Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
4th Sunday of Easter

May 11, 2025
John 10: 27-30
Acts 13: 14, 43-52
Rev 7: 9, 14-17
Villa Maria, Bronx                      
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

The Good Shepherd
(Catacomb of St. Priscilla)

“Jesus said:  ‘My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me’” (John 10: 27).

The gospels tell us frequently how Jesus spoke to people in a personal way.  His sheep hear his voice.  He addresses individuals very personally, often by name, e.g., Simon Peter, Philip, Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Thomas.  Drawn into a personal relationship, they follow him.

Jeus has called each of us by name, too, called us into a personal relationship with him.  When we’re baptized, thru the priest or deacon who stands in for Christ, we’re addressed by name:  Michael, Elizabeth, Kevin, Sarah, Anthony, Mary—whatever our name is—“I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  Likewise in Confirmation, the bishop, standing in for Christ, addresses us by name as he signs us with chrism:  “So and so, be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Jesus knows us and calls us to follow him in a relationship of love and joy, like Mary Magdalene clinging to Jesus when he meets her and addresses her by name outside his empty tomb (John 20:11-18).

Following Jesus has a cost.  We don’t immediately leap into the eternal life he offers us.  Like Jesus himself, like the apostles Paul and Barnabas in our 1st reading, we’ll meet opposition, hostility, and threats because we follow Jesus (Acts 13:43-52).  The world is not fond of his message that God loves everyone, that God created us male and female, that marriage is sacred, that human life is precious because it belongs to God, that we must love our enemies, that we must share our resources with the needy.  At the Last Supper, Jesus warned his apostles, “If they persecuted me, they’ll persecute you too” (John 15:20).

Persecution is referenced in our 2d reading:  “These are the ones who’ve survived the time of great distress” (Rev 7:14).  The book of Revelation comes out of a period of intense persecution at the end of the 1st century, aiming to encourage the followers of Jesus and give them hope.

Jesus promises his sheep that “they shall never perish” and “no one can take them out of my hand” (John 10:28)—not Roman emperors nor Communist dictators nor religious fanatics.  Those who faithfully follow Jesus will follow him into eternal life (10:29).

Did you notice that Paul, Barnabas, and the disciples they won for Christ “were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52)?  You may remember that one of Pope Francis’s major writings was Evangelii gaudium, “The Joy of the Gospel.”  Because Jesus knows us personally, has called us by name, and has joined us to himself, we’re filled with joy.

Adoration of the Mystic Lamb
(Ghent Cathedral)

The book of Revelation tells us, “The Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (7:17).  He overcomes all the distress of this world, all the trials of ordinary family, social, and political life, all the harassment and persecution that his flock encounters.  That flock, that “great multitude which no one could count” (7:9), stands before the throne of God in heaven and “before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands” (7:9)—the white robes of innocence and purity, like the white garments of the newly baptized and the albs of ministers of the altar; and the palms of victory over sin, over death, over the world’s tribulations.

Our prayer this morning/afternoon noted that our “brave Shepherd has gone before” us to “lead us to a share in the joys of heaven” (Collect).  He knows us; he calls us; let’s follow him.