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                April 17, 2016 - Good Shepherd Sunday
 

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 13: 14, 43-51

The others carried on from Perga till they reached Antioch in Pisidia. Here they went to synagogue on the Sabbath and took their seats.

When the meeting broke up many Jews and devout converts followed Paul and Barnabas, and in their talks with them Paul and Barnabas urged them to remain faithful to the grace God had given them.

The next Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of God. When they saw the crowds, the Jews, filled with jealousy, used blasphemies to contradict everything Paul said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly. ‘We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, here and now we turn to the gentiles. For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said: 

    I have made you a light to the nations, 
    so that my salvation may reach 
        the remotest parts of the earth.’ 

    It made the gentiles very happy to hear this and they gave thanks to the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside. 

    But the Jews worked on some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city; they stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went off to Iconium; but the converts were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

    

Psalm 100: 1-3, 5

Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth, 
serve Yahweh with gladness, 
come into his presence with songs of joy! 

Be sure that Yahweh is God, 
he made us, we belong to him, 
his people, the flock of his sheepfold.

For Yahweh is good, 
his faithful love is everlasting, 
his constancy from age to age.

  

Revelation 7: 9, 14-17

After that I saw that there was a huge number, impossible for anyone to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted in a loud voice,

I answered him, ‘You can tell me, sir.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great trial; they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb. That is why they are standing in front of God’s throne and serving him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never hunger or thirst again; sun and scorching wind will never plague them, because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.’

  

John 10: 27-30

The sheep that belong to me 
    listen to my voice; 
I know them and they follow me. 
I give them eternal life; 
they will never be lost 
and no one will ever steal them 
    from my hand. 
The Father, for what he has given me, 
    is greater than anyone, 
and no one can steal anything 
    from the Father’s hand. 
The Father and I are one.

 

Fourth Sunday of Easter

INTRODUCTION – (Acts 13:14, 43-52; Rev. 7:9, 14b-17; John 10:27-30) The Book of Revelation requires a lot of explanation, which we do not have time for - but at least I want to give some background so today’s second reading won’t be a total mystery. Last week we heard John, the author of Revelation, describe some of what he saw in his vision of heaven. God had in his hand a scroll on which it had been written what was to take place in the future. The scroll was sealed with seven seals. Only the Lamb of God, that is the Risen Jesus, was able to open the seals. That was last week’s reading. John went on to tell us that as the seals were opened, war and terror came about on the earth. The Book of Revelation does not delight in horror; it was simply warning God’s people what they were to prepare for and to offer hope to those who suffer, especially those who suffer for being faithful to Christ. This is where today’s reading takes us. One of the 24 elders standing before God’s throne interprets one of John’s visions of heaven. John sees God’s holy people surrounding God’s throne and praising him. They are dressed in white, symbolizing their inner holiness, and they are holding palm branches as a symbol of their sharing in Christ’s victory over sin and death. Their sufferings are over, God will protect them, and the Lamb of God will shepherd them and provide for all their needs.

    In our first reading we join St. Paul on his first missionary journey. We are in Antioch in Pisidia, a small city in what is today the central part of Turkey. Along with Paul is his companion Barnabas. Jewish communities were scattered all throughout the Roman Empire. Paul made two visits to the local Jewish synagogue there. His first visit was so successful that when he returned the following week he filled the house. But his second visit wasn’t nearly so successful as we will now hear.

HOMILY – It has been a tumultuous week, bombings in Boston, an explosion in a fertilizer plant in West Texas, letters to congressmen carrying poisonous powder, not to mention the ongoing problems in the Middle East and North Korea. When we experience things like we did this week, we wonder, where is God in all this? This question has been asked since the beginning of human history. Primitive people often felt that when bad things happened, the gods were angry with them and were punishing them for their evil ways or for their failure to honor the gods. Modern people often tend to deny that there is a God, that no God would allow these things to happen.

    2500 years ago the Jewish people came up with their explanation of why evil happens. They told the story of when God created all things he saw that it was very good. God put his human creatures in a garden of paradise where they would find perfect happiness. They did have to obey one law God gave them. They chose not to obey, and their pride led them to lose the happiness God had intended for them. Even at that very time that they lost what happiness God intended for them, God promised his first human creatures that there would be redemption. God would send a person who would destroy the power of evil and crush its head.

