By Deacon Richard Hay
“Bold shepherds…”
There are a few distinct themes in our readings on this Fourth Sunday of Easter – one of boldness on the part of the apostles after receiving the Holy Spirit, and then Christ as the cornerstone of our faith, and as our Good Shepherd.
So far, the mass readings since Easter have taken us on a journey of transformation among the apostles and disciples of Christ. We had that first weekend where in their continued confusion about what has happened concerning the Lord’s passion and death, we hear they are still fearful and have locked themselves in the upper room. A carryover of the fear and denial most of them experienced during the Lord’s passion and death on the cross.
However, despite that fear – despite their reaction to his passion and death, the resurrected Lord appears to the apostles and after breathing on them he says “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit.”
This is the pre-cursor to Pentecost – this is when the apostles receive the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised as an advocate. This is the cure for their fearfulness and confusion, and they break out of it in a very dramatic way.
Look at our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles as an example. It begins by stating that “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit.” and then he goes on to proclaim that the crippled man was not healed in his name but in the name of “Jesus Christ the Nazorean”.
Here is Peter – right in the middle of the temple courtyard – boldly proclaiming the good news to all there including the people and the religious leaders of Jerusalem – that God raised Jesus from the dead for our salvation.
Peter doesn’t stop there. You know, we often think of Peter as being a little impulsive at times, but now he stands boldly and reminds those around him that Jesus is the cornerstone which they all rejected. He goes on to say that there is no salvation through anyone else and that there is no other name under heaven given to us for our salvation.
That doesn’t sound much like the fearful Peter that we heard denying Christ during his passion and death, does it?
So, what is the difference?
The Holy Spirit…
The Holy Spirit has changed everything for the apostles. They are now joyfully and willingly facing imprisonment and other consequences to proclaim the good news. They are doing this boldly despite being told by the authorities not to say the name of Jesus Christ publicly.
Our responsorial psalm emphasizes all of this by reminding us again that the stone rejected by the builders has in fact become the cornerstone. In construction, the cornerstone is a key aspect of any building and without a strong cornerstone, the building will not be as sturdy. It will have a weak foundation which means it will be a weak building. The same applies to all of us – our foundation must be in Christ and Christ alone.
This psalm of thanks and praise, recognizes the firm foundation Christ gives us as the cornerstone – that he is good, that his mercy endures forever, that we should always take refuge in him and not in man or things of this world.
There is nothing else in this world that can provide us with that kind of grace.
The question for all of us is this – do we fully trust in the Lord as our cornerstone? Can we be as bold as the apostles were after they received the Holy Spirit?
Of course we can because we all have that same Holy Spirit in each one of us – the same Holy Spirit that Jesus gave to the apostles in the upper room. We receive it through our baptisms and confirmations. We continue to receive the graces of the Holy Spirit through the other sacraments.
Are we prepared to speak boldly in the public square like Peter or maybe in this day and age to our family, friends, and co-workers about this good news?
Remember what Peter said in the first reading – salvation is not available through anyone else – not available through anyone or anything other than Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life? He is the only path to salvation.
Are we convicted of that truth and ready to carry that message out of this church and into the world? That is in fact our mission as a result of our baptism – because we are all called to be priest, prophet, and king.
This isn’t a mission we have to carry out alone either because we have a shepherd to guide us and protect us.
In the gospel today from John, Jesus tells us that he is “the Good Shepherd – a shepherd who willingly lays down his life for his sheep.”
A shepherd accompanies his sheep, he knows them, and they know his voice – there is relationship there between the shepherd and his sheep.
Because of this gospel, today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday across the church. Although we should always be praying for our priests, today is a special day to pray for and be thankful for their yes and their vocation to serve God and the people of Christ.
In conjunction with that, today is also World Day of Prayer for Vocations because of the connection between the sacraments and priests who bring them to us in the name of Christ the Good Shepherd. Many of you may not know this but right now in our parish, we currently have four men who are in formal discernment for the diaconate. I am sure there are others who might also be discerning a vocation to the diaconate, priesthood or religious life that we do not know about.
Today we are called to pray for each and every one of them.
Without vocations, the church could not exist. Nor could we have the sacraments and many other blessings we receive because of those who have answered a call from the Lord to serve His church. We also need to pray for new vocations, so these individuals are encouraged as they nurture the possibility of serving God in our church.
So here is our mission on this Fourth Sunday of Easter:
• Be bold and share the faith in those places where we might be hesitant to share it with others. Trust the Holy Spirit to be there with you like Peter did.
• Lean on the cornerstone that others rejected. Know that we are his and that his mercy and kindness endure forever. He is our one and only stronghold.
• Pray for those who serve our church in the role of deacon, priest, and religious. Pray for continued vocations so that we may be blessed to receive the graces of the sacraments and prayers so that our church can flourish and boldly proclaim the good news to everyone that Jesus Christ is the Lord and our Good Shepherd.
