Seventh Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 60

Reading I

Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26

Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers
—there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons
in the one place —.
He said, “My brothers,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled
which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand
through the mouth of David, concerning Judas,
who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.
He was numbered among us
and was allotted a share in this ministry.

“For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
    May another take his office.

“Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men
who accompanied us the whole time
the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
beginning from the baptism of John
until the day on which he was taken up from us,
become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
So they proposed two, Judas called Barsabbas,
who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
Then they prayed,
“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,
show which one of these two you have chosen
to take the place in this apostolic ministry
from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.”
Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias,
and he was counted with the eleven apostles.

Responsorial Psalm

103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20

R. (19a) The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
    and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
    so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
    and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, all you his angels,
    you mighty in strength, who do his bidding.
R. The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II

1 Jn 4:11-16

Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.

Alleluia

Cf. Jn 14:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord.
I will come back to you, and your hearts will rejoice.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 17:11b-19

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,
and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth.  Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

As Christians we are one through, by, and in Our Lord Savior Jesus Christ. We cannot forget that, as Christians, we are truly united in one faith. There cannot be any division among us. Those who cause division or controversy within our ranks are not doing the work of Jesus but instead are doing the works of Satan. Jesus Himself said that a house divided cannot stand and we should heed these words and relate them to our own conduct. Are we uniting or are we dividing? Are we causing strife or are we promoting peace? If what we say and do cause any type of angst then what we are doing is not in the name of God even though we may think so. Unity through Jesus Christ and the Holy Mother Church should be the goal of all of our thoughts and our works. That which does not unite is not from God. Jesus reiterates this in His prayer to the Father when He says,

 

“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.”

 

Our focus should be constantly on Jesus Christ and the message He brings from the Father. Any deviation from this weakens the message and ultimately presents an opposition to the building up of the Kingdom of God here on this earth. Why would Jesus want to weaken the kingdom? Why would Jesus want to cause division within the Christian Community? God is love. Love is a uniting force and not one that divides amongst those who wish to enter into relationship with Jesus Christ. The only division that should be occurring is between the goats and the sheep. The sheep stay together and are stronger as a result. The goats wish to divide so that they may scatter the sheep and dilute the message put forth. Jesus was specific when He handed The Keys of the Kingdom to Peter and set aside The Apostle John for a specific purpose which would see him living longer than all of the other Apostles while establishing The Sacred Liturgy and providing guidance for the Early Church in unison with Peter. The words of Peter and John never divided but only solidified the unity of The Church. Through the instructions of the Apostles we should be focused on the same thing. United we can do everything. Divided and fighting amongst ourselves will bring us failure; a great victory for Satan.

 

 

 

The 20^th Century theologian Brennan Manning observed,

 

“The biggest threat to Christianity today are other Christians.”

 

What he is saying is that there are many Christians we are not listening to the teachings of Jesus Christ and are not conducting their lives according to His will. Furthermore, their conduct does not reflect what they profess. Jesus would refer to those individuals as hypocrites. We are all in danger of falling into this trap. It is within our nature to question and to judge. These things are exactly what Jesus does not want us to do. There is no one greater or less within the Christian Community. Many might be misguided but their intentions are still good. This needs empathy; the key is to heal these disagreements with love and not with condemnation. We all have the same desire and focus: Jesus Christ. If, through Jesus Christ, a relationship built on the foundation of love is the goal then there is no room for negative feelings or reactions. Jesus is above that and we should be above it by extension.

 

The Word of God is all that we need to guide us forward into a joyous life. Through prayer and meditation the meaning of these words will be revealed to us. It is through a shared experience, guided by The Holy Spirit, that everything will be revealed to us. No individual within our community can profess to possess some information or secret that makes them greater than another person. It is through the sharing of this information and the celebration thereof that we all grow through the revelations of Jesus Christ. The words of Him are meant to build up, guide, and heal; not to reduce or hurt. Jesus wants the redemption and salvation of all. His efforts are focused on the salvation of the entirety of His creation and our focus should be the same.

 

The world is a dangerous place and it should be treated that way. There are so many trials and tribulations which threaten us. As Jesus said,

 

“ I am sending you as sheep amongst the wolves.”

