HOMILY, ST. PAUL’S, FOLEY – 4 EASTER, YEAR B
APRIL 25, 2021
TEXT: JOHN 10:11-18
Jesus spoke to his listeners using images that were familiar to them. Think of examples of his parables. The mustard seed. A grain of wheat. The vineyard. A wedding banquet. A city on a hill. A Samaritan.
People could latch on to those images. He used them as analogies – something familiar to point toward a deeper, more disclosive truth. They were insights into the Kingdom of God.
Today we have another example. This is known as Good Shepherd Sunday – because of the psalm set aside for today – the 23rd Psalm – and the gospel lesson. Jesus is telling us that he is Good Shepherd – not literally, but he is likethe Good Shepherd.
Keep in mind that Israel, in Jesus’ day, was very much an agrarian society. People tilled the soil. They planted vineyards. They raised wheat. And they tended herds.
Even to this day, a traveler can venture down the Judean hills to Jericho and see Bedouins living on the hillsides – in their tents, with their rudimentary belongings, tending their flocks. The shepherds move the sheep to the places where water and forage can be found. They are tended even in the harshest of conditions – rain, snow, drought, heat, or cold. The shepherd does not abandon his flock.
The flock knows his voice. They respond to his call. Where he goes, they go.
He will guide his flock. He does what he can to protect them. He will place himself between danger and the flock.
And here’s an important point: When evil, sickness, calamity, or death befalls the flock, he does not leave. He tends the wounds. He grieves the loss. He remains with the flock. He is ever-faithful – down to the last and least.
That imagery of the shepherd is the deep well of familiarity was what Jesus was sharing with his listeners. It’s an image which translates well and we can embrace through the millennia.
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