4th Sunday of Easter
Year C. (Good Shepherd Sunday)
First Reading
Acts 13:14.43-52
Second Reading
Revelation 7:9.14b-17
Gospel
John 10:27-30
THEME: UNDER THE CARE OF THE GOOD
SHEPHERD
Today being good shepherd Sunday,
the three readings are pointing towards the real good shepherd who is Christ
Jesus. Previous years, I normally centre on the works of shepherds pertaining
to us on earth, but this year, I am moving to another side of the good shepherd
which is how we can be under the care of the perfect good shepherd. Continue Reading...........................
The first reading taken from Acts
of the Apostles is telling us the story of what Paul and Barnabas passed
through in the hands of their fellow brothers (the Jews). Even after their
teachings, people were going back to teaching the early Christians what was
wrong. They were maltreated because of their good works in Christ and they
received that with tender happiness that they were suffering for Christ. Can we
get such persons in our days Christians?
John in his vision saw that
salvation is no longer for only the Jews but also to all those who are under
the good shepherd of Christ. Those who have washed their cloths in the blood of
the Lamb. To have touched blood may mean to have suffered hard and that was
what happened to Paul and Barnabas in the first reading. If we must be under
his care, we have to suffer as he did. Not exactly by dying through the way of
cross and on the cross but through our lives situations.
In the gospel, we are told that,
if we are under the care of the good shepherd, we will never be taken away from
that because no one is greater than the Father whom we are under his care. The
good shepherd as the Bible has it lays down his life for his shepherd and we
cannot look for another example when we have our Lord Jesus Christ as the
perfect example.
If we are under the care of the
good shepherd, there are things expected of us. We have to make every effort we
can to avoid sin. We have to live a virtuous life all the time just like our
master Jesus Christ did and the apostles who came after him or who followed him
and so many other early Christians. Those who started this fight for us
suffered many hardships but they are seriously enjoying now, and for us to
enjoy like them as it appeared in the second reading, we must also follow the
way they followed which is the way of suffering. When we talk about suffering,
we do not mean all these self-created sufferings. Let us give a practical
example of what I mean by self-created suffering. During one of my pastoral
experiences in one of the parishes in my diocese, a woman met me one day and
was telling me a story about her life for me to help her. She told me that she
was having a serious ulcer that time. How did it develop? She was having
challenges in life she met a so called man of God who gave her fasting 06:00AM
to 03:00PM for one full month (30 days). She started the fasting and it was
moving well till after two weeks. She started noticing that her stomach was
itching her somehow whenever she wakes up. This was increasing and she met the
man again to complain and he told her that that was the way devil wanted her to
fail in the prayer. She went home and continued. After two days, the pain was
on increase, her daughter took her to the hospital and she was found to have
developed ulcer. She was advised to be eating on time and food that she should
avoid. She went home, went back to the so called man of God and he repeated
that the devil was at work that she should not agree. She continued the fasting
and the ulcer grew to the worst level and that was the period she came to me to
help her. How could I have helped in that situation? I only recommended that
she should obey her medication administrators and pray God to help her. This
and other ways are the ways we create suffering for ourselves and blame God of
not helping us.
Those who are really under the
care of the good shepherd suffer but their glory awaits them in heaven. Let us
today run to the good shepherd and we shall have eternal life forever in
heaven. THANKS AND HAPPY GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY.
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