Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 8, 2022

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I know Jesus’ voice and I follow Him

John 10:27–30

“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.

The Father and I are one.”

Music Meditations

  • Psalm 23--John Rutter
  • Shepherd Me O God--Marty Haugen
  • My Shepherd will supply my need--BYU choir or Mormon Tabernacle Choir
  • Prayer of St Patrick for Chorus--Cambridge Singers (John Rutter)
  • Even When You’re Running—Casting Crowns

Opening Prayer

“Speak Lord your servant is listening”.

Help me to make my daily prayer be the same as that of the prophet Samuel. Help me to be open to your voice, even when it says things I do not want to hear, but need to hear. Help me to trust you as one who cares for me utterly and who ultimately provides all that I need for this life. Help me to trust in your goodness and love.

Companions for the Journey

Reflection from the Torch Project Campus Ministry at DePaul University:

As Catholics, we know that God is always there, but there are certain times when it is easier to be aware of this than others. Let’s face it, when we feel hurt, rejected, unloved, or lost, it can be overwhelmingly difficult to see God’s light. Similarly, when we follow through with various temptations or fail to come to God in times of distress, we may end up straying away with him, like the single lost sheep that escaped from the shepherd, only to end up feeling shame and unworthiness.

However, there is a beautiful song by Casting Crowns titled “Even When You’re Running” that focuses on these very times. The chorus goes like so:

His love is inescapable. His presence is unshakable. Right now you don’t believe it’s true. A better day is coming. And you don’t need another place to hide. He’ll find you in your darkest night. His love is holding on to you. Even when you’re running.

See, we may run, but God will follow. We may make mistakes, but absolutely nothing you confess could make Him love you less. Truly, you are His child and no one, no person, no temptation, no sin, can ever take that away from you. After all, “Your fear isn’t dark enough, Your pit isn’t deep enough, Your lie isn’t loud enough, to keep Him away from you.” Let me share some insight from my youth minister, Amy Hodson. She once asked me: “Is the (Father, Son,) Holy Spirit present in this room? Right now?” I said, “Well, yeah.” She said, “Okay. Was the Holy Spirit present in this room 10 minutes ago?” “Yes,” I said. She said, “Exactly. The Spirit is always present, but we are not always mindful or conscious of this. However, when we take the time to be mindful, and to simply remember this, we can truly grasp the fact that we are never alone.”

And so, as long we get up and try. And try. And try once more to be mindful of this presence throughout the course of our lives, we will be rewarded by the Father with everlasting life. In your next time of loneliness or struggle, I encourage you to do this: Close your eyes and pray. Pray, and look for your shepherd. Do you see Him? He is waiting right in front of you with his arms wide open.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • Do I really feel that Jesus knows me, and loves me as I am?
  • What does Jesus’ presence in my life mean to me?
  • Do I feel that I have to do all the work in this relationship I have with Jesus?
    What needs to happen for this belief to change?
    Is there anything I can do to be more aware of Jesus’ love and concern for me?
  • People under stress can feel very insecure and may even doubt that God is watching over them. What events in the world may cause people to be stressed?
    What events in my life can make me feel stressed?
    Have I ever suffered failure and/or rejection? How did I handle it?
  • In this gospel passage, Jesus asserts that those who belong to him listen to His voice. Because He knows them and gives them eternal life. Think of times in our history when human beings have listened to the wrong “shepherds”—military or religious leaders who have preyed on the weak, the poor, have waged war on countries, ethnic groups or nationalities which threatened their sense of security in some way. Have there been any leaders you can think of who have really shepherded their people and protected them without harming others in the process?
    Do you think of Jesus as being your personal “shepherd”?
    Do you listen to him?
    Are you truly open to what Jesus is telling you right now?
    What is He saying to you at this moment?
    What can you do to remind yourself of the nearness of Jesus?
  • Reflect on what it means for you to be in Jesus’ care, and what it means for our world to be in Jesus’ care. Then think of Jesus’ request to Peter in last week’s gospel: “Feed my Sheep”. What sort of shepherd are you called to be, now, today?
  • Sometimes, the reference to non-clergy as “sheep” and the clergy as “shepherds” seems to imply that we are too stupid to think for ourselves; our job is to do what we are told. Some find this demeaning. Do you?
    In what ways have the priests and bishops that I have met been good shepherds of the people in their care?
    In what ways have they failed?
    We need to be honest about this if we are going to take Jesus seriously.
  • Do you think that salvation is personal or communal. Or both?
  • Do you have a sense of “belonging” to a group of friends, your family, or your church community—(your flock)?
    How do you contribute to the whole of each group? How are you accepted and treated by each group?
    Which group do you feel most a part of? Why is that?
    Is there any group that you feel left out of? Why is that, do you think?
  • Can I hear the Shepherd as he speaks to me in our world through modern prophets and witnesses, as well as through those closest to me—those in my very household, or school, or place of employment?
  • Can I hear the Shepherd’s voice in our church community?
  • Can I BE the Shepherd’s voice in my community?
    Will this synodal process we are engaging in help me to answer this question?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

