Happy Sunday!
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Acts 2,14a.36-41; 1 Peter 2,20b-25; John 10, 1-10: 4th Sunday of Easter, Year A, 3rd May 2020)
In the Gospel of this fourth Sunday of Easter, the good Shepherd Sunday, Jesus speaks of the door and the shepherd: "Whoever does not enter the sheep’s pen by the door, but goes in through another opening, is a thief and a brigand. But who enters through the door, is the shepherd of the sheep. Then, applying this parable, he says: I am the door of the sheepfold, and I am the good shepherd. Jesus, therefore, is all for us: he is both the door and the shepherd; he is the Lord, servant, and God and man. His relationship with us is inexhaustible. Jesus speaks of the door: I am the door, if anyone enters through me, he will be saved; he will go in and out and find pasture. But, whoever enters the pen/enclosure without going through the door, is a thief and a brigand, who comes to steal, kill and destroy. How should we interpret this definition which Jesus gives himself as door of the sheep? The first two readings help us to answer this question.
In the first reading, we see that the people who listened to Peter's speech after Pentecost feel their heart pierced and ask: What should we do? Peter replies: Repent and let each one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins. Here is an essential way to go through the door: to be baptised, to become Christians. The whole life of the Christian must then be his baptism, that is, it must always pass through the door, which is Christ. Note is to be taken of what Peter (and before him Jesus and even John the Baptist) meant by repentance, that is prerequisite for baptism. It is not a doleful moping over sin. It is a change of life, a complete change of scales of values. The Greek word metanoia that stands for repentance means a changed mind-set. The corresponding Hebrew word shub means turning round and going in the opposite direction. It is a serious business which should not be taken lightly. We undertook this project of repentance, or it was undertaken on our behalf, at our baptism. But a careful scrutiny tells us of all kinds of unkempt corners where the old standards and scales of value remain lurking, breeding and reproducing. The Christian is baptised into Christ and His death in order to rise to new life with Christ, but even Saint Paul acknowledges that he remains caught up in doing the evil he wants to avoid.
To understand more what Jesus means by, I am the door of the sheepfold, we listen to what Peter tells us in the second reading where he tells us that Christ left us an example that we may follow in his footsteps. It is a question of following him, going through him, and doing what he has done. Peter then explains, in particular, that suffering must be patiently endured, without responding to violence with violence, evil with evil, but living in faithfulness to Jesus, who did not respond violence with violence, but with extreme generosity. Peter says: He [Jesus] did not commit sin and there is no deception in his mouth, outraged he did not respond with outrage, and suffering he did not threaten revenge, but he gave his cause to the one who judges with justice. He carries our sins in his body on the wood of the cross, so that, no longer living for sin, we would live for justice. Therefore, passing through the door, through Christ who is the door, means imitating him, living as he lived and, in particular, carrying the cross with love, as he did. Instead of rebelling or using violence, we must always exhibit kindness and generosity.
The Church always passes through the door, because she concludes all her prayers to God saying: Through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord. All the prayers of the Church go through Christ, to reach the Father; they are offered to Christ, so that he presents them to the Father. The Church proclaims that Jesus is the mediator, Mediator of a new covenant as the Letter to the Hebrews so defines (9,15). The door indicates, precisely, this work of mediation by Christ. It is necessary to always go through him to obtain salvation. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, says Jesus, and then he adds: He will enter and go out and find pasture. Jesus introduces us to the inner and outer world. We must be with him when we want to enter the inner world and find a deep, authentic relationship with God. Jesus said: No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14, 6). If we want to reach God and have a personal relationship with him, we must go through Jesus, unite with him so that he will introduce us to the Father. We present all our offerings to the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the mediator of the relationship with the Father.
Jesus is also a mediator for all the actions we do in the world. Paul says to the Ephesians: Everything you do in words and deeds, everything is to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus (Ephesians 3,17). In the name of the Lord Jesus means: passing through Jesus, uniting us with his person and his offering. Everything we do in the world has value, only, if we go through Jesus, if we join him in our relationships with all other people. Parents to take care of their children, must go through the door which is Jesus, that is, they must unite with him, to be, truly, parents who educate their children well in the love of God, charity towards their neighbours, honesty, and giving thanks to God. All our relationships with others must go through Jesus. Everything we do must always be done in union with the heart of Jesus; or rather, all this is the work of Jesus, with whom we collaborate. Jesus is the universal mediator. He is the only one capable of truly realising the union between God and man; He is the mediator between man and God, and a mediator in relations between men. We must be united to his heart and do his work in the world. Each of us must do a part of Jesus’ work in union with him. In this way, our lives become truly Christian, a life pleasing to God, fruitful and also for the good of the world. Jesus affirms: I am the door: if anyone enters through me, he will be saved. If we do not enter through the door, we are thieves; we do things that are not worthwhile. Instead of doing a positive work, we go in the direction of dishonesty and selfishness, and our whole life becomes corrupt. Instead, if we enter through Jesus, his heart and love, then we are saved and will live our lives in fullness. Jesus said that he had come so that everyone may have life and have it abundantly (John 10,10). Jesus’ mediation offers us all the graces necessary to, fully, realise our life, carry out all our duties and projects very well. United with him, we can achieve it in beauty. But if we are not united with him, our lives become sterile, or even bad. I came to have life and have it in abundance. In the Eucharist we receive the very life of Jesus, who gave himself up for us; and we receive it so that we can live in the fullness of divine charity. This is our vocation, of which we can be proud of, and must be grateful to God for through Jesus, the only mediator. May God, therefore, bestow us with all the graces we need to always be united with Christ, the door of the sheepfold and the only mediator between us and God. +John I. Okoye
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