Monday, Fourth Week of Easter

In today’s first reading, Peter asks a very important question, ‘Who was I to stand in God’s way?’ God had worked in a way that Peter had not expected. He had been prompted by the Spirit to go to the pagan home of Cornelius, a Roman centurion. When Peter preached the gospel there, the Holy Spirit immediately came down upon this pagan household, just as it had come down on Peter and the other disciples at Pentecost. God was moving in a way that was taking everyone by surprise. Yet, Peter was able to see the working of God in this unexpected development. It was becoming clear to Peter that God was drawing pagans as well as Jews into the church, the community of Jesus’ disciples. In the gospel reading, Jesus speaks of himself as the good shepherd and he declares that there are other sheep that are not of this fold that he needs to lead as well. Jesus was looking beyond the group of Jewish disciples he had gathered. He was anticipating what we see happening in the first reading. Jesus wanted to draw all people to himself. He had a vision of himself as the shepherd of one flock, one community of disciples from a whole variety of backgrounds. Far from standing in God’s way, Jesus lived and died to bring to pass what God wanted, a great coming together of all the children of God. This remains God’s work today, the work of gathering people together around his Son. He looks to us not to stand in his way but to allow him to work with us and through us to bring about this great gathering of people from north, south, east and west, around the risen Lord, the good shepherd who laid down his life for all of humanity. Anything we do to bring people together in a way that builds them up is in the service of this great work of the Lord.