Homily
for Tuesday
4th
Week of Easter
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna
“My sheep
hear my voice; I know them and they follow me” (John 10: 27).
Part of today’s
gospel should sound familiar; we heard its last 4 verses on Sunday.
Jesus, our good
shepherd, knows his sheep. He knows each
of us by name and speaks personally to us as he did to his disciples when he
was among us 20 centuries ago. He
addresses by name Simon, Philip, Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Thomas. They feel his personal connection and eagerly
embrace the relationship he wants with them.
Mary even clings physically to him after his resurrection until he
restrains her.
He wants a similar,
close relationship with each of us. At
our Baptism Christ’s minister addressed us by name, in his name: Harry, John, Gregory, James, Michael, Zoe,
and so on. He calls us to follow him, to
walk with him like Cleopas and his wife on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).
Following him means
believing in him and in his Father:
believing that the Father and the Son love us, forgive us, and desire us
to live in eternal life with them thru the gift of their Holy Spirit to
us. Walking with him means doing the
work of the Father as Jesus did: loving
one another, healing others, teaching others, leading others to the safe
meadows where our shepherd takes us.
I’m not accustomed to
citing op-eds from the New York Times in my homilies. But one from yesterday’s paper bears on
this. David French references Pope Leo’s
first homily, in which he calls the Church “a beacon that illuminates the dark
nights of this world,” and continues by arguing that the Church doesn’t do this
thru its “grandeur”—“the beauty and majesty of [its] buildings” (French) but
thru “the holiness of her members” (Leo).
The writer interprets: “It is not the church’s power or wealth but the
church’s witness that helps transform the world.”[1]
We do Jesus’ works
with our patience, our forgiveness, our encouragement, our listening to others,
our readiness to assist others, and our uniting in prayer with and for one
another.
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