Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 13: 14, 43-52; Rev 7: 9, 14b-17; John 10: 27-30
Dc. Larry Brockman
It’s been a week of great frustration and suffering, especially for the people of Boston. A terrible, senseless, evil act of violence aimed specifically at indiscriminately hurting innocent people was carried out by two young, misguided, men. The events closed down a major city for almost 2 days; and now, over a hundred people are recovering in a place just like this, a hospital, some of them wondering what life will be like without an arm or leg. The rest of us can only stand by feeling helpless and frustrated.
I suspect that visitors to this hospital and even some of the staff feel much the same way about a loved one suffering here or a patient they are caring for- frustrated and helpless, and maybe even a little angry that God would allow such things to happen.
In the second reading, John has a vision. It’s a vision in which he sees all of those who are saved, and it is a great multitude that no one could count. That seems rather uplifting- that so many will be saved. But recall these words from the reading: “These are the ones that have survived the time of great distress.” And so, all of those who are saved had to survive a period of great distress- all of them. It’s critical that we keep that in mind as we go through life. Into every life a little rain must fall. And in some cases, a lot of rain falls, doesn’t it?
In today’s world, our technology and medical progress have seemingly made it possible for people to live comfortable and pain free lives. But this is really just an illusion, isn’t it., Because none of us will live forever, and none of us can be comfortable for our whole life in this world no matter how rich and gifted we are.
Michael Jackson comes to mind as a talented person who could “buy” any type of happiness; But it was all an illusion; deep inside he was hurting. It is just unrealistic to expect our lives to be comfortable and pain free.
A person who embraces unrealistic expectations, will have to face the consequences. It’s as simple as that. And while the consequences for that person may be his own pain and suffering, all too often his consequences are our consequences as well, like in the Boston marathon bombings.
In the first reading, the Jews are a perfect example of what I’m talking about. They expected a worldly messiah, someone who would rise up as an earthly king and rescue them from the oppressive Romans. All of this talk by Paul and Barnabas about Jesus being the Messiah- a man who was crucified, the worst humiliation and suffering imaginable in his time, such talk angered them and caused them to “stir up persecution” of Paul and the Christians. So, the consequences of their unrealistic expectations were that they alienated themselves from the saving message of Christ; and they stirred up of persecution of innocent Christians.
You and I face a real challenge in this changing world. We must not expect too much from it. We cannot expect to be free of all pain and suffering; and at the same time, we cannot let it paralyze us.
All of us are subject to a test- a test that purifies us and validates our faith and conviction. And how do we survive that test? Hope- Christian hope is the answer, in which we look forward to the future and move on. And that hope is very well summed up in the Gospel. If we belong to Christ, then we follow him. He has guaranteed us everlasting life- that is our hope. And it is not a vague, uncertain hope. Rather, it is a sure thing- for as Jesus says, those who believe in him and follow him cannot be taken out of his hands. But like sheep, we need to trust that God’s way, Jesus’ way, is the answer. That means we listen to the voice of the shepherd and above all, trust in Jesus like the sheep trust their shepherd. We don’t always have to understand. But we do need to trust. And then, we need to cheerfully move on and project that hope. That’s what others who are experiencing the pain need the most. It gives them Christian hope as well, no matter how bad things get in our world; because ultimately God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
