May 8th 2022.  Fourth Sunday of Easter
GOSPEL   John 10:27-30

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

 

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

 

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GOSPEL   John 10:27-30

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. Our desire for autonomy  leads to suffering and division. We need to stop following ourselves and follow the Lord.

On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, the readings are all consistent with the theme of the Good Shepherd as the one who must be followed. When Paul and Barnabas are rejected by their Jewish listeners, they are compelled to turn to the pagans. Thus, we Gentiles inherit the promises made to Abraham, becoming his children by faith. In the Gospel, we are told that the sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow him. The drama of not following the voice of the Lord but of following one’s own volition is a drama that has unfolded since the Fall in Eden. When man emphasizes his own autonomy, then suffering, dictatorship and tyranny follow.  How important it is in life to permit oneself to be corrected and guided by others! Teachers often discover that those who are self-taught often never arise above mediocrity whilst those that are open to the teachings of others attain a completely different level. As St Bernard of Clairvaux said, “He who makes himself teacher of himself becomes the disciple of a fool”. Our desire for autonomy leads to solitude because it causes rivalry with others and fixation with oneself.

 

2. By baptism we are washed in the blood of the Lamb and called to enter into the great tribulation, the battle of being transformed, no longer following one’s own passions, but following the voice of the Lamb.

The second reading speaks of this enormous multitude dressed in white before the throne of the Lamb. This is a symbol of baptism. These people have come from the great tribulation and washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. The tribulation is that of living out one’s baptismal calling, being freed from one’s own ego, from the violence of the passions, from the weight of a self-referential existence. Blood does not seem a good substance for washing something and making it white, but the blood of Christ cleanses us from sin. We are made brilliantly white because we have encountered the purifying mercy and pardon of God. This multitude is constantly in front of the Lord’s throne because they live for him, not for human respect. They exist in intimate communion with God and no longer have hunger or thirst for anything, having overcome the need for the compensation of the passions, “for the lamb who is in the centre of the throne will shepherd them”.

 

3. Intimacy with the Lamb is fundamental. We follow him not because he is dominant or forceful but because he knows us and loves us. It is his voice that leads us away from our self-deception and to true life.

It is a curious thing to be led by a lamb, because a lamb is a meek creature. Usually we are led by dominant forces, not by a creature who has lost the battles of this world. But the key to being led by this lamb is the fact that we know and trust him. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me”. To “know” someone in Hebrew refers to profound knowledge of the other. We Christians have the experience of being known and loved, even in our poverty and misery. We have been washed in the blood of the lamb and have been transformed, brought through the tribulation – the slavery to passions, trapped in lives of deception. The fundamental issue is to follow the Lord and not follow oneself, to allow oneself to be pastured. The first thing Jesus said to his disciples was “Follow me!” We have thousands of daily opportunities to trust in the Lord and follow him. May this liturgy lead us to the white garments, to the tent of intimacy with the Father, and to this voice of the Good Shepherd which guides us interiorly, instructs us and saves us, freeing us from our deceptions.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

This Gospel tells us so much about the spiritual life and about true discipleship! How are we to follow Jesus? How do we encourage others to follow Jesus? Should we give them a moral lecture, telling them all the norms that they need to observe? Should we frighten them into submission, warning them about the dangers of not following Jesus? All too often, our preaching has been of this sort! But in the Gospel for today, Jesus outlines a completely different way. He tells us that his sheep hear his voice. He knows them and they follow him. As a consequence, he gives them life, and this life leads them into communion with the Father. There is no imposition here or blind obedience! In fact, the Hebrew word for “obey” means “to listen”. Jesus speaks his word to us. If we are receptive to that word, then it penetrates within us and we feel known and understood by the Lord. This is what prompts us to follow Jesus! Of all the five senses, listening is the most important when it comes to receiving the Lord’s word. This listening leads us to be known by the Lord. To be known in Hebrew does not mean to have knowledge but to be in an intimate relationship. The foundation of my stability and security derives from my memories of the times when I have felt known and understood by the Lord. Let us cultivate our memory of these occasions! My weakness and my misery are not decisive! What is decisive is that the Lord has spoken his word to me, that he knows and loves me, and that he calls me to follow him in freedom.