    In the fullness of time, God did send a redeemer, a redeemer who calls us to hear his voice: “my sheep hear my voice,” he tells us. If we follow him he promises us eternal life and that we will never perish. The image of the Good Shepherd is an image that Jesus’ listeners would immediately understand.

    In a more modern way of thinking, Jesus is telling us that hearing him is where we are to get our values, the standards and principles that guide our lives and affect in a major way our happiness or unhappiness in life. If we don’t let his wisdom guide us, how will we seek to find direction in life, or how will we give our children values and ideals? That is part of the problem with the world today; the values that Christ taught us are being ignored. Like our first parents, we make up our own rules to our own disadvantage because we figure we know better than God what will lead us to fulfillment and happiness. Jesus’ words, however, to us are clear: “my sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.” It would take a lifetime to answer all the problems about evil in the world. I just wanted to leave you with a few things to think about.

    The garden of paradise is being offered to us again. We choose it by choosing to follow the way Christ has shown us. That doesn’t mean that along the way the path will be smooth and easy. The garden of paradise is not for this world but for the next. There will always be bumps and disappointments and tears in this world. During those times we have to remember St. Paul’s words: “for those who love God, all things work out for the best.” That’s what has always helped me to remain positive even during the most difficult times.

    Today is vocation Sunday. We pray every week for vocations, but on Good Shepherd Sunday we are reminded of the important role religious vocations have in guiding us in the ways of Christ. This is the life I have been living for almost 49 years now and it has been a privilege. I’ve had wonderful times as a priest and difficult times too, but has anyone ever been able to escape difficult times in this life. As I look back over the years, I suspect if I had lived my life in any other way than as a priest, I would not have found the happiness I did. I just wanted to put in a good word for the religious life and I would like to see others come forward with a similar desire to serve him as a priest, deacon (permanent deacon), religious brother or sister. Please keep that in your prayers today. Amen.

                R. God calls us to our vocation. God
                has a plan for us. We go to the Holy Spirit and
                ask Him to help us to see God's plan
                for us. We go to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to
                help us see through the eyes of the Heavenly
                Father.

                    As members of the mystical body of
                Christ we are commissioned by God to
                go out and spread the Good News –

                    We see how our lives lived in praying
                for the Church and the world can help the
                Church and the world.

                    We have been given a great gift in
                baptism, but we have a responsibility
                to love God first and love others as
                ourselves. We are loving God and loving
                others when we pray for the priests,
                the Church and the world.

                    We are pilgrims on a journey, trying
                to make our life more and more likened
                to Jesus. We also are to help the Church and
                the world to be like Christ.

                    We have been given the Mass going
                on around the world. We can unite everything
                we do to the Mass, all day, and it can help
                bring down great grace for the priests,
                the Church and the world.
 

                R. We are Pilgrims on a journey.

                    We need direction in our lives.
                God gives us laws we must follow
                and there are laws that govern our
                lives in society.

                    The Laws God gives us is to help
                man's actions so he can one day
                see the vision of God.

                    It is fool-hearty to rebel against
                the laws God has put before us. God
                gives us life – God has a plan – we
                cannot ignore God who is over us,
                but men can put themselves above
                God – like Eve in the Garden and
                tell themselves they can do what they
                want.

                    Laws are given to help men to find
                the goal God wants for him. God
                is helping us as pilgrims on the journey
                in our quest for happiness. God
                the Holy Spirit is helping man to travel as
                he should on the road to happiness –
                God gives to man laws to follow –
                Without laws man becomes enslaved
                to whatever suits his wants. Man's
                actions are to be those he chooses on the
                road of life with his goal on eternal
                happiness and the vision of the heavenly
                Father. Man is to use right reasoning
                in performing his actions based in
                virtue, good habits, not vices of pride
                and anger, jealousy, envy, slothfulness,
                lust, gluttony. Man is to seek the
                will of God and to do the will of God
                in love.

                    We are pilgrims on a journey. Satan
                wants a man to isolate and to try
                to fight with any structure over
                him. Satan tells a man "nobody can
                tell him what to do." The man doesn't
                see that to oppose God's will is to
                lead him from happiness. Opposing
                God's will brings conflict in a man
                with God who is keeping him alive.
                Opposing God's will and not obeying the
                Laws put before us from God leads
                to darkness and unhappiness.
                i.e. Because a man is angry – he has
                no right to abandon what an
                institution God has begun and
                try to work in negative, selfish
                ways to hurt it.

