CLICK VIEW TO WATCH THE HOMILY. Then click “Watch on YOUTUBE,” scroll down and click “more…” if you want to find a specific part of the Liturgy of the Word to watch.
Acts 2:14a, 36-41, 1 Peter 2:20b-25, John 10:1-10
On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. was speaking in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. King said he had been to the mountaintop and looked over and seen his people arriving in the promised land. He added: “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.” The next day, Dr. King was murdered by an assassin’s bullet at the Lorriane Motel. God’s will for him included martyrdom.
This is an appropriate Sunday to reflect on our desire to do God’s will. Today is called Good Shepherd Sunday since we read from St. John’s Gospel where Jesus uses the image of a shepherd to describe his role in the history of salvation. He is the leader and guide who will take us to the green pastures of divine blessing. The Good Shepherd can point us towards God’s will. There is one curious line in the gospel – did it strike you? “Although Jesus used this figure of speech the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.” In their environment they certainly knew shepherds. They were having a hard time understanding how Jesus fulfilled that role and how he would help them to do God’s will. Maybe we have the same struggle.
Growing up in Baltimore I didn’t have much – that is to say, any – contact with sheep or shepherds. I was well in my 50s when I saw my first shepherd, up close and personal. I was walking in the hills in Mexico when a flock of sheep crossed my path. What surprised me was that the shepherd was not leading the sheep like an infantry lieutenant going up the hill yelling “follow me, boys.” No, the shepherd was behind the flock. He was letting them find their own way. He would occasionally push one of the laggards to go a bit faster. Or he would keep another sheep from wandering away from the rest. Or he would make sure that the lambs were not trampled as the flock moved toward the pasture. He made sure that they going in the right direction and that they were staying together. How they got there was up to the individual sheep.
That struck me as an apt metaphor for what doing God’s will looks like in our lives. The illusion is that God’s will is a set of blueprints or detailed specifications that we are to follow. It can be frustrating when we seek to find the will of God because nothing is obvious. Pray as we will, often what God expects of me is clouded. Does God want me to get married? Become a missionary? Give money to the poor? The illusion is that if we don’t find the right answer we will have blown our chance of doing God’s will. But think of Jesus in Gethsemane. “Father, if it is possible, let’s try plan B.” The will of God is not imposed on us. We have to somehow or other discover it. We are part of it.
Like for the sheep I saw in Mexico, for us there isn’t only one predetermined way of living God’s will. Rather, there is an end in view, a goal of reaching that green pasture but how we get there is not set in stone. Instead, our Good Shepherd pushes us, prods us, directs us, points us toward the restful waters which refresh our souls. Our role is to be attentive to the voice of the divine shepherd. Following the divine will, of course, makes all the difference in the major choices of our lives: to get married, have children, pursue a career, become a priest or brother or sister. However, being diligent about seeking the will of God in little things, in the daily providence of life, in what we eat, how we play, where we worship, who we hang around with, paves the way for recognizing the will of God in the big things.
So, doing God’s will. The first step is to pay attention, to see how the will of God is unfolding in the world and in our lives. Notice nature, the seasons, the cosmos, human history as examples of the will of God at work. See how God has shadowed your own story from the first moment of existence right up to today. In particular, look deep within at your own feelings, your own experiences which speak of the presence of God.
The next step is to understand how the stuff which makes up your world fits into the larger plan of God. Look particularly to the words and actions of Jesus as his life embodied what it means to do God’s will. Reading our experiences through the lens of the gospels helps us to understand how God works in the world – that love is stronger than death, that Good Friday becomes Easter Sunday, that it is better to give than to receive, that genuine forgiveness and genuine healing are possible.
Once we have a picture of the will of God we are ready to decide what to do. This goes by the fancy name of discernment but it basically means choosing from the many options open to me how I believe God wants me to act. It is particularly helpful at this moment to have someone to bounce things off of – a spiritual director, a counselor, a prayer group, a mentor – against whom you can check your thoughts.
Then one needs to act, take a step, take a chance. Unless an angel visits our actions are always tentative. We have arrived at what we presume is God’s will but can’t be quite sure. What we can be sure of is this: God will affirm the effort that we make by being a Good Shepherd and continuing to lead us and guide one step at a time until we reach our heavenly home.
