John 10:9-16
11/13,
Feast of St. John Chrysostom
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
At night the shepherds would have heard
the wolves. The shepherds in the
time of Jesus who took their flocks out into the countryside, to find pasture and water. Journeying far from the safety of the
village or the city, settling down
for the night they could hear the
hungry wolves that prowled in the distance. Remember, this was not Wild West, shepherds did not carry lever action Winchester rifles to
fend off predators. The shepherds
in Jesus’ day would have had a wooden staff, a sling and a bag of small round
stones. Shepherd’s had to be brave
folks, who could face danger. But
at night, as the small fire would have been dying down to embers, and as the sheep settled down, they would have heard the wolves, and it would have sent a chill up
the spine of the bravest shepherd.
Can you hear the wolves?
When
Hurricane Sandy knocked us off the grid, and devastated the Tri-State area could you hear the wolves?
As the national election shook the
country and enflamed passions of anger and bitterness between brothers and
sisters, could you hear the
wolves?
Hearing about scandals and
controversy within the Church, on
the national level, in the parish, or between friends and family, can you hear the wolves?
It is awfully tempting to run for it,
isn’t it? Just give up the whole
thing and run for your life.
Today
Jesus tells us that if the shepherd was a hired hand, if the sheep weren’t his own, and if he caught a glimpse of those ravenous wolves
advancing towards the sheep, he’d
abandon the flock and run for his life.
And the sheep scatter, and the wolves attack at will. Now, if we are merely talking about
livestock, then a shepherd might fare pretty well if he ran for his life. There are only so many wolves, maybe a
dozen or so, and odds are
that a pack of wolves would much rather go after a young lamb, a slow pregnant female, or an old feeble sheep.
But here is the problem. Jesus is not giving advice on caring
for livestock, he is speaking of a
spiritual reality. And the wolves
that Jesus is talking about are not of this world. They are demons, intent on dividing the Body of Christ, and devouring human souls. So, if the shepherd runs away, and
leaves the flock of Christ to the demonic wolves, there is no safety,
for anyone. The demonic
powers of Satan will not only hunt down every last one of the sheep but also go after every shepherd
that runs and tries to save his own life.
But our shepherd is not a hired hand. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lays down his life for His
reason endowed flock. He offers
His life as he is suspended on the Cross so that we would know without a doubt, that He loves us and that we belong to Him. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, He knows his own flock, and his flock
know him, we hear his voice and we
follow Him.
Today we celebrate the
life of St. John Chrysostom, a man
who listened to the voice of the Good Shepherd a man who followed in the footsteps of Christ, a man who did the work of the Gospel. He served the flock of Christ in the
midst of a wilderness of sin. Constantinople
with it’s spectacles and games its greed and its wealth, its lust and its passion the demonic wolves in that capital city threatened the
flock of Christ more than
any predators in the Jordan Valley ever threatened a flock of sheep. In the midst of that danger, St. John
stood by the poor, and the weak and the vulnerable, constantly providing for spiritual and material needs. Ravening wolves attacked him from every
side. On one side, strict
disciplinarians said that he was too soft in his merciful appeal to sinners. He would say, “If you have fallen a
second time, or even a thousand times into sin, come and you shall be healed.” On the other side, influential and
wealthy bishops and priests mocked him for his austere lifestyle, and publicly accused him of
mismanagement, claiming that
his care of the poor was a “waste” of Church money. Finally, he was attacked head on by a vain and decadent
empress and her imperial court, who
did not feel it was right for a bishop to criticize their public spectacles.
Yet in spite of it all St. John stood
by his flock and never ran for his life.
Facing the imperial threat he said, “Though the sea roar and the wave rise high, they cannot
overwhelm the ship of Jesus Christ.
I fear not death
which is may gain; nor exile for the whole earth is the Lord's, nor the loss of goods for I came
naked into the world and I can carry nothing out of it.”
He stood by his flock until armed
guards dragged him out of the city into exile. But even in exile, he wrote letters and exhorted his friends
and spiritual children, reminding
them of the love of God, and the mercy of Christ. And in his death, out in the lonely, harsh place where he
had been literally dragged in chains,
he completed his course by laying down his life, in emulation of Christ
the Good Shepherd. And with his
last breath, saying, “Glory be to God for all things.”
Hearing the Word of God, preaching the Gospel and standing by the weak and the
vulnerable, even when it costs you
your life, this is the legacy of
St. John Chrysostom.
This is our
life, this is our work, this is our calling.
Today we follow Christ the Good
Shepherd.
When a stranger is
hungry, we feed him.
When a sister
is lonely, we sit by her side.
When
a brother is angry, we patiently listen to him, just like God always patiently
listens to us.
We follow Christ
the Good Shepherd, we hear His
word and know that we belong to Him.
And we lay down our life for others, just like He laid down his life for us.
Amen
