Fourth Sunday of Easter_B - Wait, There's More_042521

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Wait, there’s more?”

 

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B

If you watch any television at all, you are probably familiar with those nagging commercials that bark the mantra… “Wait, there’s more”! The announcer then chimes in, “If you call now, we will double your order…That’s right, there’s more”! I’m sure they must sell a lot of their gadgets; otherwise, they wouldn’t be spending all that money on advertising. One technique that makes them so successful, I suspect, is that they are savvy marketer appealing to the consumer’s appetite for getting something for nothing… that is, “for free”. It seems that St. John had a touch of that Madison Avenue mindset too by the approach he takes in today’s Second Reading. John is promoting “God’s love for us”. He tells us that God’s love enables us to think of ourselves, “as children of God. But wait, he seems to say, not only are we children of God now, but wait, there’s even more…. “What we shall be has not yet been revealed”…..but when it is, “we shall be like him”.

Over and over again in John’s writings we discover this theme of God’s love for us and that God’s love transforms our very being, our very essence, our very identity. As John says today, we are God’s children now! And what we shall become later on, although not known now, is even greater in that “we shall be like him”. God continues to mold us into His likeness.

As I read this passage I recalled being in Amsterdam at the Rembrandt Museum. On exhibit were many of his paintings along with some self-portraits. This passage from John is beautiful imagery that expresses God, the master artisan, doing a self-portrait on the canvas that is our lives. We are made in God’s image and likeness and God, who John tell us “is” love, is always bringing out the best in us so that we reflect the Divine Love that is His gift to us.

If we could just begin to understand the gift of love we have been given, we would realize that it is something that we cannot keep to ourselves. We are God’s self-portrait. We are images, reflections of the artist. We cannot hoard or squander the outpouring of the divine essence we have been given; we can only reflect that love to those in need... the lonely, the brokenhearted, the fearful, the forgotten. God’s very presence is with us, forming and shaping our world and filling it today with His love. And that is sufficient reason for us to be grateful today and to give thanks to God… But wait…. there’s more to come……!!!

May the Risen Lord continue to bless us with His peace and Joy so that we may enjoy the many blessings that He freely bestows upon us.


Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Shepherd Me, O God

Deacon Tom Writes,

Shepherd Me, O God

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B

One of the songs in the Hymnal is based on the 23^rd Psalm and carries the refrain, “Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life.” This beautiful melody helps us draw upon the rich imagery of a “good” shepherd, one who keeps the flock safe and secure, even when dangers abound. The idea of a good shepherd, unfortunately, seems to have folded into the pages of history as our society has progressed from its early ranching days into the age of high-tech. Yet, it seems from some recent events that we still long to have good shepherds in our midst, watching over us, shepherds who put the needs and cares of others before their own.

Several memorable examples come to mind. The first is that of Estella Pyfrom, a guidance counselor in Palm Beach County, Florida. She was aware that many students did not have access to a computer after school. Coming from poorer families, she recognized that this was a serious problem. Her solution: she took her life savings and bought a bus, filled it with computers, and brought technology to the kids. Her mobile computer lab called “Estella's Brilliant Bus” has provided free, computer-based tutoring for thousands of students since 2011. To the many students who have received essential computer skills that promise to enhance the quality of their lives, Estella Pyfrom is truly a “good shepherd.”

Then there is Danielle Gletow who notices that Foster children go without so many ordinary things that children who grow up in biological families often take for granted. Her solution: she has created an online site where the wishes of Foster children are posted so the public can help grant them. "I'm here to be the mom to all these kids who might not feel like they have one," she said. Since 2008, her group has helped grant more than 6,500 wishes in 42 states.

These ongoing acts of kindness give us the extraordinary witness of two individuals who went to incredible lengths to improve the lives of others in need. You can call them “good shepherds” and rightfully so because their primary concern was the well-being of others, the strangers in our midst.

Christ remains for us, of course, the eternal “Good Shepherd”, the one who laid down his life for us. The Lord told us three things about the true shepherd:  he gives his own life for his sheep; he knows them and they know him; he keeps the flock together.

While Jesus is the true shepherd calling us to the one fold, those who follow him can easily recognize that there are times when we are called to shepherd others. These recent experiences of Estella Pyfrom and Danielle Gletow are extreme cases for sure. But, in the ordinary course of our day, we too have many opportunities to be shepherds to those around us. We share in the ministry of Christ, the Good Shepherd, when we share Christ with others by reaching out to those who are lonely or sick; when we welcome the stranger or feed the hungry; when we forgive those who have hurt us; when we work to break down the barriers that divide us so that we may become one in Christ. We participate most in being good shepherds when we… “Shepherd others beyond their wants, beyond their fears, from death into life”, as Jesus so often does for us.”

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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