 

The wolves are the allures of the world and the temptations of Satan. The good news is that as long as we stay together and keep Jesus Christ close then everything will be okay. The Apostle John again brings forward the consistent message of love and remaining in Jesus. When something is repeated more than once, especially in Sacred Scripture, its importance is elevated. We cannot proclaim to be with Jesus if we do not love one another. We cannot profess to be with God if we are practicing something that is against what is being taught. Just as Jesus was preparing His disciples for their ministry we are also being prepared through the teaching in Sacred Scripture. We can either accept what is being taught or reject it to to own detriment. Rejecting it will expose us to sin, pain, and ultimately a separation from Jesus Christ. Accepting it will definitely make our lives better. There is no room for self-justification here.

 

As our relationship with God grows there will be a gradual separation from the material things of this earth. Jesus points out that following Him means that we are not of this world anymore. This should offer a great relief that we are now focused on what we should have been focused on all along: the eternal instead of the material which carries with it a definite expiration date. If we embrace purely the material and the physical then we will ultimately die with it. Meanwhile the spiritual will remain for eternity. Everything started with love and will continue with love.

We can never forget that Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. With His Resurrection He conquered death and cleared the pathway for us to eternal life. This is a journey we meant to take together and one that can bring all who follow the path to enlightenment and pure joy.

 

Deacon Tom

 

 

 

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 56

Reading I

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

When Peter entered, Cornelius met him
and, falling at his feet, paid him homage.
Peter, however, raised him up, saying,
“Get up. I myself am also a human being.”

Then Peter proceeded to speak and said,
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.”

While Peter was still speaking these things,
the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word.
The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter
were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit
should have been poured out on the Gentiles also,
for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God.
Then Peter responded,
“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people,
who have received the Holy Spirit even as we have?”
He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Responsorial Psalm

98:1, 2-3, 3-4

R. (cf. 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
    for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
    his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
    in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
    toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
    break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

Reading II

1 Jn 4:7-10

Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

Alleluia

Jn 14:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord,
and my Father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

The intimacy that Jesus Christ wants to have with us is on full display in The Gospel Reading today. The love of the Father is passed on to the Son which is then passed on to all of us. This defines the relationship that we are asked to have with Jesus Christ. It is all about love. We were created out of love to love God and one another just as powerfully as God loves us. Jesus presents this concept in the form of a commandment and it is through that understanding that we should follow it: we have no choice but to do so because our relationship with God is based upon love so, as God’s children, our relationships must be the same. Even though it is a commandment it is expressed as instruction instead of a command. Jesus makes it a point to guide us gently in the right direction. We are referred to as His friends; not to be known as slaves.

There are some who believe that religion can be cold and unfulfilling on a spiritual level. Many times this is blamed on the Church and how worship is performed. Some individuals describe times in their lives where they have felt threatened by fellow Christians describing a punishing God or one that will judge each of us by the things we have done wrong. The God perceived is a vengeful, angry God. This is incorrect and all of us are to blame at one point or another. Those who are promoting a negative description of God are ignorant of their own relationship with Him while those who describe God as cold and distant are actually those who have closed themselves off from the possibility of a relationship with Him. It is hard to argue against this when Jesus Himself is describing how the relationship He has with God and the one wants with us is completely immersed in love. Just as in all relationships errors and misunderstanding can develop when the effort to completely understand facts or what the other person is feeling is not properly examined. Relationships take time, commitment, and hard work to grow. A relationship with God is no different.

If we examine the lives we have lived it can be argued that there has been a large amount of time spent ignoring God. Imagine if our relationship with God was like a marriage or a relationship with our parents. When a husband and wife spend a lot of time together and make tremendous efforts to understand and please each other then the marriage is most likely going to be a successful one with much joy. When children listen to their parents, obey them, listen to them, and pay attention to them when they are older then the relationship is strong and beautiful. It is the same with a relationship with God. There is no difference. Our relationship with God should be the most important relationship in our lives.

Recognizing who Jesus Christ is and letting Him guide us into a loving relationship with the Father guarantees us a joyful life for eternity. That which baffled us before, caused confusion, and brought upon us many calamities will be viewed differently in a more favorable light. We will no longer be alone and do not have to feel that way. Whatever we face, good or bad, will yield good fruit. This goes back to The Gospel Reading last week where Jesus said He was the vine and we are the branches. The vine nourishes the branches. The vine is eternal thus making us eternal. The vine feeds the branches and through that process the branches bear much fruit. It is when the branches break away from the vine or refuse to be nourished is when they die.

