The Lord’s Sheep

Reflection on John 10:27-30

The image of a shepherd and his sheep is not familiar to us living in an urban setting. We never see shepherds herding sheep across our streets. Things may be quite different with people living in rural areas.

It is obvious that Jesus was far more familiar with the image of shepherd and sheep than we are because he used it so very often. The classic text where Jesus made extensive use of that image is in John 10. That is where our Gospel reading of today comes from, as is the case every 4th Sunday of Easter. As a matter of fact, the 4^th Sunday of Easter every year is known as "Good Shepherd Sunday."

One of the lessons one may learn from the teaching of Jesus is that there is some kind of unwritten covenant between the shepherd and his sheep. By the terms of that covenant, the shepherd commits himself to care for the sheep, to lead them to fresh and green pastures (Psalm 23), to defend them against the wolf and other potential predators (John 10). The sheep, for their part, are expected to listen to the voice of the shepherd and follow where he leads. They are to follow him alone, and not strangers.

Where both parties are faithful to the terms of the covenant, all goes well for the sheep. The contrary is the case if either the shepherd or the sheep were to breach the terms of the covenant. The shepherd can do that if he is only a hireling and not the owner of the sheep. His interest in the sheep will not go beyond what it takes for him to earn his pay. He will not, for instance, risk his life to defend the sheep in the event of an attack by a wolf. The sheep can default on their own part of the covenant by refusing to listen to the voice of the shepherd and thereby choosing not to follow him. If and when that does happen, the sheep are exposed to grave danger from the wolf and other predators.

Jesus is the Shepherd, we are his sheep. He has carried out his own part of the covenant with us to the letter. He cared for us to the point of laying down his life for us-literally-thereby freeing us from the clutches of the “Wolf”, ultimate predator, our “Ancient Enemy” Satan himself.

Now, the question is, do we listen to our Shepherd? Always… or when it Suits us or it is convenient, doesn’t cost us much? If and when we do listen, do we follow where he leads? Or do we rather prefer to go where our own whims and caprices, appetites and fancies lead us?

If we listen to our Shepherd and follow where he leads, he promises us eternal life, and we shall never be lost because no one will ever be able to steal us from him. “No one” includes Satan and all the forces of darkness and evil that serve his cause.

“Simon, do you love me”

Reflection on John 21:1-19

In an earlier reflection, I spoke about a poster that bore the statement: "God allows U-turns!” After we have strayed into the pathways of sin and shame, if we repent and return to God our Father -remember the "Prodigal" Father of the Prodigal Son (Luke 1511-32) - he will not only forgive us, but he will give us a chance to turn a new leaf and begin to write the story of our lives from scratch.

One very clear example of that is what Jesus did to Simon Peter. Jesus had chosen him to lead his Church. He had even changed his name from Simon to Cephas (Peter, meaning Rock), and promised that he would build his Church on that Rock (Matthew 16: 17-19).

When trouble came after Jesus was arrested, Peter fell with a thud. He denied his Master, not once but three times. One of them was before a mere maid. Ironically, Jesus had earlier

Warned Peter that he was going to do just that. But Peter had boasted that even if he had to go to prison or die with Jesus, he would never do such a thing. It turned out that his boast was just that: a boast and nothing more. It was empty. Even before anybody had threatened him with anything, Peter denied his Master. No wonder, when he heard the cock crow, he went outside and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:69-75).

After the resurrection, Jesus would have been fully justified to take away the leadership of his Church from Peter. He could have concluded that Peter was so unreliable that it was risky to leave him in charge of the Church. But Jesus did not do any such thing. Instead, he gave Peter a chance to reverse his threefold denial with a threefold profession of love for him. Three times he asked Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Three times Peter said, ''Yes, Lord, you know I love you." Three times Jesus said to him: "Feed my lambs", "Look after my sheep", "Feed my sheep." Jesus simply meant to reassure Peter that he would still be in charge of the Church, the leadership of the Church would not be taken away from him as a result of his denial of Jesus.

