The
Preacher’s Study
Fourth
Sunday of Easter, Year C
Dennis Chriszt
Acts of the Apostles 9.36-43
Psalm 23
Revelation 7.9-17
John 10.22-30
While most of us have never seen
a shepherd and even fewer have ever been a shepherd, all of us have at times
been shepherded. We’ve been herded for
our own safety or for the safety of others, or even just for the convenience of
others. As school children, we probably
were shepherded into lines in and out of the classroom. As adults, we’ve been shepherded into lines
when shopping or visiting amusement parks.
Airports are one of the places where we are shepherded through security
and onto the plane. Some of us may have
been shepherded in emergencies, evacuating us to safety. One way or another, we been part of the
crowd, herded around. We probably have
all experienced shepherds who were kind and concerned, as well as those who’ve
treated us like sheep rather than like a human person.
Today’s gospel is one of the
shortest gospels ever proclaimed at Mass.
Jesus simply describes his relationship with his followers as the
relationship between a shepherd who really cares for his sheep and the
sheep. When we believe in the one who
leads us, we follow willingly, even with delight because we know that the Good
Shepherd will never lead us astray, but will only lead us to places of great delight.
The neophytes[1]
in our community have been shepherded over a long period of time to the waters
of baptism. Like sheep guided on the way
to a spring of living water, they have walked a long distance. But the waters they approached and the food
and drink they received were much more than simply water and some grass to chew
on. They were led to waters that made
them part of that crowd John describes in our second reading today. They and we are all part of that “great
Multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue.” They and we are those “who have survived the
time of great distress; [we] have washed our robes and made them while in the
blood of the Lamb.”
Being shepherded is not always a
bad thing for us. Though we may not
always like being treated as part of the herd, when we are guided by the Good
Shepherd, great things can happen. The
Good Shepherd knows his sheep, calls them each by name, and brings them to
waters of eternal life.
Sometimes, after being shepherded
for a long time, we can begin to believe we know the way all by ourselves. We’ve been this way before. We can be tempted to set out on our own. Even then, we are told in another gospel
passage (see Luke 15:1-7), that the Good Shepherd will search for us until he
finds us and brings us back when we are lost.
The Good Shepherd laid down his
life for his sheep, knows us each by name, guides us to life giving waters,
searches for us when we are lost, and rejoices when we are found.
We may not have experienced such
good shepherds in security lines at airports or elsewhere, but here, in this
community of faith, the Good Shepherd will always guide us with care and
compassion.
Dennis Chriszt, a Roman Catholic
priest since 1982, is the founding pastor of the Church of the Resurrection - a
Catholic community in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the founding director of Precious
Blood Parish Missions, a preacher of missions and retreats, a teacher of
liturgy and catechetical methods, and an author of two books:
Creating an
Effective Mystagogy: A Handbook for Catechumenate Leaders ( San Jose, CA:
Resources Publications, Inc., 2001) and The Fifty Days of Joy: Easter Season
Reflections for New Catholics (Schiller Park, IL: World Library Publications,
2007).
He is a member of the Christian Initiation Seminar of the North
American Academy of Liturgy.
[1] Neophyte means “newly planted.” It is a term sometimes used to
refer to the newly baptized who have been through the stages of the
catechumenate leading up to their baptism.
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