I hope that you enjoy and are edified by my homily from this past Sunday. Please pray for me this week as I will be on retreat. Many blessings to you all!
Homily:
4th Sunday of Easter – Cycle C
If you’ve grown up here in the United States, then you
probably know something about cowboys and cattle ranchers. Perhaps many of us have never been on a
cattle ranch, but the image of the cowboy and cattle rancher is so ubiquitous
in our cultural folklore that I would dare to say that very few of us know
nothing about them. Even for our friends
who have come to us from south of our borders, even if they have never seen the
countless films and television shows about cowboys and cattle ranchers, they would
know something about them because many of them have come from rural areas where
they either owned or worked on ranches.
That said, one of the most prominent images of cowboys and
cattle ranchers is the image of the cowboys driving the herd of cattle: either
from one area to another or to market for sale.
It takes a lot of cowboys to drive a herd of cattle. You need a line of cowboys pushing from
behind just to get them moving and a number of cowboys on either side to keep
them all together. It takes a lot of
energy to drive a herd of cattle and there’s nothing gentle about it.
Shepherding, however, is very different than this. Perhaps, for many of us, the only things that
we know about shepherding are what Jesus tells us in the Gospels. The shepherd, in contrast to the cowboy
driving the herd from behind, walks ahead of the sheep, whistling, speaking, or
singing, and the sheep follow behind. As
long as they can hear the shepherd’s voice, they will keep following. This, of course, means that they have to stay
close to the shepherd; because, if they get too far away, they won’t be able to
hear his voice and, thus, may get separated from the flock and become
lost. This is, perhaps, why it always
looks like sheep are walking on top of each other: they don’t want to risk
getting too far away from the shepherd!
This helps for protection, too, as predators won’t attack the sheep if
the shepherd is close. And so we see
that the work of the shepherd is much different than the work of the cowboy,
though the result is the same: the herd/flock moves from one place to another.
Isn’t it interesting, then, that God has chosen to use the
image of the shepherd to describe himself?
Among ancient religions, even those that worshiped many gods, they
almost always acknowledge one god that is supreme above them all. This god is often associated with the sun or
the sea or a volcano—some natural phenomenon on which their culture
depends. Never, however, do they see
this supreme god as a divine shepherd of humankind. Comparing God to a good shepherd can only
happen in a religion that recognizes a special connection between the human
person and God—such as, for instance, when the book of Genesis describes that
man was created in the image of God.
Only then does the comparison make sense, because a God who is a good
shepherd is a God who walks with his people, guiding them and protecting them
from harm.
Thus, when Jesus says “My sheep hear my voice; I know them
and they follow me” he is invoking this image of the divine shepherd of
humankind. He is reminding us that God
is not someone who is distant from us, but rather someone who is close to us
and who wants us to remain close to him.
Too often, perhaps, we think of God as a cowboy driving the herd, using
force to move us in the direction that he wants us to move. The Scriptures today remind us, however, that
God is like a shepherd who leads us by the sound of his voice. In this image, we have a responsibility,
don’t we? A responsibility to stay close
enough to hear his voice.
Unfortunately, life in today's world is noisy, and it is
not always easy for us to hear the voice of our good shepherd. We are bombarded with so many other voices,
so many images, so many ideas. Christ
knows this, yet he still tells us, "My sheep hear my voice; I know them,
and they follow me." What gives
Christ so much confidence in our ability to stay close to him and avoid the
traps set by poachers and wolves? It is
prayer, one of God's greatest gifts to us, and one that we often take for
granted. Christ is always paying
attention to us, just as a good shepherd pays attention to his sheep. He is always speaking to us, just as a good
shepherd walks ahead of his flock talking and singing, so they can hear him and
follow. No matter how noisy, dark, or
stormy it gets, Jesus knows how to make his voice heard in our hearts; but we
have to tune in. So how do we do this?
First, of course, is to stay close to him in the
sacraments. Our weekly participation in
the Mass and the frequent use of the sacrament of Reconciliation are tangible
means of grace that keep us close to the Shepherd so that we can hear his
voice. Beyond that is our time of
private prayer, particularly spending time with the Holy Scriptures. The Scriptures are the living Word of God and
so spending time praying with them helps us to know what his voice sounds like
so as to know when he is speaking to us.
Finally, the teachings of the pope, our bishop, your priests and lay
leaders are additional ways that we can hear the voice of the Good Shepherd
speaking directly into our lives.
Listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd is also the
way for one to discover his or her vocation.
We all know that there is a constant need for more young men and women
to discover and to follow God’s call to the priesthood and religious life. Every one of us has the duty to help our
young people to hear the call of the Good Shepherd. God keeps calling, but there must be a
fervent Christian environment among families, parishes need to promote
formative and apostolic activities that open young people’s hearts to the call
of the Lord, and young people need to be taught generosity so as not to deny
God anything He asks for. We need to pray for our young people and to encourage
them to listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd to see if he is calling them
to a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. It is also providential that this World Day
of Prayer for Vocations comes just one week after Pope Francis released his
apostolic exhortation “On Love in the Family”, because it is truly the
fostering of a renewal of Christian family life that will foster a renewal of
vocational discernment among our young people.
My brothers and sisters, with all of the competing voices
surrounding us, it surely is hard work to listen for the voice of Jesus; but it
is a work we must take up if we hope to be one of the great multitude standing
before the throne of the Lamb who will drink from the springs of life-giving
water for all eternity. Let us take up
this good work so that we may never lose our way and so that we might enjoy the
loving care of the Good Shepherd forever in heaven.
Given at All Saints Parish:
Logansport, IN – April 16th, 2016
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