We are celebrating the fourth Sunday of Easter, the
Sunday of the Good Shepherd, the World Day of Prayer for Vocations[1].
To be a disciple of Jesus demands that we respond to every person the same way
the Good Shepherd responds to all. Every person possesses the sacred dignity of
being a child of God. Just as,
aside from Jesus, every baby born is the most important baby ever born, every
person is a unique reflection of the God and deserving of the love and care of
the Lord's presence on earth through us[2].
This is the reason why the charity of the Christian
must reach beyond his or her own family and friends, beyond the parish family
and even beyond the family of citizens of their country. We have to be
concerned about those who are hurt, starving, suffering or dying throughout the
world. Our charity cannot be limited by anything including the parameters of
our faith community. Blessed
Mother Theresa, for example, reached out to the poor of Calcutta and throughout
the world. Most of these people were Hindi, not Christian. All of these people
are made in the image and likeness of God.
Jesus said, I
have other sheep who are not of this fold. These also I must lead and they will hear my voice. Who
was He referring to? Was he
speaking about others outside of his disciples immediate group? Was he speaking
about non-Jews, the gentiles who would become fervent Christians? Was He
speaking about all good people, searching for Truth? Or was He simply speaking about all people in the world, all
are made in the image and likeness of God? Well, we have to assume it is the last group. All
people belong to God, even those who continually run from Him! There is
still time for them to return to Him. They need us to point to where happiness
can be found, to point to God and to support their efforts to reach them. They need us to let them know by our
actions that they are part of the Lord’s flock.
It is easy to say that we need to reach out to others,
but this is often difficult to do.
Perhaps we all do this. We
might be on the run and totally oblivious to a neighbor who is rather down in
the dumps. Usually, it is when you are running from one place to the next, that
someone desperately needs your time. Following the Good Shepherd requires our
never being too busy to be aware of and to respond to those around us who need
help.
My brother, my sister, there is a voice calling to us
to jump. Sometimes the noise of
our lives is so loud, that we don’t hear this voice. But the voice is still
there. We need to hear it. It is the voice of the Good Shepherd. It is the
voice of Jesus speaking to us in the quiet of our hearts, in the love or our
family and friends, in the cries of all calling out to us. The voice of the
Good Shepherd calls out to us calmly and lovingly. He tells us to take the jump, the leap of faith. He tells us to trust in Him because He
is taking care of us.
The Good Shepherd is the Risen Lord. He is with us. He will never leave us alone. Today we ask this Lord to allow us to
slow down and hear his voice ■
[2]
4th Sunday of Easter. April 26, 2015. Readings: Acts 4:8-12; Responsorial Psalm
118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18.
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