Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 21 April 2013

Apr 19th, 2013

Heart of the Good Shepherd 19C Wiki Image

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Who are those sheep that Jesus refers to as belonging to him in John’s Gospel? The inference gleaned is that they are those people who have listened to his voice, entered into some relationship with him because he ‘knows them’ and as marks of that connection they are’ his’ disciples, following him! This passage has a lovely feel to it because it strikes hard at some of our modern anxieties, unlike the uncertainty offered by our world, the anxious search for meaning in life, the yearning to belong and the constant seeking after truth, Jesus simply tells us we can expect belonging, truth and eternal life! How I wish we could hold on to this promise, but so often we lose heart and forget to ask ourselves that question, just who are those sheep?

The hints are there in the two readings from Acts and Apocalypse. Both point to an immense number ‘impossible to count’ comprising of every race and nation that have and will make up the human family.

In Acts the focus is more on the growing numbers of pagans alongside the Jewish Christian Community. One can sense the problems of the early Church, opposition from those who objected to the message preach and proclaimed by Paul and Barnabas, even from amongst their own community. But as so often happens in the midst of difficulty and suffering new things emerge, in this case the Gospel is preached throughout the world, heralding the development of a Church that is truly catholic and apostolic, the people of God who will be the light for the nations.

In the Apocalypse reading the immensity of peoples is meant to impress us with the inclusivity of the Gospel. This is the words of a Christ who reaches out to everyone because they are his sheep! The image of the Lamb, that link to the paschal sacrifice of Jesus, who takes away our sins, is of a kingdom where there will be no more hunger or thirst only the living water and no pain or sorrow because God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

Pope Francis reminded people that we need to take the Second Vatican Council seriously, the images and symbols in this Sundays readings can be found woven into both Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes, as the People of God our task is to help spread the message of salvation!

Fr Robin Gibbons is an Eastern Rite Chaplain for the Melkite Greek Catholics in Britain.