Fr. Sean's Easter II Sermon

Jesus as the Good Shepherd, mosaic, 5th c. Galla Placidia Mausoleum, Ravenna

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 

For the last few weeks since Palm Sunday, our Gospel readings have been narrating the events of Jesus’ false trial, passion, death, and resurrection. Last week on Low Sunday, the Gospel reading continued this historical record, recounting Jesus’ resurrection appearance to his Apostles in the Upper Room when he gave them his peace. Looking ahead, Easter III to Easter V continues the historical narrative with each Gospel relating Jesus’ prophesies of his ascension and pentecost. Only this week, Easter II, breaks this cycle of historical narrative as it jumps back into John chapter 10, highlighting the theme of the Good Shepherd. It is strange and stands out if you look at the Gospel readings chosen during this Easter season! I like to view it as a liturgical bridge which unites the Easter themes of sacrifice and love to the Pentecost themes of guidance and evangelism. Because of the love and sacrifice of our Good Shepherd, we can now live without fear in peace under his continual guidance through the Holy Spirit. But before we look more at the image of Jesus Christ as our shepherd, I want to first look back at last week and the peace of God in order to deepen our understanding of Jesus' self-proclaimed title of a shepherd. If you have ever been around sheep, peaceful is probably the last adjective that you would ever use! Sheep rarely have peace for they quickly react to any stimulae, even if that stimulae presents no real danger! 

As we saw last week, the Peace of God which Christ gave to his Apostles in the Upper Room has many different layers to it–it is more than just being free from the fear of enemies. Generally, peace means that one is in unity with God, that you have a life of wholeness. As when Jesus said in Mark: And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.  Or Simeon’s beautiful lyric: Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word. But when we are viewing it as a life of wholeness with God, it is interchangeable with our word salvation. St. Paul remarks in Romans 5: 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Or in his letter to the Colossians: 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, , whether things in earth, or things in heaven. 

Because peace has this general sense of salvation, we see this word used not just in Jesus' teachings but in the Apostles! Especially in what they preach to the people: 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! Or 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. This is the peace we aspire to, and why we say RIP for those who have fallen asleep. Think also of how Paul opens so many of his letters: <1co 1:3 kjv> 3 Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. That peace of salvation is a gift from God and does not only come when we die–we can experience that peace now! But also, that peace is not just vertical peace, between man and God, it also pertains to the life within the body of Christ. Paul tells the Corinthians: <1co 14:33 kjv> 33 For God is not of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. And he writes the Ephesians: 3 Endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And finally, St. Paul summarizes all of this in his letter to the Hebrews: 20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Ah, the shepherd theme–the bridge– comes back! This peace is the marker of new and transformative life because it is the marker of Jesus Christ. Our shepherd knew the peace of God unlike any other man or woman in history because He was God. But His peace is a state of being, not a set of external circumstances. What I mean is that the peace of God does not mean your life will be free from disturbing external circumstances. The peace of God is the freedom of being able to serve God, it is the freedom of following God's will and not be slaves to our own sin or the fear of death. It is liberating and infinite, it is grounding, profound, and even majestic....but it never means that one will be free from the normal hardships of human life or even the hardships incurred from others as a result of our dedication to God.

In fact, this peace, as I noted last week, is what allows us to face the sufferings we endure, bringing meaning to our suffering. There are, of course, our normal human sufferings such as injuries, sickness, chronic illness, tough relationships, etc. But the Epistle today is making us face something we often want to flee: THIS is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.  

What might come to mind immediately are the martyrs--those Christians who have to face physical persecution. We celebrated the feast of Justin Martyr last week and in the next few weeks we will remember St. George, the Apostle St. Mark, St. Peter of Verona. But most of us will never face such clear suffering like that. Peter, however, was not just considering the martyrs either but all the normal ways his small Christian community were outcasts, both from the ruling classes of the Jews and from the Gentile communities. Committing to Jesus often meant separating from family and friends, and this type of suffering we still experience today. There are clear moral choices that we make as Christians today which separate us from our society, and sometimes sticking to Christian ethics in our workplaces or social groups result in banishment. Those are difficult times, but St. Peter wants us to rejoice in such opportunities. 

I do think kids and teenagers have more opportunities for such difficulties as adults can insulate themselves. Kids, how often do you get blamed for a little thing at home that your sibling did? Or how quickly do friends abandon you when you stick up for what is right? 

These difficulties will come, and it will make us wonder, really, why is this so? We are the servants of Jesus Christ and we are not above our master whose life is our example. And yes, he is our moral example, but it is more than that. We are healed by his example for we are healed by his stripes which he patiently bore, healed by his wounds which he received as an innocent victim, healed by his precious blood which was poured out for the sins of the whole world. 

In other words, he leads us in order to give us the opportunities for suffering. The reality of the life of the Church is shaped and modeled by our Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Our Shepherd still bears the wounds from his fight for us, and he continually gives of Himself so that we might live. In our small parish we experience the great highs and lows of life. We welcome new babies into the world and baptize them, but we also suffer with those who are suffering here. Each of our lives is held dear to Our Lord who guides and shepherds us, and we can rest in our faith that the Good Shepherd will bring us to our only true Home. Our job is to listen to His call for then we will find peace.

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.