FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
3 MAY 2020
On
the fourth Sunday of Lent, We heard from the Gospel of Saint John about the
healing of the man born blind. As the
man sees for the first time with his physical eyes, he also begins to see with
his eyes of faith. He first sees that
Jesus is a good man. Then he sees that
Jesus is a prophet. Finally, he sees
that Jesus is the Christ, whom he worships.
But, as this man sees more clearly, the religious leaders become blinder
and throw him out of the Synagogue.
On this
fourth Sunday of Easter, Jesus continues to criticize the religious authorities
who remain blind to him and reject anyone who sees the truth about him. To make his point, Jesus uses the image of a
shepherd. Shepherds were known for the
care given to their flocks. They walked
ahead of the flock in taking them to pasture.
The sheep knew the voice of the shepherd, and the shepherd knew each of
his flock. At night, shepherds led their
flocks into sheepfolds, which were indentions in the rocky hillsides. Because these sheepfolds did not have gates,
the shepherd became the gate by lying across the opening. If a thief or robber tried to enter, the
shepherd would be awakened. Some
literally laid down their lives for their sheep.
Those who
heard this parable in the ancient world understood its message
immediately. In praying Psalm 23, they trusted
that God is their shepherd. They also
knew that God anointed humans to be shepherds in his name. Too often, some of these human shepherds
cared more for themselves than for their flock.
False messiahs who claimed to be shepherds led their people to battles
with occupying forces, bringing death and destruction. Now, Jesus refers to the Pharisees as thieves
and robbers who have rejected him to protect their own interests and positions.
Even if we
do not have regular contact with the business of being a shepherd, Jesus speaks
directly to us today. As the top image
on our triumphal arch of our church indicates, the Lord is truly our shepherd. He knows each of us by name, and he draws us
to himself. As our eyes move to the
crucifix above the Altar, we are reminded that the Good Shepherd has laid down
his life for our salvation. As we see on
the image on the front of the Altar, he is the Lamb of God who feeds us with
his very body and blood. This is the
Good News of Salvation.
When Peter
announces this Good News to the gathered assembly in the first reading, they
are cut to the heart and ask what they should do. His response is clear: repent and be baptized. Once we hear this message, our response must
be the same. Many of us have already
been baptized and are incorporated into the Body of Christ. But, we have not always lived our baptismal
promises. We need to repent and turn
more completely to the Lord.
That
requires humility. We may not be as dumb
as sheep, but we can be fooled by those who climb over the sheepfold like
thieves and robbers instead of entering through the gate. Thieves and robbers can convince us that our
welfare lies with the rising and falling of the Stock Market alone. Thieves and robbers can lead us to believe
that our careers or promotions become more important than attention given to
our loved ones. Thieves and robbers tell
us on social media that our freedoms are more important than the lives of
vulnerable people.
The First
Letter of Saint Peter urges us to be patient when we suffer for doing what is
good. We are all suffering under the
weight of this pandemic. In suffering,
we participate in the sacrificial death of the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd not only redeems us by
laying down his life. He is the model
for laying down our lives. Teachers and
students are laying down their lives in their struggle to continue their
education. First Communicants and their
families are doing that by sacrificing this important day. In this time, the Good Shepherd leads us to
take a good look at what we think is important in our lives and turn more
completely to him.
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