Homily-4th Sunday of Easter - Rev. Dr. Fr. Patrick Mathias SDB
Mass
Readings: Acts 4:8-12 Ps 117
1 Jn 3:1-2 Jn 10: 11-18
Key
Verse: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep (Jn 10:11)
Dear Brothers
and Sisters in the Risen Lord,
The Fourth
Sunday of Easter, which is traditionally celebrated as Good Shepherd Sunday, is
also known as Vocations Sunday or the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Firstly,
the fourth Sunday of Easter is dedicated to the Good Shepherd by ancient
liturgical tradition. In the Gospel passage of this Sunday, we are presented the
figure of the good shepherd who gives his life for his flock. No image of Christ has ever been dearer to the hearts of Christians than
that of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Since the first centuries, the Lord has been
represented carrying a sheep on his shoulders, which, in its expressiveness,
recalls the parable of the lost sheep (Lk 15:5). This image draws its
strength precisely from the Gospel according to John in the tenth chapter, of
which today's passage is a part.
Secondly, each
year, the World Day of Prayer for Vocations invites us to reflect on the
precious gift of the Lord’s call to each of us to proclaim the gospel of joy
with great commitment. It is in discovering our vocation in the Lord and then
responding to that call that we discover the surest way to fulfil our deepest
desire for happiness. This is also reflected in the theme chosen by the Holy
Father for this Vocations Sunday 2024: “Called to sow seeds of hope and to
build peace.” Pope Francis, in his message for this day, says that we are
pilgrims because we have been called: called to love God and to love one
another. In our pilgrimage on this earth each day, by responding to God’s call,
we try to take every step needed to advance towards a new world where people
can live in peace, justice, and love.
First
Reading: After the resurrection and the
Pentecost event (Acts 2:1f), we see the apostles as brave and great witnesses
of the resurrection. The first reading is the aftermath of the episode of the
healing of a lame man by Peter (Acts 3:1f). They were questioned regarding their
act of preaching on account of the concrete miracle that had taken place. What
is the source of their healing – What power or name did they use for their
healing? And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, does two things: first, he proclaims
in all boldness that God raised up Jesus of Nazareth from the dead, whom they
crucified (Acts 4:10); and secondly, Peter tells them that it is by the power
of the name of Jesus that they preach, and it is by the same name that the lame
man was healed, as salvation resides in this name alone.
Second
Reading:
Gospel
Reading - Jesus Assumes the Role of a Protector: The
passage from the Gospel of John that we have heard today is the second part of
Jesus’ long discourse on the Good Shepherd, in which he speaks of himself as a
shepherd (Jn 10:1-18). Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd; The good shepherd lays down
his life for the sheep" (Jn 10:11). After saying this, Jesus brings the
comparison with the mercenary and the real shepherd. The mercenary is a
shepherd for a wage, for a trade, but basically has no interest in the sheep:
"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. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care
for the sheep" (Jn 10:12-13). These words became concrete when Jesus,
freely obeying the will of the Father, accepts to die on the cross. From here,
we understand well what it means to be the good shepherd! Jesus gave his life
for me, for you, and for everyone! The bad shepherd about whom Jesus makes a
reference in today’s gospel thinks of himself and exploits the sheep; instead,
the good shepherd thinks of the sheep and gives himself. Jesus is our good
shepherd.
Good Shepherd - Goodness and Beauty Combined: In the phrase "good Shepherd," Jesus doesn't mean "good" in the sense of being patient and gentle with sheep and lambs. In John 10:12-13, the contrast is clearly made between Jesus and the employed watchers of the sheep, or hired hands (Jn 10:12), those who take care of the sheep merely in return for monetary compensation (Jn 10:13). So the term ‘kalos’ in these verses takes on the implications of “authentic” or “genuine.” Jesus is the good shepherd, the real one, the authentic one. Not a hired shepherd, but the one, the only one, who puts his life on the line like John the Baptist for saving the lost sheep.
