FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER "A"

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Cycle “A”: The Voice of the Good Shepherd

In the days of Jesus, the domestic animals, especially sheep, were kept in enclosures that were walled all around with no roof and only one door. There could be several flocks belonging to different shepherds in one enclosure or sheep pen. The job of the gatekeeper was to open the gate to the shepherd. Safe within the walls the sheep were protected from attacks by robbers and wild beasts. A shepherd used his voice to lead his own flock of sheep. He led them rather than driving them. He called out only his own sheep. They recognized his voice and followed. Attuned to the tone, pitch and resonance of only his voice, they ran away from any other. Now sheep are not especially renowned for their intelligence; why otherwise would we call somebody a “muttonhead ?” Easily led astray and prone to wander, their very survival depended on having a good shepherd.

Jesus adopted this striking imagery to teach us about ourselves. In some ways we may be like sheep, knocked off course, led down dark alleys and listening  to voices other than the Lord’s. With so many false signals from the media flying around our heads, recognizing the voice of the Shepherd is crucial to our survival. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, leads us by the voice of conscience, the Word of Holy Scripture, and the teaching of the Church. Let us not cut corners on our integrity in response to false signals. Now let me tell you a story; the story told among musicians in New York about a brilliant young oboe player. (The oboe is a wind instrument that you hear in symphonies.) She was asked to perform with a string ensemble in a cathedral. It was a benefit concert and her piece was to be the highlight of the evening’s performance. That afternoon the musicians gathered together to practise. They sounded awful. Over and over again they practised, and the piece with the oboe was especially bad. . It grated, almost distorted the other instruments and bruised the music. After a couple of hours, the leader of the group was frustrated and angry. He insisted that the oboe was out of tune; so he asked the oboist to re-tune her instrument so it would match the others’. The music sounded worse with each attempt. The musicians took a break and the lead man declared that it probably would be better if the oboe piece was completely dropped from the programmed, since the string ensemble sounded much better without it. The lady oboist was distraught and went to a lonely corner of the cathedral to practise alone. Alone, it sounded just beautiful. During the break, an old man who had been praying at the back of the cathedral and listening to the music came forward and spoke to the musician in charge. He apologized for interrupting, but he said he thought he knew how to remedy the situation. He said very gently and firmly, “I believe that the entire orchestra always tunes itself to the oboe because with its perfect pitch it has the truest note.” The other musicians were shocked. Without the oboe they had forgotten one of the first principles of playing together: they had tuned their instruments to one another, and so were hopelessly out of tune. No wonder the music sounded so awful. It was they who were out of tune, not the oboist. The situation was corrected, and the music was stunning and unsurpassed in gracefulness. The old man who gave the right advice was a conductor of a major symphony and with expert ear could hear what less experienced people could not.

Do we tune ourselves to one another in our small worlds, churches and society,  or are we tuned to the truest, purest note, the voice of our Shepherd , and those whose lives sing of compassion, hope and mercy ?

The Good Shepherd leads his flock in the way of love, be it in the pastures of marriage, the single life, the consecrated celibate life. On this Vocations Sunday we could all benefit from reflecting on our common vocation to love, and on the mutual witness of married love and celibate love. The Parable of the Good Shepherd also carries an appeal to generous souls. The flock of Christ is immense. Jesus is the one universal Shepherd, but he needs many helping hands to continue his work. Jesus needs generous people who can sacrifice their own interests and go out into the field. Pray that many young people may be magnanimous to join the Good Shepherd in his life-giving mission to show our fellowmen the “door” to the fullness of life.

PRAYER: (Coptic Orthodox Church. The Coptic Church claims direct descent from Simon of Cyrene, who carried the Cross for Jesus, and from St. Mark who preached the Gospel in Alexandria, Northern Turkey).

O sovereign and almighty Lord,

bless all your people and your flock.

Give peace, your help, your love to us,

your servants and sheep of your fold,

that we may be united in the bond of peace

and love, one body and one spirit,

in one hope of our calling,

in your divine and boundless love;

for the sake of Jesus Christ,

the good Shepherd of the sheep.

Amen.