Homily for the Week of May 3, 2009

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, 2009
First Reading: Acts 4:8–12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118:1, 8–9, 21–23, 26, 28, 29
Second Reading: 1 John 3:1–2
Gospel: John 10:11–18

Most of you have heard the expression: You're nothing but a bunch of sheep! We do not consider being called ''sheep'' flattering. This insinuates that a person or group of people are simply blind followers, unable to think for themselves, and are incapable of being leaders. This does make sense as sheep are utterly defenseless and are dependent on shepherds for protection. They will wander off without a thought about danger. Shepherds must ward off predators, guide them to food and water, or even keep them from foolishly falling off a cliff while eating grass.

The people of Jesus' day did not see Jesus comparing them to sheep as an insult; rather they saw it as an accurate description of their own circumstances. The people were defenseless. There were no police. Roman soldiers were often as much predators as they were defenders of a city. They could do pretty much as they pleased, and the only time restraint was ordered was to avoid a riot. People had to travel in groups. Travelling alone between towns and villages guaranteed being mugged or worse. The Jewish leaders were powerless to do anything about any of this. They too were in continual danger.

The example has even more depth. There were two kinds of shepherds: the hired man and the owner. The Gospel makes clear the hired man was only interested in money. He would not give his life for someone else's sheep. Such shepherds were also known to help themselves to a sheep or two. The owner of the flock was someone who would do anything to protect his flock. The flock was his livelihood. Sheep were not used for food, they were kept for their wool. The more sheep, the more wool, the more money. No owner would risk losing his income.

Jesus most likely lived with and met many shepherds. He admired them so much that he uses them as examples of how his followers must take care of each other. When Jesus decided to call himself The Good Shepherd, He made a good choice, but then, on the other hand, He didn't have much choice. In the Old Testament, the Messiah is referred to as the Shepherd twenty-two times.

But Jesus gives us a new and third kind of shepherd. Jesus was not a ''hired man'' and He was not exactly an owner, though His connection to His sheep was strong and intimate. The difference Jesus gives when He describes himself as a shepherd is His reason for being a shepherd. Jesus is not motivated by money, chooses to be a shepherd because of His love for His sheep. The Father loves us and put us in Jesus' care, and thus Jesus loves us as part of His love for the Father. Jesus gives us a model of what it means to love and why we must love. He loves because the Father loves, and because Jesus loves all things belonging to the Father, the Father loves Him.

Jesus teaches this love to us. We are to love all things that belong to God. Our sole motivation for all we do or refuse to do is based on this love for God.

Unfortunately we still struggle to understand how simple this is. We are so possessive of what is ''ours,'' and the Acts gives us a picture of ourselves as we more often tend to be. Peter had healed someone. The leadership overlooked the miracle. They accepted it as fact. Looking past it, they were far more concerned ''by whose authority'' had they done this. Their interest was self-serving. The healing power of Peter and the Apostles was a threat to their authority.

We must reach back into history and understand that this notion of acting out of love was very different than what they had been used to. You cared for your own. You did not care for the outsider. Generally speaking, all Jews were ''insiders'' and no one else matter. There was no sense of obligation toward outsiders. This understanding is important, for example, in the parable of the Good Samaritan. That no one stopped to help the man who had been injured by robbers was no surprise: He is not one of us! Jesus begins to teach that we do have an obligation for all people, even the outsiders.

In referring to himself as the Good Shepherd, Jesus says ''I know mine and mine know me.'' This term, to know, implies a very intimate knowledge. It means Jesus knows all the inner thoughts and makeup of all who are His own. Only someone intimately acquainted with us knows what goes on in our hearts and souls. Jesus is telling us He has this type of love for us.

Jesus goes on to say, ''I have other sheep who do not belong to this fold.'' This is an owner-shepherd who is just as concerned with the flocks of other owners as His own. Shocking! Jesus was rejected for this view. Thus, the psalm response: ''The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.'' We cannot reject this notion. This way of loving put the early Christians at odds with others thus the first Letter of John acknowledges that world ''does not know us.''

Does my love -- especially for the outsider -- perplex the general population which tends to care for only its own? This is how God loves us. We are to love in kind.
As our Good Shepherd Jesus is concerned that we are well taken care of. He is especially concerned that we get his message that we are good sheep always loved by him. He doesn't force his message on anyone, but offers it freely. As a shepherd he calls out to the sheep who are free to respond or not.