Fourth Sunday of Easter Homily
At the Easter Vigil every year, we celebrate baptisms. The sacrament of baptism is the gateway to the other sacraments. In other words, we cannot receive the other sacraments unless we are first baptized. Baptism incorporates us into the divine life of God and into the life of the Church. Baptism is also like a second birth. We are born again through the pouring of water and the invocation of the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
The benefits of baptism are huge. All our sins are washed away. We are given a new life, a life that also points toward eternal life for those who remain faithful. We become the adopted sons and daughters of God. God calls us His very own children. St. John referred to this, as we heard in the second reading (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. . . . Beloved, we are God’s children now.” St. John states the obvious, but I think that it is important that we are reminded of this from time to time. Some of us may take it for granted that we are God’s children. Some of us may need to be reminded because some may have past wounds and traumas that may have damaged our self-esteem. Some may have a poor self-image. Deep down inside, some may have a poor image of God as a loving parent who cares deeply for our well-being.
Whatever may have happened to us in the past, it is always good to realize that nothing will ever change the fact that God loves us, whether we have wounds or not. He will always call us His beloved sons and daughters. He will always hold us close to His Sacred Heart. God will always accept us and want us. The only thing that will pull us away from God is ourselves. We are the ones that turn away from God – by our actions, our free will decisions that lead us astray, or by committing mortal sins.
When we do go astray, no matter how far, God will always try to get us back. This is the role of the Good Shepherd. A shepherd guides and protects his flock. He cares about the well-being of each one of his sheep. The Good Shepherd notices when one wanders off and is in danger of becoming lost. When one of the members of his flock wanders off, it is in danger from predators. The predator, the devil, has no regard for the safety of the sheep. He wants to lure the innocent away so that he can cause harm and eventually destroy that person. He acts as a friend, but in reality, he is the enemy.
Jesus tells His disciples that He is the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11-18). He is willing to lay down His life for the sheep. He knows each member of His flock by name. Jesus knows everything about each one of us. The people of Jesus’ time would have related well to this analogy of a shepherd and the sheep. Being a shepherd was common in those days. Today, it is not so common. A better analogy today might be a parent looking out for his or her child. A good parent looks out for and protects his or her child. There is an intimate relationship between the parent and the child (or at least there should be). Even when the child becomes an adult, there are many parents who still look out for and protect the adult child.
At my previous assignment when I was in Chehalis, one of the teachers at the school was being disciplined by the principal for certain reasons. Despite the fact that the teacher was 50 years old, 5’ 11”, and hefty, when she told her mother what was happening to her at the school, her mother immediately went to the school and chastised the principal for the way that he was treating her daughter. I guess those feelings of being a parent and wanting to defend your child never go away, no matter how old your child is.
If you can relate in some way to the story that I just told you, then you should be able to imagine how God looks out for us and wants to defend us. Our greatest clue as to God’s deep desire to do whatever it takes to rescue us and bring us back to Himself can be found in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is the most profound example of laying down one’s life in order to protect His sheep or His beloved children. Jesus, an innocent man, was willing to suffer and die in our place. Jesus was willing to suffer and die so that through His resurrection, we may have new life and the hope of eternal life in Him and with Him. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Not only does God call us His friends, but we are also God’s beloved children. The sons and daughters that He calls His own. Yet, so we are. We do not have to wait until we reach heaven to experience being God’s beloved children. We are His children now, as St. John stated. Praise the Lord for all that He has done for us. Praise the Lord for drawing us to Himself and calling us His beloved children. Praise the Lord for the eternal life that is promised to us through the Good Shepherd and to those who remain faithful to Him. As we read in the Divine Mercy image: Jesus, I trust in You.