This gospel reading presents a very popular image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. And what a lovely image it is! Immortalized also in the beautiful Psalm 23 from Jewish scriptures, it depicts a God who watches over me: He leads me, he guides me, he soothes me, he prepares a table for me he anoints me. How wonderful it is to be loved and to be taken care of this way. But we cannot live forever in that idyllic and childlike space where we have no cares, no worries, no responsibilities. Life just is not like that. After a while, we grow weary of being sheep—needy, simple, passive.

This image of dependency has, unfortunately, been one which has been encouraged by religion, even the Catholic religion. Over the centuries, says Father Jude Sciliano, O.P., we have paid less attention to the voice that speaks to the entire community/flock and instead have placed the major responsibility for hearing God’s Word and teaching it on the clergy and hierarchy. This often allowed religious leaders to think of themselves, not as shepherds, but as sheepdogs, barking and snarling at those who strayed, biting at the heels of those who might be getting out of line. The end result is a timid and tentative people of God who think of themselves as recipients rather than as participants. We have become consumers of the religious experience, having others think and act and sometimes pray in our stead.

This consumer mentality is played out this way: We go to church. We pray prayers that have been written for us, with highly scripted and memorized responses, we listen to a homily delivered by an ordained minister who, it is presumed, has a closer connection to God and greater insights that we in the cheap seats might have. We receive communion, we listen to a sung meditation after the Eucharist, and we are dismissed and leave. This can give us the impression that we are recipients, observers, on the outside looking in. We are not owners, stakeholders, required to do something with our gifts for the sake of the Kingdom. Sometimes I think that we don’t really hear the words of Dismissal: in the exact translation of the Latin “Ite missa est” we are told: “Go! You have been sent forth”.

Maybe it suits us to be passive, because it is comfortable and comforting. Maybe it suits us to be passive because, then, nothing is expected of us. Do I think of myself as a consumer of the religious experience or as a true disciple? Do I believe my baptismal call as priest, prophet, and king? What are MY baptismal responsibilities, then?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

What are my priorities? For most of us, the first two are those we love, and personal success/happiness, however that is defined. And then we stop there. We often say that we are just too busy to help out. But ask any psychologist and you will learn that we are never too busy to make time for those things we want to make time for. We are never too old or too young, too tired, too stressed, too poor to be exempted. There is no time in our lives when we will have more time than we do now, or more energy than we do now. If we only live to serve ourselves and our own needs, we are missing the point of Jesus’ message. If we do well without doing any good, we are not living fully or graciously. We are not living the gospel. Where is the voice of the Shepherd directing me to service? How can I serve this Catholic Community at Stanford? How can I serve the larger community apart from my friends, my family, my career?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. —Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

When Merton wrote these words he had lived through seventeen years of monastic discipline and contemplative prayer as a Cistercian. It is helpful for us to reflect that if such a man could be confused or insecure, there is little reason to blame ourselves for our own perplexity. What shines through the confusion and insecurity is the profound trust in the are of the good shepherd Pause now and in silence consider these points: 1. To know the outcome of the journey is to trust God less. 2. If the Spirit leads us, the journey is not ours alone. 3. A journey of clarity and ease cannot reach a God of mystery and love. 4. The experience of uncertainty brings us closer to our companions on the journey. 5. No matter how unsettling the journey may be at times, God will not permit us to be lost. —Adapted from A Retreat with Thomas Merton by Anthony Padovano, p.10

Poetic Reflection:

Read the following poem by Denise Levertov. What does it tell you about the Spirit of the Good Shepherd in your life?

“The Avowal”

As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them;
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

Closing Prayer

Excerpted from Thomas Merton, Passion for Peace, 227-229 Almighty and merciful God, Father of all, Creator and Ruler of the universe, Lord of History, whose designs are inscrutable, whose glory is without blemish, whose compassion is inexhaustible, in your will is our peace. Teach us to be long-suffering in anguish and insecurity. Teach us to wait and trust. Grant light, grant strength and patience to all who work for peace, To this Congress, Our President, our military forces and our adversaries. Grant us to see your face in the lightning of this cosmic storm, O God of holiness, grant us to seek peace where it is truly found. In your will, O God, is our peace!