Bible Study: Acts 13, 43 to 52. Revelation
7, 9 to 17 and John 10, 27 to 30.
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Today,
being the fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday
or Vocations Sunday. And each year, on this particular Sunday, we hear the
Gospel passage where Jesus declares himself as the GOOD SHEPHERD; that is, the
perfect shepherd who takes the best care possible of every one of us. However,
we tend to assume almost immediately that since Christ is a shepherd, then by
virtue of being Christians, we all are his sheep and this is precisely where we
miss the point.
Who is sheep? And what qualifies one as a sheep? Of all the
animals known to man, the sheep is one of the most humble. Basically, a sheep
follows, he doesn’t give instructions, he would never move until its master
says so. Whatever a sheep is made to do, that is what it does. Even if the
sheep knows it is being led to the slaughter house, you never see any
resistance, it just goes on quietly and obediently. In fact, to be called a
sheep in the real sense can be taken as an insult as we human beings consider
ourselves more intelligent than that. But then, the truth is that we are all
sheep; we all have our loyalties, what differentiates us from one another is
not whether or not we are sheep, it is who we consider to be our shepherd.
If you listen carefully, to the words of Jesus in our Gospel
passage, he didn’t say, everyone who comes to church is my sheep, neither did
he say, once you are baptised and confirmed, you have become my sheep. Instead,
he says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.” How can
we say we are the sheep of Christ, if we fail to listen to his voice? When Christ
says: “I know them”, he means to say, “no one can pretend to be my sheep, I know
those who are real and those who are just there to give impression.” There is
no half-heartedness when it comes to being a sheep, you are either with Christ
or with another shepherd. And then, Jesus says: “they follow me.” Dear friends,
do you consider your life as a long walk with Jesus holding your hands and you
move? Do you follow Jesus? Do you consult him for every decision you take on a
daily basis? Do you follow his instructions as contained in the Scripture?
The truth is that we are never really on our own. It is either
we have Christ as our shepherd or we align ourselves to the world, to people,
to money or some other shepherds. Ever heard the phrase: “na prayer I go chop?”
Meaning, “What has God got to offer me?” Consider this: every time we steal,
tell lies and so on, we are following other shepherds because we believe they
have something to offer us which Christ cannot give. A sheep only follows the shepherd
whom it believes can offer it the protection and support it needs.
In our first reading this morning, Paul and Barnabas are
preaching to the Jewish community and winning thousands of converts to Christ. All
of a sudden, jealousy arose among their leaders who came out to contradict and
revile Paul. And so, Paul and Barnabas had no other choice but to turn to the
Gentile community. The Jews not only rejected the message of Paul and Barnabas,
they went as far as inciting the women of high standing and the leading men of
the city against Paul and Barabbas. This brought about a persecution against
the apostles and they were eventually driven out of the city.
This episode reveals one fact; that no one can force or impose a
shepherd on you. There is no amount of preaching that will make you decide who
should be your shepherd. Deep in your heart, you know who you pay your allegiance
to. I can only persuade you to make Jesus Christ your shepherd by following him
sheepishly.
And this morning, that persuasion comes heavily from our second
reading. St. John in his revelation tells us about those who would be saved
from the great tribulation. He says they are those who have washed their robes
white, that is, those who have not soiled themselves with sin. They will never
be hungry or thirsty again, neither shall the sun strike them. For Jesus
himself who made himself a lamb though his obedience will be their shepherd, he
would guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tears
from their eyes.
May we be among this group of people in the end. May we let go
of our pride and listen to the voice of Christ alone. May our lives be coloured
with obedience to Jesus as true sheep. Amen.
And we pray too for our physical shepherds who represent Christ
in our lives; the priests and religious that they may be found worthy of
leading the flock diligently by manner of their lives and the shining example
of their conduct. We pray too that given that the harvest is so rich, God
himself may fill the heart of more young men and women to volunteer themselves for
the ministry. We pray for bad shepherds who no longer feed their sheep but
instead feed on their sheep that God himself will intervene to save the flock. We
pray too for shepherds who are overworked, having no time for themselves
because the labourers are few as well as shepherds who are unappreciated and
deeply hurt for various reasons that God will spring forth joy into their lives
and fill them with zeal once again.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, you are a good shepherd, forgive me for not being a
good sheep in your flock and for those times I went after other shepherds. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be
Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy Sunday.
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