May your participating in this Sunday Eucharist, be rewarded with the graces you need to listen to the voice of God and by following it bring the saving grace of God to a world in desperate need of healing. Happy Sunday +John I. Okoye
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Acts 4,8-12; 1John 3,1-2; John 10,11-18; 4th Sunday of Easter Year B: 2017/18)
One of the most recurring symbols among the first Christians was the image of Jesus as the good Shepherd. They were showing Christ, through pictures, paintings, etc, as the one who came into the world to care for lost humanity; the one who has personal care for every person and likes to take him/her back to God. This symbol shows the untiring care and total commitment Jesus availed himself for everyone. In the Old Testament, God’s attitude to his elected people was often illustrated through this image of the good shepherd. In the book of Ezekiel, God went out of his way in search of lost sheep and led back the straying ones back to the sheepfold. He treats the wounds of the injured ones; cures the sick among them … and pastures them with justice (see Ezek 34,16).
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus reiterates that he is the good Shepherd: I am the good Shepherd. The word good here means noble rather than skilled. As a shepherd, Jesus is committed to the well being of the sheep. He is not like those shepherds who were condemned by the prophets (see Ezekiel 34). They not only failed in their responsibilities, but also actually took advantage of their positions. Jesus on the other hand, was willing to lay down his life for those under his care. Thus, he is a conscientious shepherd who is willing to protect his flock even to the point of risking his own life for them. Jesus as a shepherd is, intimately, related to God, (the Father knows him and he knows the Father; the Father loves him) just as there is reciprocated knowledge between Jesus and his flock (I know my own and my own know me). In the Hebrew mind-set, to know someone is more than being acquainted with that person. It implies sharing an intimate relationship. For Jesus, his mutual relationship with his flock is based on his mutual and intimate relationship with God.
There is some universalism in Jesus’ shepherding. He is willing to care and die for other sheep who, though they are not yet included in his flock, are nonetheless his. He is sure that those other sheep will recognise him and eventually be brought into his flock. In the end there will be one flock and one shepherd.
The essential quality of any claim to good shepherding is the willingness to give up one’s life for the sake of the sheep. In the short passage of the gospel reading, the death of Jesus looms large, occurs four times in (John 10, 11, 15, 17, 18). It is a vicarious death; he voluntary lays down his life for others. God loves Jesus for his willingness to lay down his life and to take it up again. Jesus has apparent control over his death and also over his resurrection. He has the power to take up his life again:I lay it (my life) down of my own free will, and as it is in my power to lay it down, so it is in my power to take it up again; and this is the command I have been given by my Father. The universally salvific death of Jesus is the work of the Father through him.
The salvific aspect of Jesus as the good Shepherd is already evidenced in the first reading. Peter, addressing the leaders of Jewish folk after the cure of the cripple in the Beautiful Gate stated: … that it was by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the one you crucified, whom God raised from the dead …by this name and by no other name that this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy. At the heart of Peter’s message is the fundamental gospel formula: whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This is not a static announcement; it is s dynamic pronouncement with powerful salvific implication. Jesus was not raised from the dead merely for his own benefits. Rather his resurrection became the fountain from which springs salvation of every kind. This healing of the cripple is more than a mere cure. The man who was crippled now walks in the power of the name of Jesus, a name that means savior (Matt. 1,21). The cure is merely an outward sign of a much deeper reality. The saving power in this name is for all people, even for those sheep who do not belong to this fold. For the crippled man, salvation took the form of healing; for others it can take the form of spiritual transformation. Which aspect of salvation does the resurrection of the good Shepherd elicit in you? We need to further remind ourselves that the good shepherd is the corner stone of the building, the foundation upon whom the entire community rests. The name of Jesus is the one and only source of salvation, hence no one can afford to reject him.
The good Shepherd and the God the Father are in mutual intimacy. The Son, the good Shepherd is also in mutual relationship with his flock, for whom he gave up his life. The second reading of today tells us about the love which God the Father has for believers. This love (agape) about which the author speaks of is generative; it is transforming; it makes believers children of God. Everything that happens in the lives of believers is a consequence of their having been re-created as God’s children. This love has already taken hold of us. Through baptism we are God’s children. Easter celebrates this reality. What we will eventually be has not yet been revealed. When salvation is brought to its fulfilment, there will be a great illumination and we will recognise the marvellous dignity that is ours. We will see that we have been like God, and we can now act as God. We can bring the saving grace of God to a world in desperate need of healing. We can do this in our families, stations, parishes, markets, places of work, schools and in every situation of our lives. We will certainly be able to do so if we listen to the voice of the good Shepherd and if we follow after him. May Christ the good Shepherd open our ears that we may always hear when he calls and follow him with undivided attention. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye
No comments:
Post a Comment