May 12, 2025
Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily on the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C) on May 11, 2025, at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Chicago, IL. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Acts 13:14, 43-52; Psalm 100; Revelation 7:9, 14b-17; and John 10:27-30.
I love my Catholicism Chicago-style, and apparently the world loves it that way, too! And Chicago, being Chicago, I’m sure that we have a number of people at Old St. Mary’s who personally know the guy I’m calling “Bob da Pope.” A lot of the rest of you are like me: I’ve never met Pope Leo XIV, but I know lots of people who know him, and they have only the nicest things to say about him! We join with the rest of the world in congratulating Pope Leo, and we pray for him to be open to Holy Spirit’s guidance today and always!
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” However, this year, we’re not going to hear the more typical Scripture passages about sheep and shepherds. For example, listen to two paradoxes in our familiar second reading from the Book of Revelation: (1) we will be shepherded by a Lamb, and (2) the robes are made white by washing them in the blood of the Lamb.
Our main focus today will be on Jesus’ declaration that his sheep hear his voice. Let us pray that we may remain attentive to Jesus’ voice throughout our lives.
Revelation also says that God will wipe the tears away from those who have been led to the life-giving water. Let us rejoice in God’s love and mercy as we are sprinkled again with life-giving water.
When my parents got married, they agreed that any girls they had would be raised Catholic like my mother, and any boys would be raised in my father’s faith tradition… the Hungarian Reformed Church. But when I was four years old and my father had not taken any significant steps to raise me in his faith tradition, my mother started taking me to church with my sister.
So, unlike most Catholics, I remember the first Mass that I ever attended. It was at my mother’s home parish on a Saturday night in 1978, and the priest was the incredibly dynamic and creative Fr. John Marcucci. He has greatly influenced my concept of priesthood. As I like to say, I would have been a great priest in 1978, even if I wasn’t baptized until 1980.
As a child, I had only one opportunity to speak with Fr. John, at my great-uncle’s wake. Fr. John soon moved on to his next assignment, but his homilies stuck with me. In fact, you’d be surprised how often my homilies are based on something he preached. One time, for example, Fr. John apologized that the first part of his homily would be rather academic, so he brought an alarm clock for anyone who wanted to doze through the first part of the homily. I’ll do the same thing now. [Pull out phone.] I’ll wake you up when we’re done with the heavy theology.
Today’s gospel passage is not from Jesus’ extended discourse about sheep and shepherds, when Jesus declared “I am the gate” and “I am the good shepherd.” Today’s passage comes later in the chapter. It is now winter, during Hanukkah, and Jesus is teaching in the temple. The people challenge Jesus, saying, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus responds, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.” Then, he leads into today’s passage.
The people respond by picking up stones to try to kill him. When he says, “The Father and I are one,” they think that that is the same as him saying “I am the Father.” When we hear Jesus say “The Father and I are one,” we probably misunderstand it, too. We may think of the old translation of the Nicene Creed, describing Christ as “one in being with the Father.” Today’s translation says “consubstantial with the Father” – Christ is made of the same stuff as the Father.
Scripture scholars tell us that when Jesus says “The Father and I are one,” he is not talking about being consubstantial or “one in being” with the Father. Jesus is declaring his unique relationship with the Father. Jesus is the Messiah, God’s anointed one. He is the one sent by the Father. He knows the Father better than anyone else has ever known the Father. His purpose is perfectly aligned with the will of the Father. Just as “the sheep” can never be taken out of the Father’s hand, “the sheep” likewise cannot be taken out of Jesus’ hand.
[Activate the alarm.] Wake up! We’re moving into the practical part of the homily! Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” But how do we hear Jesus’ voice today?
24 years ago this month, I experienced a sudden jolt, inviting me to consider the Catholic priesthood. I was confused. What, or who, was inviting me? Was this the voice of God? I needed help figuring it out. I met with the vocation director of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. He took down my contact information and promised to send me information about upcoming events at the seminary.
But something – or, more likely, someone – prompted me to look up Fr. Marcucci, too. I hadn’t seen him in decades. It turned out that he was now the pastor of a parish close to where I was living. Fr. John was just as dynamic and creative as ever. After Mass, I re-introduced myself to him, and he invited me to come visit.
It was strange. As an adult, I was having a conversation with someone I hadn’t seen since he had been a “rock star” in my life as a child. But over the course of the intervening 19 years since I last talked with Fr. John, no one had removed me from God’s hand. John helped me to realize that perhaps I had indeed heard God’s voice. And thank goodness… because it turns out the vocation director had misplaced my contact information, so I never would have received the seminary information. Without Fr. John, my discernment may have played out differently!
We often need help in recognizing the voice of Jesus. We need others we know to speak to us: perhaps the Holy Spirit can enable us to recognize the voice of Jesus through them. Here’s another wild and crazy idea: we may feel as if we cannot hear God’s voice, but other people may recognize God’s voice when we speak to them! How is that possible? We are certainly not consubstantial with the Father or one in being with the Father. But through the Holy Spirit, we strive to be “one” with the Father. We need to endeavor to align our desires… with God’s desires for us. Perhaps St. Oscar Romero said it best: “Each one of you has to be God’s microphone. Each one of you has to be a messenger, a prophet.”
And then, when we speak – whether it’s in a hushed whisper or with a joyful noise – perhaps others will hear the voice of the Good Shepherd through us. After all, people around the world now believe that the Good Shepherd speaks through the voice of someone else from the South Side of Chicago!