His Sheep

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

May 11, 2014

Although Mother’s Day is not a religious holiday, it is still quite appropriate for us to recognize the great gift of our mothers, and the efforts and sacrifices they have made in raising their children, including teaching them the faith. So, on behalf of Father Paul and myself, I would like to extend our warmest wishes to all the mothers who are here today. We hope you all have a wonderful day today.

Today is also the Fourth Sunday of Easter, so we’re about halfway through the Easter season, and because of the readings, this is often referred to as Good Shepherd Sunday. So, if Jesus is our shepherd, what does that make us? Sheep! Now, most of us probably would consider it demeaning to be called sheep in most situations. We think that implies that we follow something or someone blindly, without any thinking on our part. However, listen to what Jesus says: “The sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” It sounds like those sheep are pretty smart. They follow because they know the shepherd’s voice, because they have learned to trust him.

At Jesus’ time, and for a while thereafter, there were many false messiahs, men who deceived others into following them. The Romans were harsh rulers over Israel. People were anxious for someone who would deliver them from their oppressors. They thought the Messiah would come to rescue them and to reign over a new earthly kingdom, which is one reason why Jesus resisted claiming that title for Himself. He does, however, clearly warn about those who He refers to as thieves and bandits, those who would lead the sheep away from the true shepherd, in order to gain worldly power for themselves. And we know that there are those in our time who lead the sheep away, those who claim that there are paths to salvation other than Jesus, and those who deceive by denying the truth of Jesus’ teachings. There have been, and are, many false shepherds, but there is only one Good Shepherd. In verse 11 of the Gospel of John, the verse immediately following today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.” And on Good Friday, He did just that. For each of us. The others, the false messiahs, did not do that.

Jesus is our true shepherd, we are His flock. We are meant to respond to His voice, and to run from those who would take us from Him. We need to make quiet time in our lives so that we can hear the Shepherd’s voice. So many of us always have some type of sound playing – how are we supposed to hear His voice above all the other noise? We hear the Shepherd best if we allow ourselves some quiet time. We have the Gospels, not just to read, but for us to listen to, to learn and to know His word. He has also provided for his flock in another way – He has given us a shepherd to lead us, to care for us, to walk with us. Father Paul. We recognize his voice, and we follow him, confident that he teaches the truth as Jesus, the scriptures, and the Church sets forth. As we look back on the line of priests that have led this parish, we can give thanks to the Lord for having provided us with so many faithful and good shepherds.

As St. Peter says in the second reading, “For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” We should welcome being sheep, rather than taking offense at that description. Being sheep that belong to Jesus, sheep that follow Him, is something that we should rejoice in. For much of history, sheep were highly valued. Having a large flock of sheep was a sign of wealth. It is partly because of their value that they are offered in sacrifice. From the beginning, in the Genesis account of Cain and Abel, when Abel offered the best of his flock of sheep, we see how highly sheep were considered. Jesus is even called the Lamb of God; we will call Him that ourselves when we sing the Agnus Dei a little later in Mass. So, we should not take offense at being called sheep, if the meaning is that we are His sheep.

The Lord is our shepherd, and we heard in the Psalm some of the blessings the Lord bestows on His people, His sheep. And the greatest blessing that Jesus promises us is life. Not just life, but abundant life. Abundant life is not about having more here on earth. It refers to a fullness of life that, through His grace, begins here, but is fully realized once we are living with Him in heaven. When we enter through the gate that is Jesus, we are saved, and, as He says, we will come in and go out and find pasture.

We are His flock; He cares for us, He loves us. We are His own sheep; He calls us by name, each of us, personally, to lead us to salvation, so that we can be with Him forever. So let us be joyful at being called one of His sheep, listen to the voice of our Good Shepherd, and follow Him to everlasting life.