After experiencing the forgiveness of Jesus, Peter became a changed person. We see that in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 5:27-32. 40-41). The same person who denied Jesus in the presence of a maid would now confront the high priest himself and tell him to his face that "Obedience to God comes before obedience to men", and then proceed to give testimony of the resurrection to the entire Sanhedrin, the Supreme Council of the nation of Israel. What a transformation!

That is exactly what can happen to anyone who experiences the forgiveness of God. He can be so thoroughly transformed or converted -to use a more technical term- that he will do great things for God. That was what happened to Saul of Tarsus after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. The same thing happened to Augustine of Hippo after his conversion from a wayward life. The same thing can happen to us if and when we experience the forgiveness of God. We too will do great things for God. Nobody will be able to stop us and we will not be deterred by anything, because we shall be obeying God rather than men, like Peter and his companions.

“My Lord and my God”

Reflection on Gospel of John 20: 19-31

There is a common saying that “seeing is believing.” That is what Thomas, Didymus (the Twin) told his fellow disciples when they told him that Jesus had risen and paid them a visit. You can hardly blame him for his incredulity. Resurrection is not something that happens everyday. Thomas had certainly not heard of any before. The raising of Lazarus and a couple of other persons from the dead by Jesus was not quite the same thing.

Jesus understood Thomas' problem. So he returned to show himself specifically to Thomas. He did not rebuke him for his incredulity. tie merely invited him to step forward and verify for himself that it was truly he, and he had risen from the dead. We are not told whether Thomas actually took Jesus' invitation or not, whether he actually put his finger into the holes that the nails made and his hand into his side. It would seem that merely seeing the risen Jesus was enough for him. It was enough for him to make a profound act of faith: "My Lord and my God." Indeed, "seeing is believing." Thomas saw and believed.

What Jesus said next is instructive. He said, "You believe because you can see me~ Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe." That is to say, "seeing is believing" is alright, but to believe when you have not seen - physically, that is- is better. In other words, believing after you have seen is really no big deal. Anybody can do that if they have eyes that see. But to believe when you have not actually seen, purely on divine authority, is what has real value in the sight of God. That is the virtue of faith, which, according to the Catechism, is a "supernatural gift of God." It is what is celebrated in Hebrews 11, which begins thus: "Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen."

That faith is what we have when we believe that Jesus really did rise from the dead, that he gave the power to forgive sins in his name to the Church when he said, as we read in today's Gospel passage, "Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained'”, that the Holy Eucharist is the true body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, among other things. Indeed, there is an age-old custom in the Catholic Church to say "My Lord and my God" at the Elevation during the Consecration at Mass. Those were the very words of Thomas when he saw the risen Jesus.

If that is the kind of faith we have, the same risen Jesus assures us that we are "happy", that is "blessed" since we have not seen and yet believe.

“He has risen indeed”

Reflection on Gospel of John 20: 1-9

There is an ancient myth that Jesus did not really die on the cross. The argument is that someone like him – a prophet, even the very Son of God – could not have died on the cross. The story continues that Jesus did carry his cross to Calvary alright. But at the very moment that he was to be crucified, he disappeared, vanished into thin air.

The Roman soldiers were confused. They had come all the way to Calvary to crucify someone. Now, all of a sudden, the man was nowhere to be found. What were they to do? Someone had to be crucified, anyone. So the soldiers got hold of poor Simon of Cyrene, and crucified him in place of Jesus.

That story is not as funny as it sounds; it is not funny because it is important to establish that Jesus really did die on that cross. For if Jesus did not die, then he could not have risen from the dead. If there was no death, there could not have been a resurrection. And resurrection is the bedrock of our faith as Christians. For, as St. Paul says, “… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is without substance, and so is your faith" (1 Cor. 15: 14) That is why anybody who is a Christian must believe in the resurrection. And if we believe in the resurrection, we must also believe that Jesus really did die on that cross. He did not run away from it or disappear to anywhere.