The Apostle John extends an invitation for everyone to love one another because the source of love is God. He is reminding us of a core foundation of our faith. Our origin is from love and to love is what we are supposed to do. Hatred does not come from God. It is of lower state because its origin is from us. Who are we to ignore that which comes directly from God? It is quite obvious that any negative interaction that occurs throughout Creation only happens when there is a lack of love. In other words, negative interactions only happen when there is a lack of God. To avoid conflict, hatred, animosity, and every other negative emotion we need to invite God in and live our lives with His love. This will naturally force out all of the bad and only the good things will remain. Whatever gaping hole is left from the expelling of the bad will immediately be filled up by The Love of God. What more could be wanted or desired?

 

Deacon Tom

 

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 53

Reading I

Acts 9:26-31

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him,
not believing that he was a disciple.
Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles,
and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord,
and that he had spoken to him,
and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.
He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem,
and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord.
He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists,
but they tried to kill him.
And when the brothers learned of this,
they took him down to Caesarea
and sent him on his way to Tarsus.

The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.
It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

 

 

Responsorial Psalm

22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32

R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the LORD.
    The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
    “May your hearts live forever!”
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All the ends of the earth
    shall remember and turn to the LORD;
all the families of the nations
    shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
To him alone shall bow down
    all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend
    all who go down into the dust. 
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And to him my soul shall live;
    my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
    that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
    the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II

1 Jn 3:18-24

Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.

Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn,
for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God
and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit he gave us.

Alleluia

Jn 15:4a, 5b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain in me as I remain in you, says the Lord.
Whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

 

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

Before the Apostle Paul was who he was he was a very different person. Named Saul, he was a Pharisee and a persecutor of Christians. So zealous was his nature he was feared by Christian Communities throughout the region. He methodically terrorized, imprisoned, and organized the death of countless Christians all in the name of God. It cannot be overstated how much of an impact he had on the persecution of the early Christians. All that changed upon his conversion when he was confronted by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. The story did not end there. Paul was still feared and distrusted even though he changed his ways and started evangelizing The Faith in the name of Jesus Christ. The transformational experience that he had was too quick for many to accept and there was distrust regarding if his intentions were genuine. What happened to Paul is a reminder to us that we will face the same difficulties with people who cannot accept the transformative experience that Jesus can cause in a person which has the capability to change someone completely.

When living as a Christian we will find ourselves in a constant state of change. We are not the same people we were a year, a month, a day, or even an hour ago. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work within us and Jesus Christ is constantly molding us into better people spiritually, mentally, and physically. Some of the changes are massive and abrupt. Other changes are small and intricate. It is up to us to acknowledge these changes and react to them with the understanding that regardless of what we have done in the past, much like The Apostle Paul, we are no longer that person and are forgiven for our shortcomings as long as we acknowledged them and asked for forgiveness with a contrite heart. This may sound way too easy for many people since we live in a world where faults and accusations are used as weapons of destruction. God is beyond this world and Jesus Christ has already done the heavy lifting so that we may receive forgiveness of our sins. Yes, our sins are forgiven and we are indeed new creations every day of our lives regardless of what other people say.

It may bother us when people talk bad about us or cannot accept us as fellow Christians. Jesus Christ and the Sacred Scriptures offer instruction in this area.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listento them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” (MT 18:15-17)

“There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or destroy. Who then are you to judge you neighbor?” (James 4:12)

 

We are not to judge. We are to correct with love, patience, tolerance, and understanding. This is the Christian way and if one is to call themselves Christian than this is the way one should conduct themselves. We all are sinners and are undeserving of salvation. Jesus Christ has offered salvation to all and, when this is realized, we all should conduct ourselves accordingly. We all need help. We all have made mistakes and will continue to make mistakes. No one is exempt from this and everyone needs Jesus Christ.

Sin is a devastating, evil force that we all succumb to many times in our lives. It causes damage to both us and all those that we interact with. We become broken and wounded as a result. It is through the  love of Jesus Christ that the healing process begins. The Apostle John emphasizes this in his letter. As long as we follow Jesus and listen to Him everything is going to be okay. This should be out of love and not out of obligation. As long as we do everything out of love, including asking for forgiveness, then we will be able to overcome all that threatens to hurt or destroy us. It is through loving Jesus and loving one another that sin is avoided and we are healed when we do indeed sin. Jesus is our greatest advocate and greatest teacher. Treating Him as such brings about positive results. There can be no negative with Jesus Christ.

Jesus tells us that as long as we remain in Him then He will remain in us. We might be pruned and shaped, which will hurt at times, but this will be for our benefit. We will become better as a result. The Apostle Paul was indeed shaped and molded by Jesus. We are no different. It is with Jesus that we will discover our true purpose and the path to true joy in this life and the next. There is also a warning that Jesus makes: if we decide not to remain in Him then there will be consequences for that choice. This is not a threat but the truth that He gives: without Jesus and without the acknowledgement of God there is no truefvgvgbg future for us. When God is taken out of His creation and a relationship with Jesus is refused only bad things can result.