In the phrase “I am the Good Shepherd” (ὁ καλός. ὁ ποιμήν), the Greek word 'kalos' (“good”) is used to describe the role of Jesus in the context of his self-giving (laying down his life, 10:11, 15, 17-18) and implies much more than the general meaning ascribed to the word by the philosophers, such as “beautiful,” “good,” “useful.” Therefore, the Greek word, ‘kalos’, could also be rendered as ‘I am the beautiful (handsome) shepherd’. Therefore, the Greek term ‘kalos’ (καλός), which more than offering the meaning of ‘good,’ offers the hint of beauty; the two sensations, good and beautiful, intersect and are linked in a single word that expresses the quality of God's work (Gen 1:4). Because this is what the goodness and beauty of the shepherd refer to, the work of God shines in and through Jesus (Jn 10:25). And we understand that Jesus’ beauty lies not in his appearance, but in his beautiful relationship with the flock, expressed in verbs like "I offer!", "I lay down," "I know," "I give." The wonderful meaning of this phrase "I lay down my life" goes beyond mere pasture and water, more than grass and a safe sheepfold. The shepherd is true because he performs the most real and powerful gesture: giving, offering, and throwing his life for the life of the sheep.
I Know My Sheep: In this short section of the Gospel, Jesus affirms several times: "I lay down (give) my life for the sheep, and I know my sheep and they have the possibility of knowing me." We can compare this knowledge of the shepherd to the knowledge of Jesus with the Father: "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep" (Jn 10:14-15; see also 10:30). Jesus’ statement in these two verses (Jn 10:14-15) focuses on relationships. The good shepherd’s relationship with his sheep is based on their interpersonal knowledge of each other (Jn 10:14). Jesus’ knowledge of the sheep here is more than mere cognitive knowledge. And this life-giving relationship between Jesus and his sheep at the deeper level is modelled on the relationship between Jesus and the Father (Jn 10:15).
I Lay Down My Life: Jesus then expresses the longing of his heart that drives him to go and look for many other sheep because his too must lead. The image that the fourth Gospel gives us is that of men and peoples, disciples and communities, believers and churches who will listen to his voice, realizing in him a communion so lively as to recognize themselves in one flock. God is love, God is father, and Jesus affirms: "For this reason, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father" (Jn 10:17-18). How did Jesus give his life? He offered, he gave his life to him in every moment of his existence, in particular in his continuous search for the poor, the sick, the sinners. But he gave his life especially on the cross when he loved with his whole self, the whole of humanity.
Jesus
Our Model: Jesus becomes our model in giving
oneself totally to God and to his people. He teaches us to give life; he
teaches us that the true way to realize our life is to offer it as love to
others. We can often ask ourselves: "What is the meaning of my life? How
do I use it? How do I spend it? Do I remain only interested in myself? In a
form of individualism, indifference, resignation in the face of so many events
that happen in the world, how do I find myself and how do I move in the
consumeristic society? Do I feel I have a role?" Jesus is the agent of
wholeness, of eternal life, of secure pasture, and of release from the realm of
darkness. May we find solace in the arms of this Good Shepherd. Let us always
remember that for us, the sheep, our support comes only from the good shepherd.
The
Imagery of Good Shepherd: Model of Leadership?
To conclude, we
need to ask a simple question: Why this Imagery of the Good Shepherd? The image
of the shepherd is an extremely important biblical picture of a “leader” (Num
27:17) because it implies not only an intensely personal relationship between
God’s people and their leaders, but also a style or model of leadership
exemplified by Jesus (Mk 6:34). The very word “leadership” is developed from
the shepherd imagery, where the shepherd goes before the flock and encounters
the problems of the flock first. The good shepherd, unlike a general in the
army or even a police officer in the state, does not issue commands and stay at
home; but rather, He is the shepherd who knows the setting, leads the sheep,
and they follow him (Jn 10:4). Sometimes, “leaders” of today’s context are like
the strangers of this text, whose voices are unknown to the sheep, and they
wonder why there are problems in their organizations (Jn 10:5). Now, in the
Christian community, a good shepherd or a Leader is the one who knows how to
put himself/herself at the service of others generously, with love, in an
active way, giving witness to the faith, and spending oneself for the
evangelization of society.
Points
for Personal Reflection
Today is the
World Day of Prayer for vocations. Let’s all pray for vocations and as well as
pray for our good shepherds, that they too may be filled with the generosity of
heart to give themselves in loving service following the good example of the
Good Shepherd.
What is my knowledge of the Good Shepherd? Do I know the Shepherd? It is worth knowing Christ who loves us in such an extraordinary way as St. Paul says: More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ (Phil 3:8). As a Priest/pastor, do I know my sheep? How do I give myself to the sheep? In what way can the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23 enlighten me about the presence of the shepherd in my life?
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