Fr. Vince's Homily - 4TH Sunday of Easter: Good Shepherd Sunday — 26 April 2015 (Cycle B)

Father Vince started off looking for someone filled with the Holy Spirit.    He referenced Peter from the first reading in Acts as being filled with the Holy and boldly proclaiming "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved."  He said that we really need people today who are filled with the Holy Spirit who can proclaim Christ and keep our young people engaged in their faith and invite those not practicing to come back to the faith.  We must not be afraid to boldly proclaim Christ and his truth through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We can do this best by following the model of the Good Shepherd.  Father Vince gave some good examples of how shepherd's care for their flock and ways we can put our faith inspired by the Holy Spirit into action:

The 4th Sunday of Easter is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday. 

Middle Eastern culture understood very well what shepherding was all about.  It was about feeding the lambs and the sheep, grooming and clipping them,  bringing them to good

pasture where they would find food and water, delivering the new  born lambs, leading them and teaching them to stay together, seeking the ones who are lost, and protecting the sheep in the field and in the fold.  Today's Gospel reading is a call for all of us to apply these same characteristics when it comes to our faith in Jesus Christ.

To help us answer these questions let's take a look at a shepherd's job description and consider if this sounds like us:

Feeding:

Lambs need milk.  A shepherd is one who realizes that young Christians need the basics of the Gospel and simple Biblical precepts in order to grow. Are you making sure that young people are being taught the basics of our Christian faith?

A shepherd is also one who recognizes that, as opposed to milk, sheep need solid food in order to continue to mature.  In Hebrews 5:12-14 & 6:1-3 we are told:  "Anyone who still lives on milk, still being an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."  In other words, adults need to be continually taught the truth of the faith in order to grow and develop into the people God calls us to be.  Are you helping adult Catholics stay connected with their faith?

Watering:

Sheep need to be watered. A shepherd in one who realizes that the sheep need to be watered. In other words, a person who realizes that humans need God.  As water is essential to human life so is God.  Far too many people today believe that God is not necessary and they do not need a relationship with Him.  Do you let others know why a relationship with God is important?

Grooming:

Sheep need to be groomed. A shepherd is one who keeps others clean and free from the contamination of this world.  Do you stand up for the truth of God even when it is not popular or accepted?

Shearing:

Sheep need to be sheared.  A shepherd is one who realizes that at times the followers of Christ must be disciplined, encouraged, and rebuked in order to be kept fit for service to the Lord.  Listen to 2 Timothy 4:2-5 "Preach the Word; be prepared in and out of season, correct, rebuke, and encourage -- with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth  . . . But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, discharge the duties of your ministry."  Are you willing to do what must be done or to say what must be said; doing this in a loving and compassionate manner?

Delivering Lambs:

New sheep must be delivered. A shepherd is one who helps others to accept Jesus Christ and His Lordship over their lives.  In John 3:3 we are told, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he or she is born again."  In John 11:25, Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." Do you help others to establish a relationship with Jesus Christ?

Leading:

Sheep must be lead. A shepherd is one who leads others to Christ. We must teach others to be wary of the pitfalls of the world and teach them by our own example what difference Jesus Christ can make in their lives.  Do you lead others to Jesus Christ by your own personal witness?

Wandering Sheep:

Sheep will wander off.  A shepherd is one who will always seek out those who have wandered from the Faith.. Luke 15:4, "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?"  Do you reach out to those who no longer practice their faith?

Protection:

Sheep need protection.  A shepherd is one who protects others by giving them the Truth of God. During the time of Christ, a shepherd would bring the flock home to the fold at night.  He would then lay down in the gateway, literally becoming the door, to protect the sheep from wolves attempting to enter the sheepfold.  In Matthew 7;15 Jesus says, "Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." A shepherd, then, is one who will put their life on the line for others. Do you let others know that the truth of God is not confining, but that in being true to God, then we experience what it truly means to be free?

Conclusion:

Christians must take their relationship with Jesus Christ seriously by beings shepherds in the world today who imitate Him. 

Authentic followers of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, are those who feed the lambs and the sheep, bring others to good pasture lands and water them, groom and clip, deliver new lambs, lead and teach them to stay together, go off after the wandering lost ones, and protect the sheep in the fold and in the field.

