DOCTRINE AND FAITH (Acts 13,14.43-52; Rev 7,9.14-17; John 10, 27-30: 4th Sunday of Easter; Year C 2016)
The fourth Sunday of Easter is often called the Good Shepherd Sunday because all the gospel passages of the three cycle are taken from Chapter 10 of the Gospel according to John, which has the allegory of the good shepherd and the sheep as its main theme. The short passage of today’s gospel is the concluding part of this allegory of the shepherd where Jesus is being presented as the good and true shepherd, who takes his flock so much to heart that he is ready to give up his life for them. This is in contrast to the shepherd-mercenary who abandons the flock as soon as he notices danger.
Yes, Jesus is ready to give up his life for the flock. But what is the essential quality of Christ’s flock? Were the Jewish people of Jesus time possible members of his flock? No! This can be seen from the preceding verses before today’s gospel passage. The Jewish people who were the interlocutors with Jesus, were speaking, interrogating and replying to Jesus not to be illuminated in order to believe, but were rather looking for faults to accuse him of, so as to condemn him. They were not listening to the message of salvation he was proclaiming. Listening is an essential quality of Christ’s flock as he enunciated: The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life. Therefore, the sheep that belong to Jesus are these who listen to his voice, that is to say, those who accept his message with open mind, without prejudice. They are those who know him and follow him. On his part, Jesus is the good shepherd who knows his flock. Thus, there is reciprocity of knowledge between Jesus and his disciples. What is meant here is knowledge that is neither theoretical, nor on the level of the intellect, but one that shows an intimate relationship that is personal, profoundly experiential, involving the heart and the emotion of love. In fact, Jesus is the good shepherd because he gives eternal life to his flock. This is to say that he communicates divine life to his disciples and in order to do so, he offers up his life as a gift to the extent of pouring his blood on the cross.
In the Eucharist which we celebrate solemnly every Sunday, Jesus perpetuates the sacrifice of the cross (SC 47: Vatican II document on Liturgy) sacramentally and by participating in the Eucharistic banquet we enter into real communion with Christ. St. Leo the Great holds: The proper effect of the Eucharist is to make us become what we receive. That is why Jesus gave up himself for us so that we become gifts to others. Jesus himself directed: Do this in memory of me, that is to say, make yourself a gift to one another just as I do for you. Only in the sacrifice of self that the Eucharist, which we celebrate become an effective, lived and experienced Eucharist.
Christians are called to continue, at every moment and place, to make that sacrifice of life to the world which still pertains to Christ's sacrifice of himself. Jesus continues to give himself to the world and people through the multiplicity of vocation he bestows on people. There are variety of gifts and vocations. Each person is enjoined, in the state of life into which Providence has put him/her, to burn himself/herself and sacrifice himself/herself for the salvation of his neighbor. Paul in the first reading, speaking to the community of faithful in Antioch in Pisidia said: I have made you a light for the nations, so that my salvation may reach the end of the earth. Every Christian should be aware and convinced that he/she should not be exempted from this task of participating actively in the salvation of the world nor should he/she delegate this important task to priests, religious and missionaries. Each Christian should be personally involved. We are, however, grateful to God that in the Church there are particular and special vocations of total dedication like the vocation to the priesthood and to religious life in its multiple forms of expression, etc. that are dedicated to the service of God and the faithful. These vocations require the sacrifice of self in a very radical and absolute way, as they are essential to the life and growth of the Church as well as to the building up of a world that confirms to the will of God.
In the Eucharist which we celebrate solemnly every Sunday, Jesus perpetuates the sacrifice of the cross (SC 47: Vatican II document on Liturgy) sacramentally and by participating in the Eucharistic banquet we enter into real communion with Christ. St. Leo the Great holds: The proper effect of the Eucharist is to make us become what we receive. That is why Jesus gave up himself for us so that we become gifts to others. Jesus himself directed: Do this in memory of me, that is to say, make yourself a gift to one another just as I do for you. Only in the sacrifice of self that the Eucharist, which we celebrate become an effective, lived and experienced Eucharist.
Christians are called to continue, at every moment and place, to make that sacrifice of life to the world which still pertains to Christ's sacrifice of himself. Jesus continues to give himself to the world and people through the multiplicity of vocation he bestows on people. There are variety of gifts and vocations. Each person is enjoined, in the state of life into which Providence has put him/her, to burn himself/herself and sacrifice himself/herself for the salvation of his neighbor. Paul in the first reading, speaking to the community of faithful in Antioch in Pisidia said: I have made you a light for the nations, so that my salvation may reach the end of the earth. Every Christian should be aware and convinced that he/she should not be exempted from this task of participating actively in the salvation of the world nor should he/she delegate this important task to priests, religious and missionaries. Each Christian should be personally involved. We are, however, grateful to God that in the Church there are particular and special vocations of total dedication like the vocation to the priesthood and to religious life in its multiple forms of expression, etc. that are dedicated to the service of God and the faithful. These vocations require the sacrifice of self in a very radical and absolute way, as they are essential to the life and growth of the Church as well as to the building up of a world that confirms to the will of God.
In Nigeria, especially, we thank God for the gift of vocation boom to the priesthood and the religious life. In Europe and North America, reverse is the case. These were continents that sent missionaries to all parts of world last century. Will the scarcity of vocation there become ours in the future? How can we prevent such situation? First of all, we have to follow the directives of Christ and pray for the gift of vocation (Matt, 9,36-38). Secondly, our Catholic Christian communities and families have the duty to increase the vocation to the priesthood and religious life especially through witness of perfect Christian life ( Optatam totius: Vatican II). It is to be noted that where there is faith, prayer, charity, apostolate, Christian life with favour, there is invariably the multiplication of the gift of God and there, vocation blossoms. Thirdly, in gratitude to the gifts of vocation we have now, what effort do we make as Catholic Christians to participate in the formation of the candidates to the priesthood and religious life? Do we offer spiritual, financial, moral support? The World Day of Vocation we celebrate today should challenge us to examine how far we have been engaged in promoting vocation in the church. It should also stimulate us to assume our responsibility in this regard. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye
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