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.