Voices and Doors

May 15, 2011

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Good Shepherd Sunday

World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Ac 2,14a.36-41 . 1Pt 2,20b-25

Jn 10,1-10

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And who does not enter a house through a door, or a gate? Who does not go through somewhere if not through a portal? Surely if we go through a window or an opening somewhere, we would be thought of not only as a thief, but as a lunatic. Being a civilized people, we truly know how to enter through just any place - that is through the door or the gate.

I remember one certain event when I was a student in Elementary, I am a member of our choir then. The door  to our practice room is still locked, so we were forced to enter through the window without the guard's permission. When she came to knew of this, she reprimanded us for our mischief, and told us to go down and wait for our teacher to come open the door for us. 

That's how important the door is. It does not only show proper manners, but it is also a sign of authority. If you don't enter through the door, you are an unauthorized person, thus you are forced to go out of the place in disgrace.

As we reflect on the Gospel for Good Shepherd Sunday, we hear the words of our Lord, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Sheep, for our information, are blind animals, but they have strong hearing instincts. Once they hear their master's voice or signal, they follow him as he takes them towards the pasture. They feel secure once they hear the master's voice. But once they hear another voice, they decline to follow him. Perhaps they know that he is a thief, or they just don't recognize the unfamiliar voice.

Once a thief enters the sheep pen, usually he goes through the the barricades and not through the gate. Clearly, his intention is not a good one. But when the master goes through the pen, automatically he enters through the gate. It is a sign of his authority, for he knows how to open or close the gates of the pen. And for the sheep, once they hear the doors open, it is clear for them that it is the master.

I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. We are seen today as the sheep whom the Lord takes care of, and he presents himself to us today as the gate of which we enter. He uses the gate as his way of presenting himself as the only way of sure safety for us his followers. 

Thieves invade the sheep pen through going through the walls and snatching the sheep. this is clear though the works of the devil in the present time. We see many man-made tragedies here and abroad: terrorism, killings, bombings, and other crimes. These bring discord to the sheep - us in general - and carefully they are led away by the evil one to have hatred for their neighbor, and so to retaliate. 

This is also clear through the rise of the many protestant churches in places, with the most of the members sadly coming from the Catholic Church. Many believers of these 'churches' go house-to-house to have a little discussion with Catholics. Using eloquence of words, they succeed in convincing one to come join their 'circle of believers.' This is one manifestation that the thieves are strong and fierce in snatching the sheep of the Lord.

But as for us who truly know what we believe in, we know that safety does not lie with them, but only with the Lord. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. In the Lord Jesus lies the real protection that is provided for the sheep, for the believers. If we really know the Lord's voice (the scriptures) and eat of the food he provides (the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist), then we have nothing to fear; we are sure to have his divine protection. He do provides this for us to be secure despite the invasion of the thieves and robbers of the world.

So we ask ourselves, Which voice do we follow: the thief's or the shepherd's? Do we let ourselves be snatched away by the devil and by his minions? Or do we feel secure that the Lord provides us safety? Do we really enter the gate which leads us to safety and satisfaction with God? We must be sure of the voice we are following nowadays. We must be sure that we follow Jesus' voice. We must know that his voice is a voice of compassion, of safety, of protection from the enemies.

As we reflect the Lord's words on this day provided for intense prayer for more vocations, We pray that the Lord may provide us with the right discernment to know which voice to follow. May he provide us with the ample spirit to recognize his voice and follow him to green pastures, where he provides life and have it more abundantly.

We also pray for the chosen few who follow the Lord's voice through serving the Church as her ministers: the priests, deacons and religious. We pray that the Lord Jesus may grant them more protection against the enemies, and that he may strengthen them and inspire them to call others to heed His call of unwavering service to the flock.