an image that captures
vividly well both his divine and human origin. He is the Good Shepherd for
love of us, and in the same vein, we are expected and indeed invited to become
good sheep or better good followers of the Good Shepherd.
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
desired to dedicate this Sunday, commonly known as the Good Shepherd Sunday, to
the Sunday for Vocations (especially for priests and religious), and that is
the reason behind our celebration of the World Day of Vocations today. And as
we celebrate Vocation Sunday we pray for all those who are Shepherds in and for
the Church that they may continue to be authentic imitators of the Good
Shepherd! We
pray in a very special way for our newly elected Pope, Leo XIV that God may
continue to uphold him and make him a Shepherd after His heart. May the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for us
continue to protect us from the attacks and darts of our salvation enemies!!
Amen!!!
(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)
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