Good Shepherd Sunday: 4th Sunday of Easter
Sermon by Emmanuel Suntheni OSB – Fourth Sunday of Easter – Year C
Sermon and Christian Act in The Word
Theme: Good Shepherd Sunday! Vocations Sunday! Listen to the Right Voice!
Point of Reflection: Which voice do we listen to? Who do we listen to? Today, the Mother Church celebrates the Good Shepherd Sunday, which is also the Vocation Sunday, and the Word of God today presents us with two images, the Children of God and the Good Shepherd. Let us listen to the right voice of God. Jesus Christ is calling each one of us, and our duty is to recognise his voice and listen to his voice. In this world, there are many voices. Today, let us pray that we must always recognise and listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd. In the Gospel, Jesus calls for acceptance of his voice as that of the good shepherd who leads his flock to the Father. Many heard him, and yet, as the Gospel shows, few chose to listen and respond to his voice. The Psalmist knew the importance of listening to the right voice when he exhorts, “know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his”.
First Reading: Acts 13:14, 43–52
Psalm: Psalm 100:1–3, 5
Second Reading: Revelation 7:9, 14–17
Gospel: John 10:27–30
Sermon (Reflection): Either Marriage life or Priestly life, or religious life (brothers or sisters) or single life, we are all called! Hence, this Sunday, we are being reminded to respond positively to our callings. Either we are being called or some of us have already responded to the call of Marriage life or Priestly life or single life or religious, each and every day we need to discern and listen to the voice of the Lord not any other voice which can destruct us from doing the will of the Good Shepherd.
The short Gospel passage of today refers to Jesus as the Good Shepherd. To describe the relationship between Jesus and his sheep, John uses the idea of mutual recognition. The sheep instinctively recognise the voice of the shepherd and follow him, while the shepherd knows and recognises the sheep that are his. This reciprocal knowledge binds Jesus and his disciples, leading to a union that has two distinct but connected outcomes thus, eternal life and security. First, Jesus guarantees that his disciples will live eternally because they are joined to him, the one who overcomes death. Second, Jesus guarantees that “no one will snatch them out of my hand”. This implies that no force in this world will separate believers from Jesus if they cling to him. If Jesus is powerful enough to overcome death, then no other enemy can threaten his sheep.
As children of God, we need to follow the good shepherd.
Another part of the passage discloses the source of Jesus’ power and authority and his union with the Father. God himself brought his chosen sheep to Jesus. Therefore, those whom Jesus holds to himself, he ultimately holds for God. Jesus states that he and the Father are one. This means that the two act in complete union and harmony to protect the believers and lead them to eternal life.
The underlying message of this passage is that believers must listen to the voice of their shepherd, Jesus. Behind Jesus’ statement, “My sheep hear my voice,” lies an admonition to hear and follow his voice calling for faith and love. Such responsive listening leads to a union with him and, through him, with the Father.
The first reading of today shifts attention from the Jerusalem community and the activities of Peter to the beginnings of the mission to the Gentiles and the work of Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Barnabas first proclaimed Jesus to their fellow Jews. Going into the synagogue on the Sabbath, Paul addressed the congregation, proclaiming that Jesus was God’s Messiah who was killed and who was raised from the dead in fulfilment of the Scriptures. Now, the forgiveness of sins and salvation can be attained through him (cf. Acts 13:16-40). Those who heard this message were mostly Jews gathered in the synagogue for the Sabbath service. However, some Greek converts to Judaism and other non-Jews who found Jewish beliefs and practices attractive were also present. Acts calls these sympathisers “God-fearers.” Paul’s message made such an impact that on the following sabbath, a large part of the city’s Gentile population gathered at the synagogue to hear Paul speak again. As Christians, are we God fears? And what impact are we making on others with the Easter gospel?
Of course, on the second Sabbath, according to the second reading, the synagogue leaders vehemently attacked Paul, opposing his message and blaspheming against Jesus because of the popularity of the apostles and the attractiveness of their message for the Gentiles, which made them jealous. In our Christian life, we will meet jealous people. We need to be strong and never give up, just turn to the right people. As Paul and Barnabas turned to the Gentiles as they brought light of revelation to the Gentiles as referred in Isiah 49:3.
During this Easter season, as Christians, let us bring light of revelation to others.
In the second reading of today, John’s vision portrays a great multitude representing all nations of the earth and their white robes symbolise purity, and the palm branches in their hands signify victory. As Christians, are we pure? It is noted in the second reading that “they washed their robes in the blood of the lamb.” This connects them to Jesus’ death and implies that they found purity and forgiveness of sins by suffering as he did. We are all called to be pure, forgiving and convey the message of hope and reassurance to the suffering people of God on earth. Like the rest of the book of Revelation, it was written for the Christians suffering under the strain of persecution by the Roman Empire and their hostile neighbours. The vision conveys the message that endurance and adherence to Jesus in the present life will lead to union with him in the heavenly world.
Christian Act in Word of God: “Listen to the voice of God!”
As Christians, today we celebrate Jesus as the good shepherd whose care for us has been manifested in numerous ways in these Easter Season celebrations, particularly in how he protects and restores our lives as our redeemer. The theme for this Sunday invites us to listen attentively to his voice, to benefit even more from his care.
To listen to the voice of our good shepherd, we need to cultivate an attitude of listening. The first reading reminds us of the journey of Paul and Barnabas. It was a journey filled with a lot of disapproval and enmity from their opponents. They prevailed, motivated by the word of God, “I have set you to be light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” Listening and making these words their own, Paul and Barnabas succeeded in their mission. Let us listen to the voice of the risen Lord.
The liturgy of today reminds us that listening to the voice of Christ helps us to be more objective in life. We need to allow the voice of Christ to transform our thoughts in such a way that we can look at situations of life and other people with an objective mind.
The voice of Christ announcing the message of peace, love, and tolerance is the right voice to listen to.
Our world today is filled with numerous voices which often drown out the voice of Christ. To hear the Lord, we must open our hearts and choose to listen to him over the voices of discouragement, self-pity, violence, revenge, greed, hatred, pride, pain, poverty, rejection, suffering, and tribulation. In the opening of our hearts, we offer him what we hunger and thirst for, so that he can have his way in our lives. We must ask ourselves daily about which voice or voices we hear, and which voices we choose to follow. Depending on the answer, we also need to reflect on how to cultivate a habit of listening to the voice of God, even amid the daily pressures of life.
During this Easter season let us allow ourselves to be guided by the voice of God because only through listening to him will we gain eternal life and respond positively each day our vocations.
Action: I will listen to the voice of God with all my heart
Prayer: Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, we thank you for caring about us as your flock. Help us to listen to your voice in our lives so that we may do your will. Teach us to have an open heart, and may we never allow the many noises of the world to overshadow your calling in our lives, and help us to respond our vocations positively each day either Marriage life, priestly, life, religious life (brothers and sisters) or single life, we ask this through Jesus Christ the risen Lord who lives and reigns with you, one God forever and ever, Amen.
- Good Shepherd Sunday: 4th Sunday of Easter - May 9, 2025
- Do You Love Me? Third Sunday of Easter - May 2, 2025
- Peace Be with You: Divine Mercy Sunday - April 25, 2025
