Today is traditionally known as ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’ as reflected in our readings this afternoon/morning.  “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me…. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”  The context in which Jesus says these words is described in the few verses just before our Gospel passage. Jesus is walking in Solomon’s portico of the Temple at Jerusalem for the great feast, the Festival of the Dedication, celebrated by the Jewish faithful today, as Hanukkah, the festival of lights.  Hanukkah celebrates the restoration of the temple at Jerusalem through the heroism of the Maccabees. The people gathered around Jesus and asked him, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. Jesus does not answer them plainly but says, ‘The works that I do in my father’s name testify to me.” Jesus’ words are actions and his followers are his followers through hearing the Good Shepherd’s call to action.  For his listeners that day in the Temple, the reference to the good shepherd would have recalled Ezekiel’s description of the wicked shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves. You consumed milk, wore wool and slaughtered fatlings, but the flock you did not pasture. You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the stray or seek the lost but ruled them harshly and brutally. …Thus says the Lord God: Look! I am coming against these shepherds. I will take my sheep out of their hand.”

Many of you will remember Pastor Brent Walker who left us to minister to prisoners in Calgary.  He sent me an interesting article the other day on Facebook. The article was written by a pastor Erik Parker and it was entitled, “Why nothing seems to get people back to church-the issue at the core of the decline.’ (The Millennial Pastor).  We are all aware of the decline in church going over the past few decades-just look at the number of Montreal churches being sold for lack of a congregation. Pastor Parker argues that in the past the church was supported by the society at large and church was mainly a social group who got together on Sundays and shared some worship and perhaps a barbeque.  This idea of Church as a social commitment now competes with other social commitments: soccer games, brunch with friends or just sleeping in and vegging. Church as just another social activity can’t compete especially in today’s world.

He concludes, “If getting people to church is the chief concern, then we will always be looking to draw people in. But if following Jesus, and letting people know about this gracious, merciful and compassionate God, is at our core, we will reach out. And reaching out to let people know about Jesus, may or may not include more bums in pews.”

What people, especially young people today, are looking for is a personal experience and commitment to Jesus through a community of believers in what Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “My sheep hear my voice AND follow me” The word heard is inextricably united to doing.  As our wonderful leader, Pope Francis who is admired by so many outside the Catholic church has said, “Preach the Gospel not so much with words, but with actions.  “An evangelizing community gets involved by word and deed in people’s daily lives; it bridges distances, it is willing to abase itself if necessary, and it embraces human life, touching the suffering flesh of Christ in others. Evangelizers thus take on the ‘smell of the sheep and the sheep are willing to hear their voice.” (Joy of the Gospel).  We hear the Lord and follow Him.  Pope Francis hears the Lord and follows him.  This weekend he visited the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos in Greece along with leaders of the Eastern Orthodox churches.  His gesture expresses how he has heard the voice of the shepherd and has acted to draw attention to the plight of the largest flux of refugees since the Second World War. “We have come to call the attention of the world to the grave humanitarian crisis and to plead for its resolution.”  When he left he took 3 Muslim families, 12 people in all, with him on the papal plane to the Vatican stating that the Vatican would care for the three families.  People will experience the Lord, the Good Shepherd through this action.

“My sheep hear my voice.”  Today we are living through a moral crisis in the Western world with thousands of abortions and now legislated killing by doctors of vulnerable people, euphemistically called euthanasia or ‘assisted dying’.  I would like to recall one woman’s response.  Yesterday we celebrated the life and death of Ursula Lafontaine, Fr Ray’s mother. It was a joyful loving experience as we celebrated the wonderful life of this woman who raised ten children. Her response to abortion: she was one of the founders of Birthright, an organization which helped women who were pregnant, alone and afraid of the future so that they would not choose abortion as an answer to their problems. Not just with kind words-there were plenty of those-but with actions.   Ursula heard the Lord’s voice, the voice of the good shepherd.  Many of us here in this parish are concerned about euthanasia and speak out in many forums against this legislation.  There are several doctors among us who have taken up the challenge of writing and speaking against physician killing rather than caring for patients. 

We will evangelize best when we lead others to the experiential knowledge of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Jesus the lamb of God.  Jesus’ words to Peter on the shores of the sea of Tiberias are meant for us. “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.”

I will conclude with a little parable of Father Anthony DeMello a Jesuit priest, entitled The Explorer.  This is the story of a man who left his small village because he had heard about the great Amazon rain forest with its abundant flora and exotic birds and wild life.  When he returns after his overwhelming experience of his trip, the other villagers crowd around him anxious to hear every detail.  Try as he could, the traveller just couldn’t find the words to express the incredible experience he had of the Amazon with its glittering waterfalls, rivers, strange animals and beautiful birds who filled the jungle with music.  He tells his fellow villagers that really they need to experience it for themselves and so he draws very detailed maps of his voyage to help them. But then, the villagers became intrigued with the maps and began drawing more detailed and more beautiful maps. Maps they could admire, Maps they could hang in their homes and show to their children and grandchildren telling them that these maps describe the most beautiful place imaginable.  They often gathered together in groups and discussed the maps and became familiar with every detail of every river, waterfall and mountain. Finally, the villagers regarded themselves as experts.  However, they were happy with the maps and never voyaged to the Amazon to experience it for themselves. Our Eucharistic celebrations must be places where we experience the voice of the Lord, the Good Shepherd for ourselves. Hearing the word of God is immediate, intimate and personal. It is not an intellectual exercise but an experience. AN experience that demands something of us.

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

“Do you love me? Lord you know that I do. Then feed my lambs, feed my sheep.”

Amen