20160418 DISCERNING THE VOICE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 11:1-18 ©
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The apostles and the
brothers in Judaea heard that the pagans too had accepted the word of God, and
when Peter came up to Jerusalem the Jews criticised him and said, ‘So you have
been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them, have you?’ Peter in reply
gave them the details point by point: ‘One day, when I was in the town of
Jaffa,’ he began ‘I fell into a trance as I was praying and had a vision of
something like a big sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners. This
sheet reached the ground quite close to me. I watched it intently and saw all
sorts of animals and wild beasts – everything possible that could walk,
crawl or fly. Then I heard a voice that said to me, “Now, Peter; kill and eat!”
But I answered: Certainly not, Lord; nothing profane or unclean has ever
crossed my lips. And a second time the voice spoke from heaven, “What God has
made clean, you have no right to call profane.” This was repeated three times,
before the whole of it was drawn up to heaven again.
‘Just at
that moment, three men stopped outside the house where we were staying; they
had been sent from Caesarea to fetch me, and the Spirit told me to have no
hesitation about going back with them. The six brothers here came with me as
well, and we entered the man’s house. He told us he had seen an angel standing
in his house who said, “Send to Jaffa and fetch Simon known as Peter; he has a
message for you that will save you and your entire household.”
‘I had
scarcely begun to speak when the Holy Spirit came down on them in the same way
as it came on us at the beginning, and I remembered that the Lord had said,
“John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” I
realised then that God was giving them the identical thing he gave to us when
we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; and who was I to stand in God’s way?’
This
account satisfied them, and they gave glory to God. ‘God’ they said ‘can
evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
41:2-3,42:3-4 ©
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My soul is
thirsting for God, the God of my life.
or
Alleluia!
Like the deer that
yearns
for
running streams,
so my soul is
yearning
for you,
my God.
My soul is
thirsting for God, the God of my life.
or
Alleluia!
My soul is thirsting
for God,
the God
of my life;
when can I enter and
see
the face
of God?
My soul is
thirsting for God, the God of my life.
or
Alleluia!
O send forth your
light and your truth;
let these
be my guide.
Let them bring me to
your holy mountain,
to the
place where you dwell.
My soul is
thirsting for God, the God of my life.
or
Alleluia!
And I will come to
the altar of God,
the God
of my joy.
My redeemer, I will
thank you on the harp,
O God, my
God.
My soul is
thirsting for God, the God of my life.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn10:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good
shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep
and my own know me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 10:1-10 ©
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Jesus said: ‘I tell
you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate,
but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through
the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear
his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has
brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they
know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not
recognise the voice of strangers.’
Jesus
told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling
it to them.
So Jesus
spoke to them again:
‘I tell you most
solemnly,
I am the gate of the
sheepfold.
All others who have
come
are thieves and
brigands;
but the sheep took no
notice of them.
I am the gate.
Anyone who enters
through me will be safe:
he will go freely in
and out
and be sure of
finding pasture.
The thief comes
only to steal and
kill and destroy.
I have come
so that they may have
life and have it to the full.’
DISCERNING
THE VOICE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ ACTS 11:1-18;
PS 41:2-3, 42:3-4; JOHN 10:1-10 ]
How do we discern the
voice of the Good Shepherd in this modern world of ours? We are living in a world where
people are more educated. Furthermore, in a world of digital technology
and mass communication, there is free exchange of information and often information
overload. This is particularly true for the young person who goes on the
internet. He is exposed to such a vast and extensive range of views and
ideas that he does not know what to choose or whom to believe. He has to take a
gamble and just subscribe to one of the views, be they extremist or
conservative or moderate. The other way is to end up in relativism,
choose what one likes, not whether it is right or wrong because no one seems to
know anyway.
Jesus makes it clear
that He is the Gate to eternal life. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He said, “I
tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the
gate, but gets in some other way, is a thief and a brigand.” Again He
said, “I am the gate of the sheepfold. All others who have come are thieves and
brigands; but the sheep took no notice of them. I am the gate. Anyone who
enters through me will be safe: he will go freely in and out and be sure of
finding pasture.” If we want to find direction in life today, we do
not seek further than our Lord Jesus Christ because He is the Risen Lord, the
Savior of the world. We must enter the gate, that is, Jesus Christ, so
that we can walk in truth and in love. Consequently, everything we do or
say, we need to consult and seek the Lord’s counsel in our decision-making.
But the irony is that
many of us, Catholics, only pay lip service to Christ as the Gate to the
fullness of life.
We claim to be His sheep but we do not listen to His voice on matters relating
to morals and doctrines. Instead, we listen to the voice of strangers;
those who do not know Christ. Instead of taking direction from the gospel
and from the authoritative teachers appointed by Christ, we prefer to seek
advice from the internet and the mass media. In the final analysis, we
listen to our own voice, not to the voice of the Good Shepherd. As a
result we have allowed brigands and thieves to steal our happiness and joy
because we welcome them into our lives. Jesus tells us that a good sheep
knows the voice of the shepherd and would not respond to any other voices other
than that of the Lord. Indeed, “the sheep hear his voice, one by one he
calls his own sheep and leads them out … the sheep follow because they know his
voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not
recognise the voice of strangers.’” Have you ever tried to speak to a
child? When the child does not know you and you call him or her, he or
she will either ignore you, run away to his or her mommy or even cry.
