Homily 4th Sunday of Easter - April 21, 2024

 Today's readings can be found here.

Growing up, my mother always used to tell me to get along with my siblings.  She would say that no matter what, we would always be family.  And that we need to look out for and take care of each other.  I’ve always remembered that wisdom and passed it on to my children.  However, even when family members get along, relationships in a family can be messy.  I was reminded of that during Holy Week.  Good Friday is one of the days my family gets together for dinner.  I was chatting with one of my siblings and we got to talking about our other family members and their faults.  There was the person still holding a grudge over something silly.  We didn’t care for the significant other of a different family member.  The poor decisions another family member made.  However, these were all family members we care about deeply.

In our second reading, John tells us that God loves us so much we are called children of God.  That means that as believers in God, we’re all siblings.  We are God’s family.  However, relationships within our parish family can be messy as well.  It’s not always easy to get along with others.  I have many stories as a parent of young children and as a music minister of people not being at their best.  It can be hard to get along with our friends, neighbors, and co-workers as well.  My wife tells me she even knows a deacon that can be really annoying at times!  Yet, we’re still all a family.  We need to take care of each other, even though it can be difficult.

In our Gospel, Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd.  A good shepherd takes care of his flock and keeps them safe.  We are that flock, a family with Jesus looking after us.  Jesus loves His flock so much, He not only protects us from the “wolves” of the world, He laid down His life for us.  Jesus did this to give us an example on how to take care of each other.  First, we should recognize that everyone is a child of God and therefore part of our family.  Second, we should be good shepherds to each other, acting as Jesus did.  Laying down our lives, so to speak, to serve others.  We become good shepherds when we make our lives about others instead of ourselves.

Jesus spent His time on earth teaching and ministering to others.  Jesus relied on God for His strength and trusted God’s plan for Him.  We should follow that example in serving others.  When we encounter difficulties in our relationships with each other, we should pray for strength.  We should also pray for those we’re having difficulty with.  My spiritual advisor told me recently that when I’m struggling in a relationship, I should pray that God grant that person all the blessings and graces they need.  Even if it’s more blessings than I have.  That’s a very powerful prayer.  Do we ask God to give others more that we receive?

There’s one other relationship to consider.  Just as our relationships with our parents can by messy, so can our relationship with God.  We can be angry or impatient with God.  We don’t always ask for God’s help when we need it.  We may think we can handle the difficulties in our lives by ourselves.  We don’t always spend the time we should praying to God and deepening our relationship.  However, God’s relationship with us is not messy at all.  God loves us unconditionally.  God doesn’t hold our sins and failings against us.  God is the father who runs to meet the prodigal son and celebrate his return.  God is ready and willing to help us in difficult times.  We need to allow God to lead us and trust the Good Shepherd to care for us.

In the fourth chapter of John’s epistle, just after today’s reading, he says the way others know we are God’s children is if we love each other.  We show that we love others by serving them and making our lives about others instead of ourselves.  Because, no matter what, we’re all family.  I was raised to believe that you always stand by your family and take care of them.  How are we taking care of God’s family?