Hopefully, this sounds like each and every one of us.  If not, let us commit ourselves to a deeper relationship to Him.

Peace in the Risen Lord, Homily, 3rd Sunday of Easter – Cycle B– 4/19/15

The past few years I’ve had the opportunity to see family and friends that I have not seen in years at weddings, funerals, and helping them through illness and other trials.   It was good seeing these friends and family members and catching up with them after many years.  It was like old times and we quickly picked up where we left off years ago.  This was a very joyful experience. 

Unfortunately there were a few people that I did not look forward seeing. For some reason or another there was a rift between us that had not been resolved.   I desired to reconcile, but they were not ready to do so.   I knew it would be very uncomfortable being with them and it made me very anxious. I’m sure that some of you have been in similar situations.  It can be quite stressful.

In today’s Gospel we hear about another encounter of the disciples with

the risen Jesus.  The disciples who met Jesus on the way to Emmaus had returned to Jerusalem.  They were telling the story to the other disciples how they recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.  These other disciples were probably hidden away in fear as Jesus had just been killed and they feared for their own lives.

As the two disciples were telling their story, Jesus appears to the other disciples. They were probably a bit anxious to see Jesus, as they did not leave him on good terms. They had abandoned him in the garden of Gethsemane and left him with the guards to be captured, put on trial, tortured, and killed.  They bailed out on Jesus and left him alone.  What they did would be hard for anyone to forgive.  They knew this and may have felt troubled by Jesus appearing to them.  Also, it must have been frightening to hear that someone had risen from the dead and they may have thought he was a ghost. 

Jesus recognizes that the disciples are troubled and speaks these words of comfort to them: “Peace be with you.”  He knows they are troubled and puts them at ease by offering them his peace.   It’s probably not what the disciple’s expected to hear, but what they needed.   To show them that he had is alive and present to them in the flesh Jesus offers them to touch him.  

Jesus then shares a meal of baked fish to establish fellowship and shows that he is truly alive with a glorified immortal body and not a ghost. He reveals to the disciples the meaning of his resurrection by explaining what the Scriptures said that he would suffer, die, and rise from the dead.    Finally the disciples’ get their mission: to preach repentance for forgiveness of sins in Jesus name.  

Jesus’ encounter with the disciples in Jerusalem is a model of our encounter with him each Sunday that we come to Mass.   Each week we come with our own struggles, anxieties, and stresses just like the disciples. 

We have broken relationships that need mending and people unwilling to be mended.   We have money issues trying to make ends meet that seem impossible to overcome. We have worries about our health and our loved ones.   And to add more fuel to the fire we have sinned against God, others, and ourselves.  We, like the disciples, may be troubled, and question whether Jesus will be present to us, and forgive us.

But each week as we come to Mass we can experience the same encounter the disciples did in Jerusalem.  We start off with the priest, in persona Christi, telling us “Peace be with you”. We’re receiving the peace that only Jesus can offer.  Our minds are being opened up to the Scripture, through the readings, proclamation of the Gospel, and preaching to make sense of God’s word in the context of our lives.  We then get the beautiful gift of being communion with the Lord by sharing in the Eucharistic meal where Jesus is truly present to us in the sacrament. Through the Eucharist we are forgiven of our venial sin. When we receive Jesus in the sacrament we are given the gift of becoming what we eat: to become Jesus to others.

Through Christ’s sacrifice we also become adopted sons and daughters of the Father. We are then sent out like the disciples to “Go announce the Gospel of the Lord.”  

As we come to Mass each week we need to keep in mind that Jesus did the ultimate for us by offering his life in sacrifice to forgive each of our own sins, and those of the whole world.  We need to be willing believe he is our Savior, to ask for his forgiveness, and to accept it.  This should fill us with Joy!    If we let our minds be opened up to the true gift of all that is offered in the Mass, and that Jesus is truly present and offers us forgiveness, it should bring us peace to help us through our troubles.  Our troubles may still be there, but with Jesus’ presence through the sacraments and the Body of Christ, we can make it through any challenging time. 

May the peace that Jesus offers provide us opportunities to share this good news of mercy with others so we can carry out Christ’s mission as his disciples.  God bless you.