Over the weeks of the Easter Season, we hear from the Acts of the Apostles about the beginning months and years of the Church. We hear of the ministry of Saint Peter and Saint John, and of the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, of the conversion of Saint Paul, and very importantly the conversion of thousands of souls giving their “yes” to Jesus.
As with the beginning of any effort, there are always struggles and difficulties. One of the difficulties the early Church faced was unity in this rapidly burgeoning community of believers. Imagine witnessing 3,000 people being baptized in one day! (Acts 2:41)
Many people were being drawn by the preaching of the Apostles, people from many different ways of life, from different places, and with their own unique histories and experiences. This led the Church to having to deal with the need to bring unity out of so much diversity. St. John addresses this unity today when he says, “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.” (1 John 3:1)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
It’s interesting how often sheep and their shepherd is found in the bible. And if you think about it, you soon come to realize that sheep are a very unified group; unity is most important to sheep; that’s why they all belong to a certain flock; they are flock animals who know their shepherd; who know his voice. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)
We may pretend otherwise, but we humans are “flock animals” too. We are most happy when we spend time together. We like to gather in groups. We have this innate longing to be with people who are like-minded; be it sports, politics, school, or hobbies; we tend to flock together.
We at St. Rose are a community that understands the importance of gathering. Flash back to the pandemic; remember how that made us feel; remember longing to come back to this place; to gather again with our fellow parishioners – with our friends. None of us want to ever experience that again.
And if you stop and think about it, our community is similar to those first Christian communities. True, we are all Catholic, and we all live in this community, but beyond that we have many differences. We are different ages, many of us grew up in different parts of the country or the world, many of us we grew up speaking different languages, some of us like baseball while some of us like football or soccer, we have widely varying political views, and I could go on and on. We certainly are not birds of the same feather, except for one really big deal: we are all followers of Jesus Christ trying to live our Catholic lives. So here we are, flocking together, as best we can.
God’s plan is for us to be together, in a place of faith like here at St. Rose of Lima.
From the very beginning the apostles knew that God wanted them to grow and to be together: Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart…(Acts 2:46). In worship and praise, sorrow and grief, fun and work, we Catholics are supposed to spend time together; its who we are…it’s how God made us.
We were not made to go it alone; we are a flock, Jesus’s flock, and he created his church so we sheep could often come together, seeking guidance from our shepherd and from one another, and to be kept safe.
After the resurrection…after Easter…the apostles returned to Galilee, but Galilee would never be the same. Knowing they now lived in a post-resurrection world, the Apostles returned with a new sense of community…a new sense of what Jesus meant by community, and they set out to renew their community, knowingly following their Shepherd, concerned for one another, and concerned with growing their flock. You and I also live in this post-resurrection world, so I invite you this Easter season on reflection of Jesus’s Passion to ask yourself, “where am I at in my post resurrection Galilee…in my new Galilee?” Where am I in my St. Rose’s community?”
And next I invite you to explore seeing what all is available in our community; what talents God might be calling you to bring to this flock here at St. Rose of Lima. Maybe it’s time to consider joining us on our upcoming ACTS retreat or getting involved with this year’s Spring Festival. Maybe you’d like to understand the bible more and would like to come and check out one of our bible study groups. Or perhaps you’d like to share your faith with others and would like to learn more about RCIA, CCE or confirmation classes for teens. Or maybe you’d just like to make another friend or two and join us at our next men’s club meeting or Altar Guild meeting; whatever it may be, you’ll find it in this community.
“Where are you?” we may find ourselves asking at times, and Jesus’s answer is always, “Come and see…come and see!”
Peace be with You,
Deacon David
