IV Sunday of Easter:[2012]: Acts 4:7-12; 1 John 3:1-2; John
10:11-18
Introduction : Today
is World Day of Prayer for Vocations, a day that Christians are invited to
reflect on the meaning of God's call and to pray for vocations. Christian
thinking on vocation has been summarized in one profound saying: "All are
priests, some are priests, only one is a priest." The unique priesthood of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and humanity has
always been acknowledged by Christians. The universal priesthood of all believers,
the sharing of all the baptized in the priesthood of Christ, has received
special emphasis since Vatican II. What seems to be hard for many people today
to understand is the ministerial priesthood of some of the faithful,
those who are called to make a lifelong commitment to serve as ordained
ministers. This misunderstanding, among other things, is at the root of the
vocation crisis in the church. If we understood more clearly the true nature
and meaning of ordained ministry then we would be in the position to encourage
both ourselves and others to respond to God's call to this way of life.
A society of
missionary priests used to advertize themselves with this jingo, "Join us
and see the world." This ad promises the would-be missionary a life of
world-wide sightseeing but says nothing of the sacrifice that is part and
parcel of the daily life of missionaries. An ad like that could easily lead to
a misunderstanding of the meaning of ordained ministry for those who read the
ad and go on to become priests. Today's gospel, on the other hand, gives us a
very different picture of ministry. The gospel talks of shepherds. The Latin
word for shepherd is "pastor," which is what we call an
ordained minister who is responsible for ministering to a Christian community
or parish. To understand the work and life entailed by the priestly vocation we
need to go back to Jesus' teaching on the good shepherd.
Shepherd : The
life of the shepherd in biblical times was one of personal self-giving and
sacrifice. His work was that of watchful care and closeness to the flock. There
were two kinds of shepherds. There was the hired
hand for whom keeping the sheep was just the available job. He moved from
flock to flock depending on the conditions of service and he would not risk his
life for them. Seeing wolves or thieves coming, he would flee for dear life and
leave the flock at the mercy of the invaders. Jesus said that he is not that
kind of shepherd.
Joke : NASA was interviewing professionals they were thinking
of sending to Mars. The touchy part was that only one guy could go and it would
be a one-way trip, the guy not ever returning to Earth.
The interviewer asked the first applicant, an engineer, how much he wanted to be paid for going. "One million dollars," the engineer answered. "And I want to donate it all to my alma mater – Rice University."
The next applicant was a doctor, and the interviewer asked him the same question. "Two millions dollars," the doctor said. "I want to give a million to my family and leave the other million for the advancement of medical research."
The last applicant was a lawyer. When asked how much money he wanted, he whispered in the interviewer's ear, "Three million dollars." "Why so much more than the others?" the interviewer asked. The lawyer replied, "You give me three million, I'll give you one million, I'll keep a million, and we'll send the engineer."
Then there is the
second type: shepherd-owner of the
flock who grows up with the flock and stays with the same flock all his life.
He knows each and every sheep in the flock individually. He calls each one by
name and could tell you the personal story of each one of the sheep, when and
where it was born, the problems it has had in life, its personal
characteristics, etc. He attends to the individual needs of each and every one
of them. He knows which ones are likely to lag behind after a long walk and he
would carry them in his arms. He knows which ones were likely to stray from the
flock and he would keep an eye on them when they came to dangerous places. He
knows which ones are pregnant and need special food. When attacked by wolves or
thieves he would risk his life and fight to defend his flock. He is the good
shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.
Conclusion : Jesus is the good shepherd. He laid down his life for
the flock, that is, the church. In a general way he invites everyone in the
church to share in the work of caring for the flock in our own little ways. We
should think about our own eligibility to receive or administer the
sacraments. Feeling of unworthiness and
thereby not receiving the Holy Communion is more holiness than receiving Holy
Communion with unworthiness. But he also
calls some people from among us to a life-long commitment to the work of
shepherding the flock of God. These people are called to share more closely
than the rest of the believers in the life and work of Jesus the Good Shepherd.
If today you should hear God's voice calling you to this way of life, harden
not your hearts. And if you do not hear God calling you to this way of life,
then do everything in your power to encourage those who are called to it and
who struggle even with faltering steps to follow the footsteps of Jesus the
good shepherd.
Introduction
IV Sunday of Easter: World Day of
Prayer for Vocations
Message: Jesus is the
“cornerstone rejected by the builders which has become the cornerstone”. He is the good shepherd who laid down his
life for us. Through his paschal mystery
we have become children of God.
Saints in this week : 30 Monday :
Saint Pius V, Pope
May 1st Tuesday : Saint Joseph, the worker
2nd Wednesday : Saint
Athanasius, bishop, doctor of the church
3rd Thursday : Saints
Philip and James, Apostles
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