The resurrection of Jesus was his own personal victory over death. In the words of St. Paul again, "We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and will never die again. Death has no power over him any more" (Rom. 6:9). On Good Friday, it seemed tI1at death had vanquished Jesus. But on Easter Sunday, Jesus had the last laugh; and what a good one it was! The victory of Jesus over death was also our Victory. Because Jesus died and rose from the dead, we are assured that we too shall rise again after our own death. His resurrection is thus the pledge of our own resurrection from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20¬22). As we say in one of our Consecration Acclamations, "Dying, you destroyed our death, rising, you restored our life, Lord Jesus( come in glory."

The resurrection of Jesus also represents the ultimate victory of good over evil. No matter how long it takes, good will always triumph over evil. The enemies of Jesus did a grave evil by putting an innocent person to death. At that time, it seemed that evil had silenced good forever. The resurrection of Jesus proved them wrong. Good came charging from the grave with Jesus, and evil to an ignominious flight.

Those who are on the side of good in the Society can take heart from these facts. Their struggle is not in vain; their efforts will not go forever unrewarded. Their success, their victory may be delayed, but it will not be frustrated forever. By the same token, the agents of evil in our Society should be warned that they will not always win. Their apparent victory now will end in defeat sooner or later.

This is a drama that has been played out again and again down through the ages. History is littered with the carcasses of tyrants and despots who wreaked untold havoc on their fellow human beings. For a time they seemed to be getting away with their crimes. It seemed that nobody could stop them. Along the way, they amassed fabulous wealth for themselves and their cronies. But when good staked its supremacy over evil, they just fell like a pack of cards. Examples abound, even from just the last century: Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, Idi Amin, Bokassa, Mobutu, Samuel Dow, Abacha, Milosevic, Saddam Hussein. History has always repeated itself. It always will.

Repent or Perish

Reflection on Luke 13:1-9

The popular wisdom among the Jews of Old Testament times was that bad things happened only to bad people, just as good things happened only to good people. We see that in the story of the Book of Job. Job's friends tried to convince him that the reason why those terrible misfortunes befell him must have been some sins he had committed, maybe without knowing it.

Jesus did not hold that view at all. The people who suffer misfortune are not necessarily the worst sinners there are. They may, in fact, be quite innocent. Imagine a road accident in which eight people die, and only two survive. Among the dead is an infant six month old. Is it possible that, that infant was greater sinner than the two persons who survived the accident? What about the many cases of children suffering and dying from cancer? What sins have they committed? It is all a mystery. God alone knows why bad things can happen to good people, including innocent children, while a lot of bad people can get away with their crimes - or so it seems.

The truth is that nobody will get away with any crimes, unless repent. That includes those who think wicked thoughts about their neighbour and say wicked things about him, as well as those who do wicked deeds. The day of reckoning may be long in coming. But it will surely come. If it does not come in this life, it will surely come on judgment day. That us when sinners who fail to repent will most certainly perish, and forever.

The good news is that every sinner who repents receives forgiveness from God. We may not like that. We would very much wish to see some particularly wicked sinners pay dearly for their crimes even after they have repented. Fortunately God is not like us. As we read in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, "I take no pleasure in the death of anyone -declares the Lord Yahweh- so repent and live" (Ezekiel 18:32). There is nothing we can do about that. It is God's way of doing things, and his ways are not our ways just as his thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).

We can repent of our sins at anytime during the year. But Lent is a privileged season for repentance. Everything at about Lent speaks of repentance and forgiveness. We should take full advantage of this season while it lasts and repent, so that we do not perish.

Listening to the Son of God

Reflection on Luke 9:28-36

Have you ever had an experience that you wished would not go away? I mean, the experience was just so wonderful, so perfect, so delightful that you wished it would just go on and on and on. Some people can point to one or more of such experiences in their lives.

