Listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice!
Homily preached April 30, 2023
by Monsignor Michael Deering

My next-door neighbor when I lived in Gardendale, kept their dog in their backyard.

It was a Labrador with shiny black fur and a little patch of white fur on his neck.

That dog is a pretty good watch dog because any time he heard a noise or

saw someone he didn’t know, he’d start barking aggressively.

I befriended him by stopping regularly to pet him over the fence ...

 and often passing him a dog-bone through the fence.

The dog and I were friends. But there were times when this dog would bark at me ... and that’s when he didn’t recognize me.   

For example, when he would see me in the distance ...

wearing a hat and walking across the back lawn from Church, or

walking up my driveway late at night after locking up the Church,

he would bark at me.

But the moment I would speak and say, “Hey my buddy, it’s OK … it’s me.”

The dog would immediately stop barking and begin wagging his tail!

At the sound of my voice, he relaxed and instead of trying to keep me away,

he couldn’t wait till I came over to pet him.   His tail started wagging like crazy

and he put his front paws up on the fence so I can reach him!

What happened?

All he did was hear my voice and he knew it was me …

and I was not an enemy ... but a friend ... and he came right over to me.

Other animals act the same way ... as we heard in our Gospel today.

There, Jesus speaks of how sheep follow their shepherd.

You see, back in his day, there were many shepherds of sheep ...

and it was customary for several shepherds to let their flocks

share the same pen with other flocks during the night …

and then take their own sheep out to graze for food on the hillsides the next day.

And the shepherds never had to worry about their flock getting mixed up with other flocks ... because sheep will only follow the voice of their own shepherd!

Jesus says, “When (the shepherd) has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of

   them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.”

This is true  ... and so amazing!

Now if animals can determine who is their friend and who they will follow,

how much more should we human beings be able to determine

who is our friend and who we will follow.

Our human intellect and our human soul far exceed that of animals.

So, we have the ability to determine whether those around us are friend or enemy. 

Having just celebrated Easter ...

where we recalled all that Jesus did to show His love for us ...

we know Jesus is our friend!

The question is: do we recognize His voice?

And if we do, the next question is: are we listening to Him and following Him?

In our First reading today from Acts of the Apostles, Peter stood up and declared,

“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain

that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Who is Jesus?       Peter declares Him to be ... both Lord and Christ!

As Lord, Jesus is God!            As “Christ”, Jesus is the anointed of the Father!

So if there’s one voice we need to listen to … it’s Jesus’ voice: our Lord and Savior.

Yes, Jesus is ... our very Best Friend ... who as Creator and Redeemer ...

has the desire and the power to guide us to Eternal Life in Heaven!

You see, unless we listen to the voice of our Lord and Savior, we can lose our way

and run the risk of being eternally separated from Him in the fires of Hell.

Peter passionately warns us all saying,

“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

Peter is warning us that there are many voices clamoring for our attention today.

Some are good, like the voices of:

your Parents, Grandparents, Godparents, Teachers, Coaches, and Priests.

But, Peter warns us that many are not good … like the voices of a corrupt generation … meaning those who don’t know God or deliberately go against God.

Sadly there’s a growing movement in society to seek to live ... without God.

For example, people who call themselves Atheists are working to remove every reference to God from our land … silencing His name in our school classrooms, and trying to remove His name from our Buildings, our Money,

and our Pledge of Allegiance!

Jesus has a name for these people.    He calls them thieves and robbers.

He says, “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;

I came so that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”

So there are 2 main voices trying to get your attention ... the World and God.

The voice of the world is trying to steal you away from God ... while

The voice of the Lord is trying to unite you with God ... now and forever!

Who is The Lord?

Peter refers to Jesus today as, “the shepherd and guardian of your soul.”

So, who are you going to listen to?     The world ... or the Lord?

We know who to listen to … and yet in our human weakness we can get deceived.

So what are we to do?

That’s the very question that the people asked Peter in our First reading today!

After Peter accused them of crucifying Jesus the Lord ...

St. Luke records: “The people were cut to the heart and asked the Apostles:

‘What are we to do?’”

And Peter told them exactly what to do. He said, “Repent and be baptized,

every one of you … and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Many listened to Peter and took that first step and were baptized.

Scripture says that “about 3,000 persons were (baptized) that day!”

And it’s still happening to this day! 3 weeks ago, 7 adults were baptized here and throughout the year great numbers of children are baptized as infants.

Baptism is essential to receiving the Gift of God’s Holy Spirit.

But then ... how do we sustain all the goodness and grace

that we receive on the day of our Baptism?

How do we continue to live in a world that doesn’t want God?

How do we continue to live in the midst of a corrupt generation?

How do we continue to hear the voice of Our Lord, Jesus

amidst all the noise of the world?

We do it by faithfully attending Sunday Mass ...

and by regularly partaking of the 2 repeatable Sacraments ...

Holy Confession and Holy Communion ... that Jesus established to help us!

In the Sacrament of Confession, our souls are washed of the stain of sin ...

enabling us to once again clearly hear the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

In the Sacrament of Communion, our souls are nourished with The Bread of Life,

The Body and Blood of Jesus ...

enabling us to grow stronger in ... the love and wisdom of God.  

Over the past month 18 of our children, mostly 2^nd graders,

 made their First Confession and

at the 5 o’clock Mass last night received ... their First Holy Communion!

What a glorious day it was for them!          How happy and excited they were!

But I pointed out to them and their parents that ... it’s just the beginning!

It’s the beginning of a brand new intimacy with Jesus ...

an intimacy that they will need to protect and sustain for the rest of their lives.

Saying it’s their First Confession and their First Communion implies that more will follow ... hopefully many more as their Parents bring their Children to Church each week to attend Mass and partake of the Sacraments ...

thereby getting them into the habit that will carry them throughout their life.

How sad it is to hear some of our grade school children admit in Confession ...

that they’re not going to Sunday Mass.  why? “Mom’s sleeping or Dad’s working.”

It’s through the Sacraments that you and your children have the best chance

of hearing the voice of Jesus ... and having the courage to follow His voice.

And one of the greatest things we all need to hear is ...  God’s plan for our life!

Now God’s Plan for your life will include His Plan for your Profession ...

      which is how you will use your talents and abilities ... and there are hundreds.

And God’s Plan for your life will include His Plan for your Vocation ...

which is how you will live out your life ... and there are only three!

Yes, there are just 3 Vocations.

God calls some people to stay single, some people to get married ...

and some people to serve His Church as dedicated Priests or Sisters.

God’s call ... that you’ll hear in your heart ... can come at any time.

My first experience of God’s call came when I was in 2^nd Grade ....

and through the years I continued to experience his call to be a Priest ...

and that call guided me here to be with you today.

After you receive Jesus in Holy Communion ...

certainly thank Him for coming to you ...

and be sure to ask Him to reveal His Plan for your Life.

God has the very best plan for you ... and He wants you to know His Plan.

He can speak to your heart at any time.

The important thing is to stay in touch with God ...

through your daily prayers at home and

through your weekly prayers at Sunday Mass.

Each time you pray, you open the door to hearing His call.

Just as my neighbor’s dog was elated when he heard my voice

Just as sheep find their way by following the voice of their shepherd

We too will be happy and safe

if we follow the voice of the Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

Jesus is not a thief or robber.

No, as Psalm 23 proclaimed … “the Lord is my Shepherd…

he guides me in right paths.”

Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

By Baptism, we are His sheep.

So, listen daily to the voice of Jesus, the Shepherd ...

    for He will surely lead you to safe pasture ...

        throughout this life and into Eternal Life!