Gospel reflections – 4th Sunday of Easter/ GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY/ Vocation Sunday
25 April 2021
“I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” (John 10:11-18)
GOOD GIVERS
Remember this story?
Once upon a time, there was an argument that arose between a chicken and a pig, each one claiming that he is the better giver than the other.
Ms Chicken bragged, “I am a better giver than you because you only give ham once in your lifetime. Whereas for me, I give my eggs every day for a long period of time.”
Mr Pig did not let a second pass without retorting. He also bragged and said, “Yes, you give every day whereas I only give once. But you only give a part of you, a product from you, whereas when I give, I give my very self, my whole self.”
To this, still Ms Chicken had a sound reply, “I also do that. After giving my eggs daily for weeks and months, I ultimately give my whole self too.”
So, what do you think? Who is the better giver, the pig or the hen?
If you ask me, my answer is this. Both of them are good givers. But both of them are bad givers too.
Both of them are good givers simply because they give. Let us imitate them for that. Whether you give only a part or a product of yourself or your whole self, whether you give only once or often or for a long time, as long as you give, that is already something.
But both of them are bad givers too because they both brag about their giving. Let us not imitate them for that. When you give, just give… period. No need to expect anything (no praise, no thanks, no compensation) in return. No need to brag about it. Otherwise, your giving actually becomes only your means in getting and receiving.
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is a GOOD GIVER. Let us imitate Him. He has nothing to gain for Himself in giving. Yet He gives fully lovingly. He gives His total self once and for all that Good Friday. He gives Himself again and again there in the Holy Mass. He gives to us His unconditional self-sacrificing and life-giving love both through blessings big and small, through the seemingly ordinary experiences of goodness and through the stirring extra-ordinary events of grace.
• Have you experienced Jesus’ shepherding in your life?
• Have you had experiences of Jesus shepherding you through one-time-big-time blessings in your life?
• Have you also had experiences of Jesus shepherding you through the daily and the ordinary blessings in your life?
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He does shepherd us… on both counts.
Let us not just praise and thank Him for this. Let us help Him in being so, in doing so. Let us not remain just His sheep, nor be like Ms chicken or Mr pig. Let us be His PARTNER SHEPHERDS. Give and give as well. Lay down your life… both in daily ordinary ways and in big radical ways.
Like Jesus, let us be GOOD GIVERS.
• To whom will I share Jesus’ shepherding ways?
• How can I share to someone Jesus’ shepherding through my one-time-big-time giving… without bragging about it?
• How can I share to someone Jesus’s shepherding through my ordinary ways of giving… without expecting any praise nor reward in return?
Very recently, I felt so proud being a Filipino… when I heard of the mushrooming of “community pantries” as a response to the growing lack of food and basic needs for the many in the Philippines due to the pandemic. Starting from the first, the “Maginhawa Community Pantry” in Quezon City, we now have hundreds all over. Wooow… so many selfless givers in my the Philippines!
Very sadly though, some of the people who did this generous service have received intimidation and red-tagging from some men in uniform in return. What they deserve is admiration and support. What they received is harassment and criticism ironically. Haaay! Having read that bad news, my feeling proud began to fade. And that feeling of shame and sadness started to creep in.
But then I told myself, “No way! Good will triumph over evil. Good giving with no strings attached will persevere and spread blessings against all odds… in my beloved Philippines and in so many other countries as well. I’m sure, the good will always still abound even when there is evil all around.”
The story of how this ‘community pantries phenomenon’ started is a clear and strong proof of that. Big thanks and praises to Ana Patricia Non who on 14 April took the love-filled initiative to set up a small bamboo cart on a pavement in her village, stocking it with 800 pesos (RM 70) worth of food items and placing a cardboard guideline written in Tagalog: “Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan. Kumuha ayon sa pangangailangan. Give according to your means. Take according to your need.” This single seed of giving small goods but from a huge heart has surely grown so bountiful. May it reach your hearts and mine to be givers too.
Isn’t this what our Lord, our Good Shepherd, is inviting us to do? To be like Him, to care for the sheep. To give and give and give. Even to lay one’s life for the sheep.
Today, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday, Jesus gives us the highest promotion ever.
Jesus lovingly calls us.
From merely becoming His sheep, He commissions us to be His dearly beloved PARTNER SHEPHERDS.
Whether you are a priest, a religious, a spouse, a single person, a teacher, doctor, housewife, currently unemployed, or whatever… you and I, this is our common noble vocation… God’s call for us all – to be Jesus’ partner shepherds.
Like Jesus, may we all be GOOD GIVERS!
Fr Ramon Borja, SDB
Commission for Youth