Jesus Christ wants to redeem and save everyone. He wants to heal all those who are wounded. It is up to us to accept what is being offered as well as react to His presence. The possibilities are endless as we have learned in the case of The Apostle Paul. No situation is too egregious to overcome and no one is beyond saving. This includes us.

Deacon Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 50

Reading I

Acts 4:8-12

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said:
“Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
    which has become the cornerstone.
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.”
 

 

Responsorial Psalm

118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

R.  (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R.  Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in princes.
R.  The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
    and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
    it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
    we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
    and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
    for his kindness endures forever.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading II

1 Jn 3:1-2

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.

Alleluia

Jn 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 10:11-18

Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is upon us. This is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. It is where Jesus further defines His relationship with us. All of His actions and all of His deeds are directed towards us individually and as a whole so as to bring us closer to Him. The sheep, as defined, are all of peoples of the world; everyone in God’s creation. We are constantly being called to enter into relationship with Jesus. This call is evident in our consciousness and in our subconscious. Even when we find ourselves questioning who Jesus is and even if there is a higher power it is in reaction to this call. We cannot get away from it. It defines who we are and where we are going in our lives. Those who insist that there is no God are actually in a state of rebellion in reaction to this call while those of us who are actively seeking out Jesus Christ; trying to deepen our relationship with Him are in the same boat. No one is exempt from being affected by Jesus’ call. Just because some are in denial doesn’t mean they are not affected. They are just refusing to acknowledge Him which is a reaction in itself.

We are not puppets. Jesus does not pull our strings and make us do things which we do not want to do. We are given a choice either to accept Him or reject Him. This is a part of what a shepherd does. A shepherd does not scream, beat, or demand those whom he guides. The shepherd cajoles, guides, and gently makes adjustments so the flock goes into the right direction. There is a very intimate relationship between the shepherd and the flock which is based on a trust that can only developed through time and patience. Jesus has infinite patience while many of us need to develop this same patience and understanding. This is an ongoing process; taking time and dedication to achieve a good relationship. In the Gospel Reading today Jesus indicates that He has already made the commitment to us; giving up His life for us and offering everything to us so that we may be afforded every opportunity to achieve salvation and greatness. We have the choice to respond positively to that call and let Jesus in or we can walk away.

Walking away from the shepherd is very much like a sheep that leaves the flock and starts meandering off alone. The sheep is vulnerable; exposed to many dangers which include predators and those who want to do it harm. Sheep cannot defend themselves and are helpless without the shepherd. This is something that we all are encouraged to consider if the choice is to ignore the shepherd and go astray from the flock. In the flock there is protection. Away from the flock there is danger and threats that cannot be dealt with alone. Even though we all enjoy our independence and free will there is a consequence to not staying intimate with Jesus and refusing to let Him guide us. Our past experiences are evidence of this if we analyze them honestly. It can be argued that we all have had experiences with Jesus and without Him. Which ones were better?

 

It is a guarantee that all of us will find ourselves lost and alone at one point or another in our lives. As God’s Children we naturally tend to stray which is a bi-product of our free will and Original Sin. The wonderful thing is that no matter how far that we wander off our shepherd, Jesus Christ, is always there calling us to come back. He offers us good counsel, encouragement, strength, and above all mercy. He is always here to heal our wounds and make us better people through His presence. Jesus is the one thing we can count on if we only recognize that He is here for us.

 

The First Letter of John is a powerful testament to our relationship with God. We are indeed His children and this is the way He views us. We are being raised by Him and protected by Him at all times. Even though we may think we are adults, in God’s eyes we will always be His children. When this is recognized we are then separated from society and set aside in a very special way. Accepting our birthright means that we have put God above the earthly temptations that surround us. People will look at us differently because of that but that is only because their eyes have not been opened yet and they are blinded by the materialism which surround them. In this respect we pray for those individuals and constantly invite them to join us. The separation of the sheep and goats has already begun. We are constantly being offered a choice as to which side we are to adjoin ourselves with. It we keep focusing on our relationship with Jesus Christ then the choice will become more and more evident as we proceed forward. The Love of Jesus will envelope us and a true life with Him will be revealed. We are the sheep and He is the Shepherd.

 

Deacon Tom