“Jesus cried out and said, ‘Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.’” (JN 12: 44-47)
Our Lord came to tell us about God’s love for us and bring us back to the Father. “If anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.” At the same moment, because Jesus is the image of the Father and speaks the words of the Father, our response to Him is the measure of how we respond to the Father. This is the reason why Jesus spoke with such a passion—cried out.
“I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“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. 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. The Father and I are one.” (JN 10: 25-30)
All of Our Lord’s actions came from His unity with His Father and from His relationship to the Father and with the Father. Any works He does, He does in His Father’s name—“The Father and I are one.” Also in our lives, our good actions are a result of being loved by God rather than a way to earn God’s love.
“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, ‘God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.’” (ACTS 11: 18)
We should always be open; for surprising and exceeding our imagination is God’s merciful love. It is so easy for us to think in a condemning way: ‘You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them,” but Our Lord works differently: “If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” Confronted with God’s merciful love, we should, like the first community of Christians, “stop objecting and glorify God.” Only God knows everything about us; only He loves us unconditionally, and only He, The Good Shepherd, can “grant life-giving repentance to us.” We can’t.
“I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.”
“For this reason they stand before God’s throne and worship him day and night in his temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them. 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.” (REV 7: 15-17)
Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” There is no way we could go on living were we no longer to hear Him speak (Johan A. Moehler)—ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ, who “leads us to springs of life-giving water.” One of the “springs of life-giving water” is the Theology of the Body, where we can recognize our identity—beloved children of God. And we are invited to serve in this area in so many ways: giving others medicine based on their true dignity, giving them service based on a true relationship (never objects, always persons), and giving them advice based on their challenges rather than on their satisfaction.
“I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.’” (JN 6: 68-69)
“You have the words of eternal life.” We should always remember that the Good News is not a book, even an extraordinary book, but a living Person—“and the Word was God.” This is why Our Lord not only IS the word of eternal life but also “HAS the words of eternal life.” When we are confused at a dead end, or not sure what to do, we should go to Him and ask Him first who we are and then what to do. When we open a Bible to pray or to meditate, firstly we are received as a His children, and from this position He can lead us to the right end.
“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (JN 6: 58)
In the beginning of the world, our ancestors—Adam and Eve—received the Tree of Life—which bore the fruit of immortality. They didn’t respect God’s order and brought original sin upon us. God sent us the Bread of Life, which tradition calls the “medicine of immortality.” With this Bread we become immortal, and we should meditate daily about our real home in Heaven, which is our final destination. We are born to be in Heaven.
“Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood, remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.” (JN 6: 51)
Our bodies need food to survive and to grow, just for living. Our souls also need a special “food.” Our Lord as “the living bread that came down from heaven” is the answer for this need and is able to help us to grow and reach Heaven. With this “living bread,” we are strong, and we have strength to respond to a variety of challenges which comes to us every day.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” (JN 6: 39-40)
When we think about God’s will, we generally think about God’s expectations, about things we should do and goals we should achieve, and we are afraid to disappoint God. God’s will is not based on what we should do, but what we should be. We are human beings, not human doers. “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.” God’s will is in seeing us alive, loved and with Him forever.
“Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day, says the Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“‘What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’” (JN 6: 30-33)
As God’s children we can receive every day “the true bread from Heaven, which gives life to the world.” Our Lord, as the “bread from heaven,” keeps us alive and is an answer for all kinds of our hungers: the hunger to be loved, the hunger to be important to someone, the hunger for meaning, for respect, or just for attention. We can bring Him all our emptiness, and He will answer. “Whoever comes to me will never hunger.”
“I am the bread of life, says the Lord; whoever comes to me will never hunger.”
„Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyreneans, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.” (ACTS 6: 8-10)
We are God’s beloved children, and when we are sent on a mission, we can always expect His support and help. Stephen „was working great wonders and signs among the people” as a result of being „filled with grace and power,” rather than his own devotion.
„One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Gospel Acclamation)