                Anger is a passion in a man and
                it grips a man – that shows us
                how enslaving it is – that a man
                can abandon the call of God for
                his actions and act to tear down
                an institution to give into his own
                darkness and anger –

                i.e. In the light of right reasoning we see
                pride is not an excuse why a man
                has a right to plan what he wants
                against a plan God has put in motion
                and order and laws that exist –

                    Man has a free will to obey God's laws
                or to oppose God's laws. Obeying
                God's plan leads to peace and harmony
                even in suffering.

                    In the readings we see the lust
                for power in Saul's actions in persecuting
                and killing the Christians.

                    We can see this in life – how
                God calls a man to give his life in
                his vocation to promote the Kingdom of God
                and the man rather than seeing God's
                call to him and following God's plan
                uses it for his plan and works
                against God's plan.

                    The plan to happiness is in seeing
                the vision of God. Of embracing this
                vision. Of being servants of God – not
                deciding it is a way to put our plan
                for being equal to God in action.

                    Man is to be grateful for all God
                gives him and seek the vision of God.
                Eve wanted to be equal to God and
                she convinced Adam to do what
                she wanted. Eve was prideful –
                she wasn't grateful and obedient
                to God. She had her own lustful
                plan for her dominance.

                    The purpose of the Shepherds of Christ is to
                help to make the members of the Mystical body
                of Christ more fervent. To help to have
                united prayer, united to the Mass,
                all over the world for the priests,
                the Church and the world. How have
                the members focused on this? How
                are we carrying the messages of Jesus
                about baptism and the Eucharist
                to the world.

                Through the pierced Heart of Jesus the
                Church was born. Water for Baptism and
                Blood for the Eucharist –

                The Shepherds of Christ is about the Priestly
                    Writings and Prayer.

                Here is a message Fr. Carter received from Jesus
                July 31, 1994, 22 years ago –

                R. Here is a message about the Apostles of the Eucharistic
                    Heart of Jesus, Jesus gave to Fr. Carter.

                R. Here is a message Fr. Carter received from
                    Jesus October 13, 1994 - 22 years ago.
 

John 10: 11-15

I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd lays down his life
   for his sheep.
The hired man,
   since he is not the shepherd
and the sheep do not belong to him,
abandons the sheep
as soon as he sees a wolf coming,
   and runs away,
and then the wolf attacks
   and scatters the sheep;
he runs away
   because he is only a hired man
and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd;
I know my own
and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father;

Luke 9: 34-35

Revelation 4: 5

Flashes of lightning were coming from the throne, and the sound of peals of thunder, and in front of the throne there were seven flaming lamps burning, the seven Spirits of God.

Galatians 5: 22

                R. We owe God love!!
                We are commanded to love!

                Is this first in our lives –
                    love from the Heart.

                R. God has called us to live a virtuous
                    life – we are to not give
                    into the deadly sins of anger,
                    jealousy, pride, envy,
                    slothfulness, lust, gluttony.

                We owe God love –

                The Holy Spirit wants to fill our hearts with
                    love for God and others –

                We are to do sacrifices in our
                    lives –

                Give our lives as God calls us
                    not planning what we want
                    and working against God's
                    plan for our selfish –
                    self - will.

                We are to help the Mystical Body
                    of Christ to live in love –
                    to bring unity to the Church
                    as we live united in our
                    vocation according to God's will.

Ephesians 1: 14

who is the pledge of our inheritance,
for the freedom of the people
   whom God has taken for his own,
for the praise of his glory.

                R. We beg the Holy Spirit to help us, to counsel
                    us, to help us to have understanding
                    and wisdom, to help us to live
                    holy lives, to have fortitude –
                    courage to do the difficult and
                    to do it in the right way –
                    not fast and make a bigger
                    mess.

                We must turn our minds and
                    hearts to God's will – not
                    act like Eve in the Garden
                    who had her own plan –

                Remember that the Virgin Mary
                    crushes the head of the
                    serpent – Pray through the
                    intercession of Our Lady of Clearwater –
 

                R. Pray through the powerful intercession
                    of Our Lady of Clearwater –
                    I see Mary pray with us

                Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit –
 

Psalm 103: 3

He forgives all your offences,
cures all your diseases,

                Sing: Veni Sancte Spiritus
 

                R. Devotion to the Sacred Heart shows love
                    for Jesus!

                We are members of the Mystical
                    Body of Christ –
                    in Christ our head –

                Sing: We Have been Told