Sunday, April 13, 2008AD
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Good Shepherd Sunday
Names Are Important!!
Traditionally, the 4th Sunday of Easter is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”. Both consoling images of God the Father and of Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd are reinforced by Psalm 23, the most popular of all psalms, as well as by John 10, where Jesus identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd.
This week, 1st Peter uses the very same imagery as he speaks to a harried group of Christians, then and now. Then, followers of Jesus were alienated from the mainstream of conventional wisdom because they practiced Christian ethical monotheism. Christians said that people should behave in a more human fashion in our dealings with one another. However, not everyone bought their spiel.
In addition, Christians do not always practice what we preach. Therefore, Christians fail and sin in our response to the call of God in our lives. We do not always live, as a community and/or as individuals in community becomingly the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sin was a factor, then, as it is now. Christians fail, at times, to live the life that God expects of us.
1st Peter tells his readers that there will be crises in which Christians might suffer. If Christians are harassed, it should be for doing what is right and just. He warns that Christians must never give scandal. We must act as responsible citizens. If we are ever persecuted, it should only be for doing what is right in God’s eyes.
He focuses his argument on Jesus as “the Suffering Servant”, which is derived from the prophet known as Second Isaiah. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” He handed Himself over to the One Who judges justly. Through his innocence, we who had gone astray like sheep have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls.
Quite legitimately, the Greek words for “shepherd” and “guardian” have interesting nuances for 21st century Catholics. The first Greek word translates as “shepherd” or “pastor”. The second Greek word translates as “bishop” Therefore, arguing from 1st Peter, each Catholic can say that Jesus Christ, the vindicated Suffering Servant, is his or her Good Shepherd or Pastor or Bishop .
All Church people, lay, religious and clergy, need to remember the One Who is the Shepherd, Pastor and Bishop. We all need to acknowledge that Jesus has expectations of each of us. He will help us achieve those expectations for our own good and for the good of others. He asks us to follow the example that He leaves us in the patterns of His own behavior.
If we are persecuted for doing so, “we are to be patient for suffering for doing what is good.” That is following the pattern of Jesus the Suffering Servant.
However, it is required that we, as individuals and as individuals in community, as a Church community, to avoid what is sinful and harmful to the welfare of another person. Here, when we fail, we have to be accountable for our failures. We have to be sure that such failures do not happen again. We also have to see how we can change structures within our Church that are not germane to the Gospel Message of the Good Shepherd, our Pastor and Bishop.
