“Jesus Can’t Do Everything” by Colleen O’Sullivan
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. And a large number of people was added to the Lord. Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the Church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. (Acts 11:22-26)
The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. (John 10:22-26)
Piety James Tissot, The Good Shepherd,
c. 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
O Lord, with You as my shepherd, what more could I desire? You bring me to places of rest and refreshment for my soul. When my soul is troubled or heavily burdened, You lead me back to the path You have laid out for me. Even when I walk through troubled times such as these, I am not overwhelmed by fear or despair, for You walk beside me every step of the way. When I look to the future, I know You are preparing a banquet like no other and readying the oil You will use to anoint me. May I be aware of and grateful for your goodness and mercy all the days of my life; and may I find my dwelling place with You forever. (adaptation of Psalm 23)
Study
In the Acts of the Apostles, we’re told that after Stephen was stoned to death, the persecution of Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem intensified. Many of them fled Jerusalem and ended up in places such as Phoenicia, Cyprus or Antioch. The Jews who fled turned out to be very successful in their preaching to the Jews in Antioch. It wasn’t long before they were joined by Cypriots and Cyrenians, who, it turned out, were quite good at witnessing to the Greeks in Antioch. Word of what was going on got back to Jerusalem, and Barnabus was sent to join the ranks of the evangelizers. He in turn traveled to Tarsus to bring Saul back to help as well.
Jesus couldn’t do everything. He needed followers here on earth to spread the Word to Jews and non-Jews alike. The new Church at Antioch continued to grow by leaps and bounds in its first year. Up to this point, Jesus’ followers had been regarded as a small sub-group within Judaism. But now, by the grace of God, non-Jews became followers as well. For the first time, the name Christian was used when referring to all followers of Jesus’ Way.
In today’s Gospel, it is the feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) and Jesus is walking around the Temple. He is approached by Jews who demand that Jesus come clean about his identity. Are you the Christ or are you not? they ask. Jesus had more patience than I do. He didn’t blow his stack. He simply said, I’ve already told you, and you don’t believe. I’ve already shown you by what I do in my Father’s name. You simply cannot see it, because you are not part of my flock.
Here in Northern Virginia sheep are something we read about in books. We’re not farmers. Jesus, however, was talking to people who lived in an agrarian society. Flocks of sheep were part of the landscape almost anywhere a person went. Everyone knew that sheep recognize the sound of their shepherd’s voice. Sheep never confuse the sound of that voice with that of any other shepherd.
One thing Jesus can’t do is force us to be part of his flock. In fact, Jesus never forces us to do anything. He invites us to be one of his sheep, a member of his flock. There are no prerequisites for this. Simply become familiar with the Good Shepherd’s voice, follow it, and we will be taken care of. We will be loved. We will share in eternal life. In one of his parables, Jesus even goes as far as to say that if one of us should ever get lost or stray from the others, he will leave the rest of the flock for as long as it takes to find us.
There are many other voices clamoring for attention in our world. Voices that evoke fear about our future. Voices that make unhealthy or unreasonable demands on us. Voices that give us all kinds of bad advice on how to live. The voice of the Good Shepherd stands out as the One who calls us by name, speaks to us with love and calls us God’s own. Jesus can’t force us to join the flock. All the Good Shepherd can do is issue the invitation. Acceptance is up to us.
Action
The last year has been tough, to say the least. People dying from Covid alone in hospitals without family or friends. Morgues filled to capacity. Funerals postponed. Quarantines, masks, businesses closed down, churches shuttered for a time, jobs lost, hungry people looking for food for their families. Personally, I worried for months about my brother waiting for a lung transplant in a hospital full of Covid patients. I worried that he wouldn’t last long enough. Thankfully, he did receive his transplant in time. Schools and daycare programs closed down, so I again became a caregiver for my 3½ year old great nephew, whom I had taken care of for the first year of his life. All of you can add your own experiences and travails to the list.
I can’t imagine having lived through these past months without the support of the Good Shepherd and the entire flock. We have all needed to hear the loving voice of the Good Shepherd encouraging us along the way.
Jesus is relying on us to be his body, eyes, hands and feet here on earth. There are still many needs and many ways to “preach” the Gospel. If you can take a senior citizen to get his or her Covid vaccine, that would be a small step in the fight against Covid-19. If you are able to work at or donate to a food bank, that is fulfilling Jesus’ request that we feed the hungry.
Jesus is not able to do everything, and he asks us to step up and fill in the gap.
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