Homily for Fourth Sunday of Easter Year A
Listening to Christ, the Good Shepherd In Times of
this Pandemic
Fr. Udoekpo, Michael Ufok
v Acts 2:14a, 36-41
v Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-6
v 1 Pet 2:20b-25
v John 10:1-10
In light
of today’s reading, especially in this time of pandemic, we could name today’s celebration
Good Shepherd Sunday. As a metaphor, “good shepherd” is an old biblical concept.
For instance, we sang it in Psalm 23 toady. We read it also in Jeremiah 23 and
Ezekiel 34 and in many other places in the Hebrew Bible. Though an ancient concept,
it remain relevant for us today. Many of our parishes and institutions are not only
named after Christ the Good Shepherd, but we the metaphorical sheep are
particularly invited to listen to his voice, the voice of life (John 10:10). We
are called to follow him and listen to him, through his good representatives. We
are invited to make Jesus the gate, the entrance of our life’s endeavors. Sheep
are humble creatures, especially in comparison to goats or lions. And those who
pasture them are usually very caring, responsible, compassionate, sensitive, and
approachable. I have witnessed this firsthand in the Holy Land (Israel, Egypt, and
Madabba in Jordan) during my years traveling and studying the material culture of
the Bible.
The images
of today’s readings—sheep, shepherds, and gates—made a lot sense to the early Christian
community, and they are still relevant to us today. If Christ is the shepherd, we
must imitate Christ in our dealings with one another. If Christ is the gate, the
way to life, we must strive to walk the way of Christ. Since we are the sheep and
the flock, we want to listen to Jesus—through holy Scripture, sermons and homilies,
the Holy Eucharist, the sacraments, the magisterium (the teachings of the church),
and Christ’s signs and miracles. We as sheep can also hear Jesus through one another,
whether rich or poor—through our parents, experienced teachers, civil and ecclesiastical laws, leaders, scientists,
especially in this time of Covid- 19. We can hear Christ through our good mentors.
We want to follow him. We want to recognize Christ’s voice, not the voice of strangers.
By “stranger,”
Christ isn’t referring to somebody from California who happens to come to New York
City or Holbrook, depending on where we are. He is not referring to people of other
nationalities who happen to visit a church or find themselves in a new physical
environment. There is no stranger in the church if you obey Christ and strive to
do God’s will. When he speaks of the “stranger” in John’s Gospel, Jesus is referring
to Pharisees, who all along have rejected Jesus and refused to acknowledge his divinity.
The “strange
voices” of which Jesus speaks were those of the Pharisees who refused to
acknowledge his miraculous power to change water into wine (John 2). Strange
voices were those who questioned his cure of the royal official’s son. Strange voices
were those who questioned Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman (John 4).
Strange voices were those who rejected Christ’s compassion toward the sick on the
Sabbath. Strange voices were those religious leaders who doubted Christ’s multiplication
of loaves and his feeding of the hungry (John 6). Strange voices were those who
questioned Christ’s forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery (John 8), his healing
of the man born blind (John 9), and his rising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11:44-53).
In
this time of pandemic we must watch out for strange voices in our own society. Strange voices can come to us in our selfishness.
It can come to us in our acts of indifference to the poor and the needy of our society.
It can come to us in our indiscipline behavior or refusal to keep the rule of
law in our respective locations and nations. Strange voices can come to us in bad movies,
corrupt leaders, inappropriate TV programs, the literature we read, the company
we keep, and the non-biblical ideas we hear. As a Christian, when somebody advises
you, think through their advice and double check to see if it conforms to the teachings
of Christ or of his church. Or if it makes sense!
Even
though the times we are in are hard and difficult, Let us from our different
places of virtual worship pray that we may always, in good and bad times listen
to Christ the Good Shepherd, the guider of our souls (1 Pet 2:20b-25). Let us
always follow him. And like Peter and the eleven disciples (Acts 2:14a, 36-41),
let us go out to share the love and justice of Christ, the good and ideal shepherd, with our
neighbors.
Reflection
Questions
1. In this time of Pandemic do you consistently
recognize Christ as the Good Shepherd and encourage others to do the same?
2. How
often do you pray for your leaders and the heads of your families, that they may
imitate Christ the Good Shepherd?
3. Can
you think of any moments when you have not played the role of a good shepherd
or of a listening sheep by being a good citizen or follow?
