Monday 12th
May, 2019. Read Acts 11:1-18,
Psalm 42 and John 10:1-10
_*“The thief
comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and
have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)*_
Today’s Gospel passage contains the
earlier part of the homily preached by Jesus in yesterday’s Gospel passage
where Jesus describes himself basically as the Good Shepherd and the devil as the thief whose only mission is stealing, killing and destruction. It is important
to note that Jesus did not call himself a good shepherd, rather, he is The Good
Shepherd. There is only one Shepherd to whom we can entrust our entire lives –
Jesus. All others will try to be like Him but no one can ever take His place.
What makes Jesus the Good Shepherd? Jesus
gives us to answers today: One, sacrifice for the sheep – Jesus says: “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” but the hireling leaves the sheep
and flees when danger approaches, the hireling cares only about himself, not the
sheep. Two, knowledge of the sheep – Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd; I know
my own and my own know me.”
From as little as having a younger brother
or sister up to being the President of an organization or even a government
official or a church leader, we are shepherds. And we are either good shepherds
or hirelings. The difference lies in, one, our willingness to sacrifice for
those under us and two, our profound knowledge of the situation of those under
us.
In truth, the call to leadership must
never be considered as a call to personal glory or an opportunity to enrich
oneself. It is always a call to service, a call to selflessness, a call to
sacrifice and getting to know that one leads. It is all too easy for us to
condemn our leaders but as the saying goes: “uneasy lies the head that wears
the crown.” The only valid condemnation for bad leadership is not raining
insults on our leaders but the very example of our good leadership.
Leading others (fellow human beings) is
indeed the most difficult assignment on earth. Without cultivating the habit of
personal prayer, no one can ever succeed at it. This is the lesson we learn in
today’s first reading. In his prayer, Peter was given a vision wherein he was
told not to call anything unclean which God has made clean. He would later understand
the meaning of this vision when some men came from Caesarea to fetch him. In the
end, a Roman official of high standing, Cornelius along with his entire family
was baptised and received the Holy Spirit. This paved the way for the spread of the
faith to Rome.
From Peter’s experience, we may add prayerfulness
(attentiveness to the Holy Spirit) to the qualities of a good shepherd
mentioned by Jesus. No wonder, in the course of his earthly life, Jesus did not
joke with prayer. Very often, Jesus would spend entire nights alone in prayer
or he would rise very early and go to a lonely place to pray.
Above all, from the vision of Peter, we
learn to avoid judging people simply based on where they come from. Whereas the bad shepherd, the thief thrives by creating division and sowing seeds of
hatred and ethnic rivalry among the sheep, the good shepherd unites all, mends
conflicts and teaches love above anything else.
St. Paul would later add in Galatians
3:27-29 “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves
with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And
if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to
the promise.”
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, shepherd of my
soul, give me a heart that welcomes rather than discriminates others. Amen.
*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have
Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the 4th
Week of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 11:1-18, Psalm 42 and John 10:1-10).*
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