4th Sunday of Easter yearA
This is a homily for 4th Sunday of Easter year A.
Fr. Fred Wekesa, osa
4/20/20264 min read
4th Sunday of Easter year A
I am the gate
1st Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm: Psalm 23:1-6
2nd Reading: 1 Peter 2:20b-25
Gospel: John 10:1-10
On this 4th Sunday of EASTER YEAR A, we reflect on Christ as the good shepherd. On this 4th Sunday, we are invited to pray for vocations to priesthood, vocations to religious life and vocations to marriage life.
To begin with, history reminds us that the image of Christ as the good shepherd has been ever since loved and cherished by christians of all walks of life over the centuries. However, what is the foundation of this image « The Good shepherd ». It finds its origin in the Judaism traditions and culture that later appears in the first testament in the Bible. According to the Jewish culture and traditions, Shepherds were highly respected and not like the notion we have today of shepherds. For example, Abraham was a shepherd, Moses was a shepherd and David was a shepherd too, just to mention a few. Given that the shepherd protects, leads and cares for the sheep, this image could be also applied to God particularly in relation to the people of Israel because it was God who led them out of slavery in Egypt, crossed the red-sea and again the same God who protected and provided for them while crossing the desert by giving them food. Therefore, in this regard, God is a Shepherd to his people.
In the context of liturgy, every 4th Sunday of Easter, we are invited to reflect on Jesus as the good shepherd. What is the context in which Jesus declares himself as good shepherd according to John 10? It is in the context of First, the man born blind who had just been healed by Jesus in chapter 9 of this Gospel of Saint John. Again this healed man has just been expelled from the synagogue by the Jews simply because he acknowledged and confessed that Jesus is the messiah (John 9 :22). Now, this healed man is outside the synaogue and is without someone to lead him because he is rejected and thrown out, therefore, Jesus meets him. The encounter of Jesus with this man born blind shows Jesus as a truly good shepherd and not like the Jewish leaders who are false shepherds. This healed man has just joined a new flock through Jesus Christ as the gate to the sheepfold and now he encounters Christ, the Good shepherd and he has access now to good pastures, eternal life.
According to the gospel passage of this 4th Sunday of easter year A, Jesus declares says « I AM THE GATE ». Jesus as the good shepherd is the gate through which all sheep pass to enter to access. How could we understand this declaration by JESUS? In normal life, what is the function of the door? It allows people to pass through and have access to what inside the house such as the shade, sleep, eat etc. This type of understanding could be applied to Christ as the gate because through Jesus Christ, we have access to salvation, through Jesus Christ we are called Christians, through Jesus christ we have access to God’s riches such as eternal life. And this explains as to why when we pray as christians, we conclude our prayers with ‘through christ our lord’.
How is christ a good shepherd as reported in the gospel text? Christ as the good shepherd leads us to green pastures, hears our voices and cares for us. In fact, Christ is a good shepherd who is opposed to hired man or fake shepherds, because he lays down his life for his sheep as opposed to fake shepherds. In addition, the object of comparison between Jesus as the good shepherd and the fake shepherd is narrowed down to the sens of belonging. This is because for the fake shepherd, the sheep do not belong to him, he runs away in case of danger and therefore he does not own any sheep whatsover. In other words, there is some undeniable gap between the fake shepherd and the sheep. Moreover, Jesus as a true shepherd fulfills the expectations of the First testament prophecy in Ezekiel 34 :1-25 where God promises the eschatological shepherd from the stock of David. The true good shepherd will lead his own sheep to fresh and green pastures, to a rich banquet and also he will be ready to lay down his life for the sake of his flock as we saw on a good Friday.
Finally, What can we learn from this passage? We learn that sheep in this passage represents « all Christians ». Second, listening is a major characteristic for the good shepherd who calls each one of us. Do we listen to his voice when he calls us? at time no, because as Pope paul VI said « The smoke of satan has entered in the church ». indeed, sometimes the smoke of satan has entered into our societies, our families and even in places of work that prevents listening to the voice of Christ, the Good shepherd. United to Christ, the good shepherd, with prayers, faith, and hope in Christ, let us smoke out the smoke of satan amongst us. Let us pray for the young people to discover their vocations and those called to live a more faithful, fulfilling and gracious life.
To conclude, on this 4th Sunday of easter year A, we are invited to see Christ as the true good shepherd is our savior in life who leads us to green heavenly pastures. AMEN.
HAVE A BLESSED SUNDAY!!!!