Fourth Sunday of Easter

 Lectionary: 51

The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region....
The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

We always hear a gospel about Jesus the Good Shepherd on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. It is a beautiful and most welcome image, especially in troubled times when many suspicious persons offer themselves as fearless, wise, and capable leaders. 

Today's passage from the Acts of the Apostles may be read as a negative indictment of the Jewish people for failing to hear the Gospel and coming to the Lord. But that unpleasantness should be brushed aside by the story of joy. The Gentiles, fascinated by the preaching of Paul and Barnabas, were delighted and filled with joy and the Holy Spirit upon hearing their reference to the Prophet Isaiah:

For so the Lord has commanded us,

"I have made you a light to the Gentiles,

that you may be an instrument of salvation

to the ends of the earth.”

The crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus had been a shocking, deeply unsettling event. It seemed to reveal nothing new; Jewish quislings had been collaborating with their Roman overlords for a long time. But the whole episode made sense as the Risen Lord and the Holy Spirit revealed its context in Jewish history and the Hebrew Scriptures. The prophets, sages, and psalmists had predicted these events, including the mission to the gentiles. When they pondered the history of Abraham, Moses, David, the fall of Jerusalem, the Babylonian Exile and the diaspora of Jews throughout the world, it became obvious that the God of the Jewish people had sent them to gather all the nations of the world into the Good Shepherd's fold. The diaspora of the Jews was like the yeast that is kneaded into the dough to make the loaf rise. Baked by the fire of the Holy Spirit it becomes the Body of Christ. 

For a small group of unlettered fishermen and barely literate tax collectors, carrying the Gospel to all the nations seemed an overwhelming task! We should be the Lord's witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth? Even for Paul and Barnabas, who were better educated and worldly wise than their Galilean brethren, it was a daunting task. Perhaps more daunting because they had a better idea of the world's vastness. 

And yet the Holy Spirit was clearly opening doors and gathering crowds to receive the missionaries. They were enthusiastically welcomed everywhere they went, even when the authorities fought against them. They were succeeding more than one soul at a time, for... 

All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,
and the word of the Lord continued to spread
through the whole region.

The nascent Church was discovering its catholicity. It could not belong exclusively to Jews. Although the gentiles had little expectation of a Messiah and less knowledge of Jewish religion, scripture, and philosophy, they flocked to hear the disciples and be baptized in the name of Jesus. They were, as we hear each year at Pentecost, from everywhere:

Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs...

The Holy Spirit's inclusiveness has often been a serious challenge to the Church. I remember an elderly woman complaining about those people attending her parish church. She was not prepared to welcome many new Americans despite their passionate devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  

Dr. Martin Luther King challenged the churches when he said, "The most segregated hour in America is eleven a.m on Sunday morning." A polarized America needs the Catholic Church to show the way as we welcome everyone to join us in prayer. Inclusiveness should begin in the churches long before business, industry, and government get with it. 

We should notice too, in today's first reading, that the Spirit gathered the gentiles. The Jewish disciples didn't invite them! They weren't drawn by effective marketing; nor were they looking for handouts of food and clothing. The Holy Spirit within their hearts recognized the Spirit that animated the disciples and cheered the Church. Like was drawn to like. 

Jesus assures us in Saint John's Gospel, 

"I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd."

The sound of the Shepherd's voice cannot be confined within the walls of any demographic group. Either they expand to welcome new members or they collapse like the wall of Jericho.