Good Shepherd Sunday or Mission Sunday: Turning the Search Light on Yourself
Acts 4:8-12; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18
A story was told of a young man, who graduated with a First Class honors. For his military training (NYSC), he was sent to teach in a community college. At this community college, there was an old man whom everyone held in high esteem. The old man had no university degree, but he was on the faculty of the college. To make himself famous, the young graduate promised his students to show them how unintelligent the old man was. This is what he said he would do: “I will catch a fly in the palm of my hand, and I will ask the old man to tell me whether the fly is alive or dead. Should he say the fly is alive, I will squeeze my palm to kill the fly, then open it to tell the old man that the fly is dead; in the event that the old man says the fly is dead, I will open my hand to allow the fly to fly away”. This intriguing question aroused the curiosity of may students, who followed the young graduate to see what the old man would answer to his question. Once the old man was asked the question, he answered the young graduate: “my son, the answer to your question depends on you; since the life of the fly is in your hand, you can either kill it or allow it to go free: the answer to your question depends on you”!
Our story tells us about the combat between wisdom and intelligence. Of course, the wise old man won the contest! In our world, the same contest continues. Unfortunately, there are more intelligent and unwise people around the world, those who behave like our young graduate. There are many degrees obtained in schools and institutions, but wisdom for life is largely lacking. How could a graduate with a First Class be so morally bankrupt not to know that respect is what makes peace reign in the world? What kind of intelligence teaches people to go insult others, if not a woeful absence of wisdom? What will it take to let the world know that wisdom is needed besides intelligence? Indeed, the acquisition of wisdom and virtue depends on you—“turn the search light on yourself”!
The message of Good Shepherd Sunday and of the Resurrection is this: everlasting joy is the solution to fear and sadness. That is, we need to decide to remain joyful always. To be joyful always is to turn fear and sorrow into joy; then, there will be no more sorrow and no more fear. A Christian will always be happy, if he/she decides to be happy always. This is the meaning of the Resurrection and the meaning of being people of the resurrection. If we truly believe that there is resurrection, then, there is no death, life continues in a better form after death: the resurrection of Jesus is our proof. Imagine when you’re really tired and go to bed: after a sound sleep, you wake up rejuvenated. Death and sorrowful occasions are steps toward rejuvenation and joy—resurrection.
The lesson of the life of Jesus, for human happiness, is crafted in these words of today’s gospel: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). In other words, Jesus lived his life conscious of death; when death eventually came, he was ready. Jesus was like a worker, who works with the consciousness of a good retirement in view. Those who have no jobs are those afraid of retirement, because they have no savings. In fact, those with savings plan their retirement: where to visit, live and what to do during retirement. By conquering death and sadness, as the good Sphepherd, Jesus teaches us how to be happy always.
If Jesus was never afraid of death, it was because he knew that he was and is the Son of God, and God and his Son are immortal! As for a Christian, he/she is a child of God. So, he/she is immortal like God himself! The joy of the resurrection is this conviction that a Christian dies alive; that is, there is no death, there is only a change of residential address and having new neighbors. This is the origin of our joy and the source of Easter joy. Take another analogy. Life is like the combination of musical notes to produce a melody. You and I are like musical instruments: the notes we combine will either produce sorrowful or joyful tunes and melodies—musical instruments do not determine those for us. The joy of Easter is your choice to make: either to see the sorrowful mysteries of life as preludes to the eternal joy of the resurrection or to remain at the foot of the cross, instead of being present at the resurrection site. The question is: what music is your life playing? Jesus’ plays the good Shepherd—the readiness to die for the good of the other!
“Turning the search light on yourself” means making the joy of Easter personal. How does one do that? Our second reading says that by rejoicing about our citizenship as children of God, that will fill us with happiness. Imagine that the president or prime minister is your parent, and the security and stardom that come from that knowledge! The joy of the resurrection comes from knowing the super-abundant love and protective care with which God surrounds us. We must make this knowledge sink and we must remain conscious of it, if we want to be joyful always. This is because some of the reasons for our sorrows include focusing on our loneliness, sickness, ill treatments by others, poverty, etc. Only the joy of having God as protective and loving parent make us miss and desire God’s presence intensely—this is the source of Christian joy.
The boldness with which Peter preaches Christ, in our first reading, and the miracle that accompanied the presence of Peter and the apostles come from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. For the apostles, Jesus was alive and active. For you, is God alive? Worshippers of a dead God are always sad, unsure and insecure. The lives of martyrs tell a story of unstoppable happiness, in the face of rejection, torture, insults and sickness. The consciousness that God is alive and that his children will live with him forever keep martyrs smiling and happy, when the odds add up against them. If God made that possible for martyrs, he is ready to make that possible for you; but first, turn the search light on yourself: for you, is God alive or dead?
Jesus the good Shepherd changed the world because he died to save it, he didn’t kill anyone. His leadership style was to receive the blows, insults and shame on our behalf. He showed us that love means readiness to die in defense and protection of others. His resurrection teaches us that we will rise like him, should we choose to imitate his approach to living and dying for others. Jesus changed the mission of our lives to saving others, no matter the cost! Yes, the search light is on you, what you will do to replicate Jesus’ love in the world today.
The tragedies of our world tie in with sadness: ours is the tragedy of sad leaders! When a sad person leads, in whatever capacity, he/she exudes sadness and fear. When anyone is sad, the world looks terrible and people appear mean! This is contrary to our feelings, when we are happy: everyone looks good and God seems to dwell among us. By conquering death before dying, Jesus lived and lives everlasting joy. What a happy world we would have, should our leaders and ourselves be happy people! Here is the wisdom of God: whether you will enjoy everlasting joy of the resurrection and exude joy in your leadership position as parents, politicians and bosses depends you!