Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we must always follow the path and way set by the Lord, our loving God and Good Shepherd, and we must not allow ourselves to be easily swayed and tempted by all sorts of worldly temptations and evils, by those desires which may lead us astray into the wrong path, because we trusted more in our own intellect, power and abilities rather than to trust in the Lord and in what He has provided, revealed and explained to us, in all the guidance and path that He has shown us. As Christians, we should always be strongly rooted in faith, in our commitment and dedication to God, at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles, where St. Peter the Apostle was speaking to the assembly of the faithful people of God, which included converts from various origins, from among the Jewish people and also from others, like the Gentiles or the non-Jewish peoples, the Greeks, Romans and many other nationalities who have come to embrace the Christian faith. At that time, the Church was increasingly being divided alongside the differences in practices that each converts from certain communities brought with them, including the linguistic differences and obstacles, as well as the misunderstandings between the Jewish and Gentile communities among the first Christians that almost tore the Church apart.

That was because some among the Jewish converts came from the group of the Pharisees who were well known for their very strict and rigid interpretation of the Law of God, and who continued to live in accordance with their Jewish customs and practices, especially in the manner how they lived as the Pharisees, in being extraordinarily rigorous on the application and enforcement of the Law. And this was extended to the point that even they made efforts to impose these practices, customs and rules upon the new converts to the Christian faith from among the non-Jewish people, or the Gentiles. Quite a number of those rules and practices were problematic and difficult to be practiced by the faithful, but even more so for those who hailed from the non-Jewish populations.

This was because certain practices such as circumcision which was mandatory according to the Jewish customs and practices, was seen as abhorrent and disgusting by the non-Jewish people, particularly by the Greeks and the Romans. Similarly, the strict dietary restrictions and rules practiced by the Jews, especially by the Pharisees might make it difficult for the non-Jewish converts to the faith to live their lives or carry out their livelihood. Therefore, enforcing the full Jewish customs and practices upon all the newly converted Christians from non-Jewish backgrounds is something that the Church decided from early on as something that should not be done. As St. Peter himself made it clear in his explanation, that God revealed to him through the vision he received and the experiences he had with the family of Cornelius, a convert Christian from non-Jewish origin, that the old Jewish customs should not be enforced anymore.

Instead, from then on, based on what the Lord Himself had taught the disciples and revealed to His Church through the Holy Spirit and other revelations, new set of rules that were attuned to the true intention and purpose of God’s Law that Christ Himself had purified and reemphasised, have been given to us all, through the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, which we are all members and parts of. The Lord wanted all of us to follow these instead of the unnecessarily rigorous and strict observances of the Jewish laws and customs, which led to a lot of hardships and difficulties by the people of God when they were burdened greatly by those rules and laws which made it especially difficult for the non-Jewish people to come towards the Lord and His salvation.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the continuation from the Gospel of St. John of the discourse on the Good Shepherd by the Lord Jesus to His disciples and followers. In that discourse we heard today, we are reminded by the Lord Himself that He, as the Good Shepherd, is the One to Whom all the sheep should go towards, just as He also compared to Himself as the Gate of the sheep. He mentioned that how the thieves and robbers would use other means rather than the gate to enter into the sheep’s compound and place, to cause harm to them and to take the sheep away from the flock. Meanwhile, the sheep also would not hearken or respond to the call of the thieves and the robbers, or the false shepherds, as the sheep of the flock respond only to their one true shepherd.

This is actually an important reminder for all of us that Christ, Our Lord, the Good Shepherd of all the faithful, is the One and only One Whom all the Lord’s flock, that is all of us, should be following and focusing our attention upon. Unfortunately, in this world, there are many of those who claim to know better and spread false teachings and ways, which are contrary to the way that the Lord, our Good Shepherd had shown and taught us. This can be compared to the actions of some of the Pharisees among the early Christians who attempted to spread and enforce the full, strict and extra-rigorous Jewish customs, practices and rules upon all the Christians. But the Lord helped to guide His Church through those shepherds He had appointed, the Apostles and their successors, that just as St. Peter had done, he helped to steer the Church, the flock of the Lord down the right path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through today’s Scripture readings, we are all therefore reminded to focus our attention once again towards our Good Shepherd, our Lord and Saviour. We should heed His call and embrace His path, and we should be vigilant and careful lest the temptations and the allures of worldly glory, fame and all the falsehoods and lies around us, the paths shown by false leaders and false shepherds may end up leading us down the path of ruin and destruction. Let us all therefore seek to follow the Lord, our Good Shepherd ever more faithfully at all times, doing what He has called and entrusted to all to do in our respective parts and areas in life. May He continue to bless us all and guide us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours. Amen.