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OMELIE / Omelie EN

25 apr 2021
25/04/2021 - 4th Sunday of Easter - year B

25/04/2021 - 4th Sunday of Easter - year B

Reading 1 ACTS 4,8-12 Psalm 117/118 Reading 2 1JN 3,1-2 Gospel JN 10,11-18

Jesus is introduced to us today in a particular way: He is the “corner stone”, the only “Saviour” of men, the “good shepherd”. The first two images are given us by Peter. Jesus is the corner stone of the new building which God wants to build: the Lord himself had used the same metaphor, already included in the Psalms. The corner stone is the solid and robust stone which the whole building is based upon. Who chooses it? Everyone know that this choice is left to whoever is managing the construction work. Out of metaphor, it is God himself who chooses the person who is going to be the support and the strength of His whole new people. He himself had chosen Moses, grown up in the house of the enemies of the people, and who had chosen David, a young boy able only to look after the sheep: no clever and wise man would have turned to them with trust. It is God himself who chooses who needs to be the chief and the servant to guide the faithful people. He chooses Jesus, born from unknown people and grown up in a place which for the most did not even exist. Men with some power think they need to get rid of Him: they are not thinking that God does not need to ask for their advice, and neither they want to be ready to welcome any choice He might want to make.

Peter does not have any doubt and introduces Jesus certain that we all need to welcome Him in order to be saved: “There is no salvation through anyone else”. And we, who have some experience, know this is true: only believing and basing ourselves on Jesus we enjoy interior freedom, only loving Jesus we can find communion with the brethren, His disciples, and only obeying Jesus we enter in the Father’s heart with the certainty to be welcomed by Him in the true and eternal life.

In Jesus there is salvation in this world which seems like enjoying being evil, which thinks to be free when it can live in the most insensitive selfishness, and thinks it is its duty to disobey the wise Word of the Father. This world rejects and troubles the children of God, ignores them and sets obstacles for them: this happens, says the apostle John, because they have not met the Father. We have the task to reveal Him, or even better, to let Him reveal himself through our similarity to Him. We are similar to Him only when we love. Let us keep then loving, even when we are persecuted, even when we are attacked by hate and animosity.

Jesus himself is defending us, standing in person in front of the wolf which wants to devour the sheep. He is defending us first of all in a way to prevent feelings of revenge and from entering our heart, but also so the animosity of men is not going to become a temptation for us to ourselves from Him. If we were to distance ourselves from Him, the enemy would be the winner. Jesus Himself gives us the strength necessary to remain united to Him, to remain close to Him in every circumstance. He is the good shepherd, and he wants to be so also for those sheep that are not his yet, but they could become his.

We can say that Jesus is feeling like He is the shepherd of the Pagans too, even of our enemies too, also of the Buddhists and the Muslims: only with Him men of every race and language reach peace of heart and joy of life, as Saint Augustine confessed once: “restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee”! We have met many people who have reached Jesus and they were able to welcome him, certainly with God’s grace: they too could repeat the same words. The man’s heart is made for Jesus. Without Him the man’s heart is thirsty, starving, disoriented, uncertain, even desperate, even when he wants to maintain with violence his distance from Him. Jesus is the good shepherd, who today is making use again of poor men to represent Him and make His voice heard.

We pray the Father so He may continue to call and give the Church holy people, ready for this task. This is the prayer which He himself has advised us to use, nay, He has commanded us to use: “ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”. The labourers will have to gather what He has grown and ripen, so they will have to gather e care for the unity of the children of God. They will do so by announcing them the Word of Jesus and perpetuating His presence with the sacraments of his love rich in mercy.

May You choose, Father, among us, among the lesser ones, among the weak and the poor and the hidden from the world, according to your habit, the ones who will have to gather your children. They will feed them with the love of a shepherd, will defend them from lies and divisions, will let them rest under your tender and proud gaze. It is Jesus, your Son, the shepherd who will give strength and purpose to your labourers. And we will collaborate with them.