That must have been the kind of experience Peter, John and James had when they witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. It was sheer heaven on earth. Peter wished it would never end. He wanted to build three tents, one for Jesus, another for Moses and another for Elijah. Then he and his companions would settle there, and not have to go down the mountain. But Peter would be told, "not yet; so fast."

Because, "as he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow... And a voice came from the cloud saying, 'This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.' "That is what they had to do before they could enjoy what Peter was asking for: a permanent abode with Jesus in the fellowship of the Saints. And that is heaven. They had first to listen to the Son of God and then they would be able to live with him forever in heaven. Really, listening to Jesus is one of the pre-eminent tasks of a Christian. That is what makes him a disciple, one of the sheep of Christ. That is what Jesus said: ‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27). The Apostle James would later add that listening to Jesus entails doing what he tells us. In his words, " ... you must do what the Word tells you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves" (James 1:22).

It is well known that Jesus is speaking to us in the Bible, the Word of God. We must listen to him there. We know too that Jesus is speaking to us in and through the Church, his body. We must listen to him there. It is not so well known that Jesus is speaking to us also in the events of our daily lives, the good ones and the not-so-good ones, the happy ones and the sad ones, the pleasant and unpleasant. We must learn to listen to him there too.

Therefore, whenever something striking happens to us, we should make a habit of stopping to ask what message the Lord might have for us in that event. What is the Lord telling us, what might he be asking of us? We can ask the Lord in prayer to manifest his will in that event to us. We may also seek counsel from people who are in a position to enlighten us: our parents, our teachers, even our spouse or dose friend, and especially our priest. We shall be surprised to find God revealing his will to us loud and dear.

After all said and done, however, what is important is that we listen to the Son of God and do his will that he manifests to us. That is how we shall possess that permanent abode with him, that Peter wished for on Mount Tabor, the mountain of the Transfiguration.

Happy are the Poor

Reflection on Luck 6:17. 20-26

Before and during the time of Jesus, the popular wisdom in Israel was that wealth, prosperity was a blessing, a clear sign of divine approval. On the contrary, poverty, adversity was a curse, a sign of disfavour in the sight of God. That kind of thinking endured in spite of its being contradicted by the Book of Job in the Old Testament.

When Jesus came along, he stood the received wisdom on its head. He said that the poor were in fact blessed, happy. The reason for that was that the kingdom of God was theirs. The hungry, those who mourned, those who wept, and those who suffered persecution were all equally blessed, happy. By contrast, the rich, those who had their fill, those who were laughing, and those whom the world spoke well about were all in trouble. Jesus said, "Alas!" to them.

There is no particular virtue in being poor, neither is there any inherent evil in being rich. Both the poor and the rich can and do go to heaven, just as both also can and do go to hell. However, age-old experience has taught that people who are poor or deprived often tend to look up to God for their sufficiency. They tend to be deeply religious. By contrast, a lot of people who are rich consider themselves self-sufficient. They believe or they behave as if they had little use for God in their lives. There are several stories in the Gospels that describe the attitude of the self-sufficient rich man. One is the story of the "Rich Young Man" who would not leave everything to follow Jesus, because "he was a man of great wealth" (Mark 10: 17-22). Another is the story of the "Rich Fool" who did not include God in his plans for the future (Luke 12: 16­21). Yet another is the story of the "Rich Man" who went to a place of torment after death because he failed to give a crumb of food to the poor man Lazarus while on earth (Luke 16: 19-31).

If we are poor now, and we work hard to become rich, we do no wrong. If we are rich now, and we work hard to remain so, we do no wrong either. There is just one thing, though: whether we become rich in the future or we are already rich now, must remember to always subordinate our wealth to God. We must never lose sight of the fact that our sufficiency is in him alone, not in any of our possessions, however much they may be. That is something that comes very easier to people who are poor than those who are rich. That is why the poor are “happy”, “blessed”, and it is “alas” to the rich!