One of the Sheep

Fourth Sunday of Easter

12 May 2019

First reading                                                                        Acts 13:14, 43-52
Paul and Barnabas went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down,. When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Geniles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'”
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Second reading                                                        Revelation 7:9, 14-17

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that nobody could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Gospel                                                                     John 10:27-30

And Jesus said to his disciples: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and nobody can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Reflection

By Pietro S. Albano

Jean Vanier was a young philosophy teacher in Canada when he decided to move to France in the 1960s. When asked, he simply said he wanted to "follow Jesus and discover the message of the Gospel”. Invited by a priest friend to an institution for mentally handicapped men where he was chaplain, Jean saw for himself the condition of people with learning disabilities. He then decided to invite two handicapped men to his home. Jean's sharing of everything of him to these two men became the nucleus for L'Arche (the ark),  "a worldwide federation of people, with and without learning disabilities, working together for a world where all belong" (https://www.larche.org.uk/). At present, there are 147 communities (in 35 countries) affiliated with L'Arche. In the UK, there are 258 adults with learning disabilities supported by this community.

Apart from founding L'Arche, Jean was an author of several books, a retreat leader, and speaker.  He once said “There’s something incredibly beautiful in the Gospel message, but at the same time incredibly demanding. And yet, it’s not demanding. It’s the place of joy, because we know that we can’t do it ourselves. It’s when we think we have to do it by ourselves that everything becomes heavy.”

Jean passed away on 7 May 2019 at the venerable age of 90. He is, for me, one of the sheep that heard the Good Shepherd's voice and followed Him. 

How about us?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, You have called us to particular vocations and ministries.  At times we think of these as our own. Help us to remember that we cannot do it ourselves; that we need You. Grant us the grace to be humble enough to always hear Your voice and follow You. Amen.

May Jean's soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.