Fourth Sunday of Easter Year C
Acts 13:14, 43–52
Psalm 100:1–2, 3, 5
Revelation 7:9, 14b–17
John 10:27–30
Good Shepherd Sunday presents a Gospel that is short and straight to the point. Jesus speaks of His relationship to His sheep and to His Father.
For a member of the Lord’s flock, there is a reciprocity with a true experience of mutuality. The sheep listen to and follow the Shepherd, and the Shepherd shares His life with them. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” The promise of Easter is a full experience of the new life that Jesus has won for us.
Jesus affirms that the bond that has been created with those who hear His voice is permanent and unbreakable because it flows from His oneness with the Father. “No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
Those who accept Jesus at His word are called to develop an attitude of docility and trust. We listen so that we may hear His voice, and we resolve to follow where He leads. The journey is difficult and uncertain, but we can be sure of the Shepherd.
Paul and Barnabas proclaim the message entrusted to them to two distinct groups. First, they speak to Jews living beyond the confines of Palestine, living in the Diaspora, who continue to practice their faith through involvement in local assemblies, the synagogues.
When they accept the message, the missionaries are encouraged to continue to proclaim it to those who share in the hope of a messiah. When they discover that their message is rejected by members of the synagogue, Paul and Barnabas resolve to turn to Gentiles, to those who have not yet shared in the hope of Israel.
“Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
The relationship that Paul and Barnabas have with the Shepherd leads them to put their trust in the Lord’s call. They see rejection not as a reason to set aside their ministry of proclamation but as an impetus to broaden the scope of their efforts.
Shaking the dust of one town from their feet, they move on to other towns. Ironically, they are filled with a sense of joy and accomplishment even in a time of apparent failure.
When times are difficult, we can be tempted to despair. However, in those moments, if we persevere, we discover that we truly belong to the Shepherd. We listen deeply, and we hear His voice encouraging us to continue the journey. Doors might close to us, but we have a window into eternity that beckons us forward.
John’s vision in the early chapters of the Book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of the fulfillment of the ministry that is just beginning through the preaching of the first Apostles. Members “of every nation, race, people and tongue” are called to the new life promised in Christ. The Responsorial Psalm puts on our lips the declaration “We are His People, the sheep of His flock.”
The Church of ages past has met many challenges, including rejection, persecution and divisions of every kind. Our own era seems to present insurmountable obstacles to the effort to share faith. Nonetheless, the fact that we know that we belong to Christ serves to encourage us to continue on our way.
The Diocese of Columbus is blessed with the news that the Church has named for us a new shepherd with the heart of the Good Shepherd. Let us pray that Bishop-elect Earl Fernandes may find us to be a flock who listens to him to hear the voice of the Shepherd as he takes up his new role as our bishop.