Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
4th Sunday of Easter

April 25, 2021
John 10: 11-18
Holy Name of Jesus, New Rochelle, N.Y.

“Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd’” (John 10: 11).

The 4th Sunday of Easter is always Good Shepherd Sunday with a gospel reading on that theme.  And because of that theme, it’s also designated as Vocation Sunday.

Jesus is a good shepherd because he diligently watches over his Father’s flock, God’s people.  He protects them, saves them from danger, looks for those who stray, and even lays down his life to save them from the worst danger, being snatched by a wolf called the Devil.

Someone hired to watch someone else’s sheep runs from the wolf, Jesus says (10:12).  He has no real concern for the sheep, only for his pay (10:13).  In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus could have run as, indeed, his apostles did.  But Jesus loves his Father, the true master of the sheep, and he loves the sheep—so he doesn’t run from the mob that comes to arrest him.  He even shows concern for one very lost sheep named Judas and tries to dissuade him from what he’s about to do.

As a good shepherd, Jesus knows each sheep of the flock.  To us who know nothing about sheep, it’s amazing that shepherds can distinguish them, give them individual names, know their personalities (so to speak).  We see this most especially in Jesus when he encounters Mary Magdalene at the tomb and she mistakes him for a gardener—until he calls her by name.  Then she knows him—the personal relationship is strong—and he commissions her to be the “apostle to the apostles,” to announce to them his resurrection (John 20:11-18).  Likewise, he treats Doubting Thomas so gently, patiently (John 20:24-29).  So kindly he lets Simon Peter atone for his 3 denials with 3 professions of his love (John 21:15-19).

This is our Good Shepherd, loving us individually, eager to meet us in personal prayer, ready to forgive our faults, ready to guide us on our pilgrimage thru life and its dark valleys toward a permanent union with him in the next life, till he brings us to the greenest of pastures to lie down in safety (Ps 23)—far from the clutches of Satan.

On this Vocation Sunday, let’s note 1st of all that every Christian has a vocation.  The most basic vocation is to be a disciple of Jesus—the vocation given us in Baptism.  More than that, we’re called to a close friendship with Jesus.

There are different ways of living out our Christian vocation, different ways of following Christ toward heaven and of helping others do the same.

Most Christians are called to marriage, the vocation of mirroring Christ’s love for the Church; of helping the closest of friends, one’s spouse, follow Christ; of becoming saints together, like the parents of the Little Flower, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin (pictured, left and below).  That vocation includes (usually) raising a family of little disciples and patiently (like Jesus himself) training them to become big, mature Christians.

Other disciples, much fewer in number, follow Jesus individually—single Christians living in the world and bringing Christ into the world thru lives of service in some form, and of course lives of personal prayer and devotion.  Dorothy Day is a famous example that comes to mind.

But on Vocation Sunday, we note particularly the vocations of those whom Jesus calls to do his shepherding work in his place.  Some of them are even called “pastors,” the Latin word for shepherd.

These are men and women consecrated to God’s service, and service of God’s flock, by either vows or sacred ordination.  Ordained ministers—deacons, priests, and bishops—are essential to the Church for its guidance, its sanctification, and its public worship.  Christ continues to call men to this service, and we pray that those men will hear his call and be generous in responding; and that they’ll have the support of their families and friends.  Almost always, priestly vocations come from solid Catholic families.  Research shows that the greatest influence on a future priest is his mother.

The priesthood is a challenging but very rewarding vocation; I can affirm that after living it for 43 years.  If any young man here today feels in his heart that Christ may be calling him, I encourage him to pray over that, to cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus, and to seek advice from his pastor, his confessor, or some other wise people.  The Church needs you.  Christ needs you.  Be ready to sacrifice yourself and to live for Christ and his flock, to become “another Christ” saving souls in his name.

The vocation to consecrated life, to vowed life, is something else.  Christ calls chosen disciples to be nuns (or sisters), brothers, consecrated virgins, or vowed followers in another kind of institute.  These women and men are spouses of Christ, giving themselves totally to him, perhaps in secret lives of constant prayer—like St. Therese, the Little Flower, or a Trappist monk; or perhaps in some apostolic ministry like teaching, health care, or the missions.  Nuns and brothers live together in a religious community (like the Ursulines, the Christian Brothers, and the Salesians here in New Rochelle) and make vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty.  A faithful religious—they’re called “religious” because they belong to a religious order or congregation—is intimately bound to our Lord Jesus and knows great joy in being close to him.

In the Collect, we prayed that God the Father would “lead us to a share in the joys of heaven.”  Following faithfully our vocation in the Christian life—marriage or single life, the priesthood or vowed consecration—puts us on that joyful journey.