THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SHEEP

THE GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

Act 13:14,43-52; Ps 100:1-3,5; Rev 7:14-17; Jn 10:27-30

Growing Bold in following the Good Shepherd

Last week's reflections focused on the stage of understanding our Christian faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its implications, overcoming the difficulties associated with the initial spiritual stage of purifications preceding illumination, we follow the Church in reflecting on the mission of proclamation of the Gospel of the risen Lord, the Good Shepherd. Just as there is no clear distinction between the spiritual stage of purification and illumination, there is no clear distinction between the stage of understanding and internalising the Christian revelation and the stage of mission and proclamation of the Gospel. What separates these stages is the predominance of spiritual activities of purification and the renewal of our minds in the Gospel we have received in the first stage, compared to the predominance of spiritual activities of living out and speaking out boldly about our new life in the Holy Spirit gained through profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We noticed these in the lives of the apostles and the early Church. The risen Lord took the apostles and first disciples through the first stage of purification and internalisation of the Good News. For forty days after his resurrection, he appeared and interacted with them, opening their minds to the scriptures and gradually disengaging them from their former ways and lives by their intensification of personal and communal prayers.

The first stage of the predominance of spiritual purifications and renewal of their minds through internalisation of the Gospel and the scriptural prophecies leading to the Incarnation lasted till the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The outpouring does not mean that the Holy Spirit was not with them till then. At various appearances of the risen Lord, he offered them the Holy Spirit when he said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ The outpouring commenced the next stage of spiritual illumination and confession or proclamation of the Gospel. The experience made them open the doors and enter the streets of Jerusalem, proclaiming the Gospel. The Holy Spirit directs the missions because the spiritual life is God’s project. The Lord, the Good Shepherd, determines the length or duration of each stage of our spiritual growth. We also notice these stages in Saint Paul. After his conversion experience, the first stage of purification and internalisation of the Gospel he received took about three to four years. It is true that immediately after his conversion and baptism, he proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God in the synagogue. But he told us about his sojourn in the desert of Arabia for three years to receive the Gospel fully from our Lord. He met Barnabas after the interior journey of cleansing and renewal of his mind; he brought him to Antioch, where the Holy Spirit commissioned them for missionary work.

Because the Lord prepared Paul and Barnabas through the first stage of spiritual purification, renewal of mind, and internalisation of the Gospel, their Christian foundation was strong to withstand every attack on their missionary work. The first reading tells us of part of their work in Antioch in Pisidia. They boldly entered the Jewish synagogues to preach the Gospel and presented it clearly and convincingly, guided by the Holy Spirit. “When the meeting broke up many Jews and devout converts joined Paul and Barnabas, and in their talks with them Paul and Barnabas urged them to remain faithful to the grace God had given them.” The necessity of the initial stage of our spiritual life, which is usually solitary and interior, is for God to purify our hearts to be worthy dwelling places of his Holy Spirit. It is the most difficult part of our spiritual journey, which many never complete. He reconfigures our minds and feelings to be suitable instruments of the Gospel. Without these initial works of purification, we cannot function suitably in spreading the Gospel.

The life and words of Paul and Barnabas were so convincing that a great crowd gathered the following sabbath to listen to them. The Jews were provoked into jealousy by the success of their preaching mission and started antagonising them. We attribute their success to the good foundation the Good Shepherd laid in them through their cooperation, by which the Spirit of the Lord worked seamlessly with and through them. The reading from Revelations shows the spiritual picture of the effects of the purifications and internalisation of the Gospel through the renewal of our minds. Through this process, the Good Shepherd turns the throng of people from the world into his obedient flock. “I, John, saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe, and language; they were in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands.” The elder explained to John that the purification process made them into what they are, a ready and willing flock for the Lamb, who is their Shepherd. They stand before God’s throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary, which God has established within them. Through the Holy Spirit they have received, the Lamb leads them in understanding and doing the will of the Father, which is the spring of living water for our souls. Thus, our Christian life is characterised by joy in the Lord, serving the Lord with gladness, and singing with joy before him, enthroned within our souls.

In the Gospel, the Son of Man confirms this understanding. He explains that a sheep only becomes his own by going through the purifications and internalisation of his mysteries through the renewal of mind in his presence. “The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life; they will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me.” These purifications that bracket out the self and establish the presence of God within us achieve our unity with Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. The Lord directs the purifications which we must receive in faith. The purifications achieve the reconfiguration of our minds into the mind of Christ. The end is for the Spirit of the Lord, the Good Shepherd, to dwell harmoniously with our spirit within us. The union is the eternal life that commences here on earth but in mysteries.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, lead us to a share in the joys of heaven, so that the humble flock may reach where the brave Shepherd has gone before us. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.