2nd Sunday After Easter Homily

This 2nd Sunday of Easter is often refereed to as Good Shepherd Sunday.

Our Gospel causes us to focus upon Christ as being this Good Shepherd. It is He who cares for the good of His flock which is the Church. As stated in our Collect, “has snatched from the perils of endless death.” On the other side of this relationship are those shepherds to whose care we have been entrusted.

Saint Peter instructs us in our Epistle, “For you were as sheep going stray: but you are now converted to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” Likewise, as instructed by Saint Leo: “The Holy Spirit was bestowed upon all the apostles by our Lord’s breathing upon them, and that the blessed apostle Peter, raised above the rest, having already received the keys to the kingdom, saw the care of the Lord’s flock committed to his charge.”

In the Gospel of Saint John we are told, “whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.” This is the purpose of the sheepfold which is the Church. The Church provides such protection for us concerning the wickedness and the snares of the devil. In this sheepfold all of our needs are met as God pours out to us the gift of His grace.

We must live in the unity of faith that is found within the Church. Outside of these gates there is so much which will do us harm. Outside of these gates fragments of truth may be found, but within them we find the fullness of truth contained. It is to this truth that our shepherds must direct us. If they are unwilling to lead souls to an encounter with truth they are nothing more then sheep in wolves clothing.

Christ is that Good Shepherd who goes in search of souls. He desires that they encounter Him and have faith in Him. So too we are called to participate in the missionary reality of the Church. We must be willing to go outside of these walls in order to bring the Good News of the Gospel with us wherever we may go. The graces to do such a thing have been implanted in our soul through our baptism and confirmation.

Let us pray for the Shepherds of our Church that they may always love Christ and direct souls unto Him. Let us continue to pray for and support vocations to the priesthood in order that we will have more priests who will shepherd souls to Christ. Where we have gone astray may we return to Christ and His love for us. In all things let us stay united to Christ and His Church always remaining in the sheepfold that is His love and His protection.