Sunday, April 30, 2023

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

(Acts 2:14.36-41; I Peter 2:20-25; John 10:1-10)

The Good Shepherd is one of the oldest and most popular images of Christ. Paintings of the Good Shepherd, much older than the later crucifixes, have been found in the catacombs of Rome. Generally Protestants shun all forms of images of Christ or the saints. But images of the Good Shepherd have been seen in front of their churches. Every year on this Fourth Sunday of Easter we hear a section from chapter ten of John’s gospel that treats the Good Shepherd. We want to reflect well to learn what makes this image so compelling.

We should start by saying that the part of chapter ten read today does not mention the Good Shepherd. Jesus describes himself as "the gate for the sheep." In the part we will read next year he will call himself "the Good Shepherd." However, "the gate of the sheep" or gatekeeper has a role as helpful as that of the shepherd. He has to watch over the fold to protect the lives of the sheep.

The sheepfold functions as an enclosure for the animals. Within it the sheep can calmly ruminate on the grass they have taken from the pasture. Well-tended by the gatekeeper, the fold does not allow the sheep to wander away. In this way the fold serves the sheep as the Church serves Christians. The Church protects us from harmful movements always on the horizon. It is so with the “woke” movement that has descended on our society like a tornado. According to its proponents, everyone has to accept gay marriage and genders other than male and female. The Church urges respect for all human persons, even those most committed to Wokism. However, she has opposed its ideas as false and destructive to the common good.

Christ serves as "the gate of the sheep" when he admits people into the Church by Baptism. Once baptized, the person has the support of the Church against ideas like those of Wokism. Christ also serves as "the gate of the sheep" in the Eucharist. To understand how, we have picture sheep leaving the sheepfold through the sheepgate to feed. Our gospel today describes how the gatekeeper lets the sheep out so that they may find pasture. With this feeding the sheep are strengthened as we are nourished with the Eucharist to keep the faith and love one another. It is the first fruits of "life in abundance" that Jesus promises at the end of the reading.

In this gospel Jesus is addressing the Pharisees who have just persecuted the man born blind that Jesus healed. We remember this passage read on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. These Pharisees have acted as religious extremists wanting to molest those who follow Jesus. They are like thieves threatening the sheep in the fold. We can understand them as those in the Church who hate homosexuals and those who claim to be of another gender than their biological makeup indicates. However, whatever they say, we have to respect all human beings as images of God. Pope Francis always reminds us that they too need the love of Christ.

There have been people who say preachers should not compare the faithful to sheep. They reason that the sheep is so dumb an animal that the comparison comprises an insult. It is true that the faithful can be even smarter than the preachers. However, don't we all feel in need of help like sheep at times? In our troubles we can always call on Christ who is at the gate of the fold. We can count on his wisdom and his strength to overcome any difficulty.