Homily: 4th Sunday in Easter – Cycle A
Friends, in this Gospel passage, Jesus
uses imagery that would have been very familiar to the people to whom he was
speaking in the Ancient Near East: images of sheep and shepherds. Now, most of us probably have never raised a flock
of sheep (and even if we had, we might not have done it the same way as they
did back then). Thus, it might be
helpful to unpack these images that Jesus uses so that we can understand the
message that Jesus is trying to convey.
First, Jesus refers to a sheepfold. In his time, villages were much smaller and
compact and people didn't have large, separate properties in which to raise
their flocks. Therefore, usually, just
outside the village, there would be a large pen—or sheepfold—in which several
flocks of sheep were kept. This
sheepfold would have a large, lockable gate to secure it and a hired guard to
watch over it. The gatekeeper would know
the shepherds who had brought in their flocks and so would not allow anyone
other than them to enter. Thus, those
who are seeking either to harm the sheep or to steal them for their own
purposes would have to climb over the wall of the sheepfold in order to get in. Jesus contrasts this image of the “sheep
stealer” with the shepherd who freely walks in through the gate to retrieve his
sheep. Not only is he known to the
gatekeeper, but he is known also to his sheep.
Even though the flocks are intermixed, a shepherd would simply stand to
one side after entering the sheepfold and call out to his own. His own, who would have grown accustomed to
his voice, would then respond, drawing near to him. They would not recognize the voice of a
stranger, however, so, should a stranger call out to them, they would avoid
him.
Something analogous of this to our own
situations might be a Neighborhood Watch team.
The Neighborhood Watch is a team of residents in a particular
neighborhood that organizes itself in order to keep watch over the neighborhood
so as to keep it safe. The first goal of
the team is to ensure that everyone in the neighborhood knows everyone else so
that they will recognize strangers when they come. The next goal of the team is to be vigilant
for one another: that is, to watch out for one another’s safety and
security. Strangers that enter the
neighborhood, but then enter someone's house by the front door are probably
known to that person; and so, no alarm is necessary. Strangers that enter the neighborhood and try
to enter a home through a window or by climbing over a fence, however, are
probably thieves and robbers and, thus, need to be stopped. Basically, it's an understanding that the
neighborhood is like a sheepfold and the residents are like gatekeepers. Those with good intentions enter through the
gate. Those with harmful intentions try
to sneak in through other ways. Jesus,
in describing all of these things, is contrasting himself, as the shepherd,
with the false messiahs who had come before him, whom he is portraying as
thieves and robbers.
The chosen people of God were in the
sheepfold and the Messiah was the shepherd who would call them out and lead
them into pasture. In fact, the Messiah—the
shepherd—knows the sheep so intimately that he calls them each by name. The false messiahs, Jesus implies, entered
the sheepfold like thieves and robbers and have tried to lead the sheep astray. By using this image, Jesus is trying to lead the
Pharisees to realize that he is the true Messiah, and, thus, to accept him; and
to teach his disciples about how to recognize authentic authority: authority
that will lead them in God’s way, towards eternal life. Thus, this is the message that Jesus is also trying
to convey to us: for he is trying to teach us about recognizing and following
authentic authority.
My brothers and sisters, there are
many voices trying to lead us in different directions in this world. The one who wields authentic authority is the
one to whom we should pay attention. We
know that Jesus is the one who wields authentic authority; but the question remains:
how do we hear his voice? In the Holy
Scriptures, of course; but also through his bishops, priests, and deacons.
And so, if this is true, then why are
so many people being drawn to places of purported revelation? I think that it is because they’re hungry for
authentic authority and they don't see it in their churches. Therefore, if Jesus speaks to us through the
authentic authority of his bishops, priests, and deacons—and if people are hungry
for authentic authority—then it must be that there is not enough bishops,
priests, and deacons to satisfy the needs of the people; and so they are
flocking to places of purported revelations seeking to satisfy their need for
someone to wield authentic authority in their lives: that is, for someone to
shepherd them in the name of Jesus.
My brothers and sisters, this is why
we pray for vocations on this Sunday, which is commonly known as Good Shepherd
Sunday, so that there might be an increase in the number of priests and
religious in the Church who can interpret for us Jesus’ authentic voice in our
lives. And while prayer is always very necessary,
so is action in the world. Thus, I have
homework for you: If you know a young man in your life who you think might make
a good priest someday (or even if you don't know what his vocation might be),
invite him to consider the priesthood. Most
priests will tell you that they began considering the call to the priesthood because
someone invited them to consider it. Your
invitation could open a young man's heart to this call from God. And so, please make a resolution today to
make it a habit in your life to invite young men to consider the priesthood.
Then, pray for them every day. This doesn’t have to be complicated. You could simply pray a Hail Mary during your
morning or evening prayers, or at any other time that you think about it
throughout the day. You could also come
and offer prayers to Jesus here in the Church before the Blessed Sacrament. Any and all of these little sacrifices of
prayer win grace for the young person so that he might discern well God’s voice
in the midst of the thousands of voices that call out to him each and every
day.
St. John Vianney, the patron of parish
priests, once said that "The priesthood is the love of the heart of
Jesus." As we offer to God this
Eucharist today, which is made possible for us only because of the priesthood,
let's pray in a special way for the young men in our parish that God is calling
to be priests: that they would be kept safe from all temptation that would lead
them away from this noble calling and that they would respond generously to his
call. And let us pray also for the grace
to rely on the authentic authority that he has already placed in our midst—and
to trust in the fullness of spiritual revelation that he has already given us
by His presence, both in the Scriptures and in His real presence here in the
Blessed Sacrament—so that we might always be anticipating the fullness of his
presence among us when he, the Good Shepherd, returns to call us each of us, by
name, back unto himself.
Given
at All Saints Parish: Logansport, IN – May 7th, 2017