They are smart enough not to follow the voice of strangers, but Catholics do
that. They believe more in the opinions of the world of science,
technology, economics and politics than the Word of God.
However,
in saying that Jesus is the Gate to the sheepfold, the place of refuge, rest
and security, there is always the tension of applying what Jesus taught to
the contemporary situation. Indeed, the gospel of Christ which is
recorded in the bible gives us the principles of managing our lives but they do
not provide detail directions in every situation. The bible is not a
panacea to all problems. It requires understanding in applying the
teachings of Christ. A literal interpretation of the Word of God can be
detrimental if not destructive to our spiritual life. We can end up being
a fundamentalist and cause division not just in Church but in society.
The gospel needs to be reinterpreted afresh all the time; otherwise it becomes
fossilized and irrelevant. In that sense we need to look to the bible to
help us interpret the changing times of society so that we can know the will of
God for our times.
This was the challenge
of the early Church in the first reading. On one hand, there was a desire to be faithful to
the tradition of the Jews. In the initial development of Christianity,
the first Christians were Jews. But as Christianity spread out to the
non-Jews, the Gentiles, the Church had to decide whether one who is a Christian
must also be a Jew. Must a Jew give up his Jewish faith and tradition to
be a Christian? Being so steeped in the traditions and customs of
Judaism, it was difficult for them to accommodate the customs of the Gentiles
for fear of breaching their rules. One of those prohibitions was to come
into close contact with the Gentiles, eating with them or entering their house
as such actions would make them unclean. This is also true for the Church
today. On one hand, we have Catholics who want to be faithful to the
Catholic Traditions before Vatican II. For them, Vatican II was a big
mistake. Then there are those who want to go beyond Vatican II, thinking
that not only have we failed to implement the decrees of Vatican II but we
should be even more adventurous and proactive in adapting to changing times,
going beyond what Vatican II has taught. So how do we handle the
challenging situation we are in? We are called to take a leaf from the
early Church.
We must take cognizance
that the tension between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians was
so explosive that it could have caused the Church to be fragmented and arrested
the future growth of Christianity. If it were not properly managed, Christianity would have
been reduced to another form of Judaism. Thus, we can appreciate why St
Luke gave such prominence to the story of the conversion of Cornelius. At
the end of the day, the decision was not based on any logical argument but the
fact of what happened, namely, the vision of St Peter was confirmed to be a
prelude for him to enter the house of Cornelius so that he could see for himself
that the Lord also wanted to give the same gift of the Holy Spirit to the
Gentiles as well. St Peter said, “I realized then that God was giving
them the identical thing he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ; and who was I to stand in God’s way?” By so doing, the Lord
assured St Peter that the Gentiles could no longer be considered profane but
they are all loved by God because He pours the Holy Spirit into them. And
we read that based on the testimony of St Peter and six of his disciples, it
showed that his testimony of how God intervened to teach him the truth about
Christianity was true. Hence, “This account satisfied them, and they gave
glory to God, ‘God’ they said, ‘can evidently grant even the pagans the
repentance that leads to life.’”
From this event, we come
to realize that it is important that the Church continues to reflect and
discern how to apply the gospel to the challenges of modern and contemporary
times. Our
culture has changed radically because of developments in mass media,
technology, knowledge and the way of life. The Church needs to stay relevant to
society and not withdraw from the world. If we do, the world will
continue without us. As Church we must ensure that we have the right
shepherds to lead both the Church and the country. We need to have good
leaders in every area of life, politics, economic, or religion.
For Christians,
especially those who are leaders, we must enter the Gate to find life
ourselves. If we do
not enter the Gate, then the sheep will not recognize that we are the voice of
God. So before we can lead, we must first enter the Gate. As
leaders and shepherds of our flock, whether at home, at work, in Church or
community, we need to her the voice of the Good Shepherd before we can lead
others. As Jesus said, “When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead
of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice.” Leaders
must show the way, walk the way, and walk ahead of those under their care if
they were to truly lead them to the greener pastures of life. A leader
must not allow himself to be led by the sheep, as what is happening today when
political leaders ironically become the sheep instead of being the shepherd.
In the final analysis,
how do we know that we have discerned correctly? We need to ask ourselves, are we
protecting traditions for traditions’ sake, or are we more interested in giving
the fullness of life to the people under our care? Of course, the
happiness we offer cannot be temporary or a pseudo-happiness but lasting joy.
Can we provide true security and refuge to those who seek God? So it is
not enough just to preserve the traditions but lose its meaning and relevance.
We must reinvent traditions, make them relevant and meaningful so that these
traditions speak to our sheep and help them to find focus and direction in
life. Most of all, it must satisfy their thirst for God, for the hunger and
emptiness in their hearts. This is the prayer of the psalmist for us all,
“Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you,
my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life; when can I enter and
see the face of God? O send forth your light and your truth; let these be my
guide. Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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