April 25, 2010
Fourth Sunday of Easter
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ
“They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:16-17
My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand. John 10:27-29
Piety
“I heard the Lord call my name. Listen closely, you will hear the same.” The Lord says: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me.” I cannot hear those words without my heart coming on fire. The victory of Christ has been won. Every heart has been imprinted with the need to do good and avoid evil. Even if one has never heard of Christ, goodness is now an ongoing desire of everyone. Those who have recognized Christ as their shepherd are legion. Rules and regulations might seem to exclude some from the love of the Lord, but it is not so. The embrace of Christ from his cross can only be avoided for so long. God is love and wherever there is love, God is there. The very attraction Christ is to our lives has been put there by the Father. Following Christ brings us closer to his friends. The easier it is to say to another that the Christ of our heart recognizes the Christ of your heart, the closer we are coming to Christ. The human Christ is risen and because he is safely ensconced in heaven, he is able to give us his life and allow us to be his hands and feet as we reach out and try to help those who need us. Christ speaks to us out of his identity with the hungry, thirsty, sick, naked and incarcerated. Whatever we do for the least one, he takes as done for himself. The voice of Christ is calling out in all the poor and needy of our lives. We are responding to the voice of Christ every time we do something for the poor and the needy of our lives.
Study
Discernment is how we study the voice of the Lord in our hearts. Discernment takes on a special form for those who listen to his voice regularly by the prayer and the study of their lives. Once we are past the beginner’s stage on the journey of holiness, we are no longer caught by the attraction of evil. We recognize evil for what it is. We now are now looking for what the Spiritual writers such as Ignatius call the “Magis.” The “Magis” is the greater good. The question of our hearts is: “How can I recognize what is better to do?” The simple rule of the greatest possible good, for the greatest number of people in the shortest possible time can make our souls laugh. We have to look beyond appearances. I can work with one person who can be a multiplier of what I try to do for many because this person works with more people than I do. How we identify the leaders and empower them to do the maximum they are capable of doing can make what we do a stronger voice of the Lord in us because it is heard by many others. By the fruits of our work we will know by our study of outcomes what we need to change. We are called to be the voice of Christ for each other. But we cannot give what we do not have. Our study and prayer over our actions make the grace of indifference possible. I am indifferent to what I am doing because I want to do what the Lord is asking of me. It is not a question that I am not doing good, but rather a question of what does the Lord want me to do better. Indifference is the commitment to do the best we can. It does not mean we do not care what we are doing. It means we want the Lord wants more than anything we like doing.
Action
True obedience to authority is obedience to the voice of Christ that is in all lawful authority. How I love that voice is seen by the way I respond to it. The virtue of Obedience enables us to put the best possible interpretation on what I am told to do. The Christ we respond to in obedience is a beloved brother. The closeness to Christ in our lives sharpens the sound of his voice. The more we try to do for the sake of Christ, the louder his voice is heard in our hearts. Our actions in the name of Christ make us over more and more in Christ. Responding to his voice and the challenge of goodness in our hearts makes what we do into his work. We become his good shepherds each time we reach out to help another along the road of holiness. Our love is poured out into the ocean of God’s love for us and we become God’s love for each other in the good things we do in our lives. Selfishness gives way to selflessness. We no longer live, but Christ lives in us.
