In the reading today from the Gospel according to St. John the Theologian, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that He is the “Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep. He tells us as well that He has come so that we might have life, and have it abundantly. This does not mean an abundance of material possessions! Rather, it means a life filled to overflowing with the love of God for us in His Son – Who, indeed, gave His life so that we might inherit everlasting life through His death and Resurrection. He tells us He is going to His death when, speaking to His disciples in the upper room on the night on which He was betrayed, He says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” He adds, “You are my friends if you do what I have commanded.” What is His command? “Love one another, even as I have loved you.”
Today we celebrate the life and ministry of one such good shepherd, whose love for the Lord can be seen in his obedience to the Lord’s command to love everyone. The holy hierarch and wonderworker, St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, loved the Lord, loved worshipping the Lord, loved serving at the altar of the Lord, loved offering the precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ to the faithful, for the forgiveness of their sins and the salvation of their souls. He taught the people whom God had entrusted to his care, and disciplined them when this was necessary. He thought nothing of himself, and would take the gifts that those who loved him would provide for him, and give them to the poor and the needy. He prayed continually for his flock, and visited them. He healed many who were sick in body, mind, and spirit. He inspired many to turn from worldly desires and interests, calling them to come closer to the Lord, even inspiring some to become deacons and priests, readers and members of the choir, and to share in caring for those in need in the community of the faithful, and in the world. He provided a home for orphans, feeding and clothing them and seeing to their education in both secular and spiritual matters. He ate very little; he only slept for a few hours, sitting in a chair, devoting most of the watches of the night to praying for those in need in the household of God, and for those still in darkness, spiritual orphans, that God, in His mercy, would bring them home to His family, His Church. St. John truly understood how love may be seen when one lays down his life for his friends, for this is the way he lived – his life was abundantly full of love.
What of us? How do we live? If St. John were here today, he would tell you about the great love God has for you, that our Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life for you, and took it up again so that you might always be with Him in His kingdom, which has no end. He would encourage each of us to examine our lives, repent of our sins, to receive the holy Mysteries of Christ’s Body and Blood, and to ask God to fill our hearts with His love, so that we might carry that love from here into every place we go in the world, sharing that love with those in need, and those who despair, even those who hate us – and when they ask us how we come to love them, we may answer by telling them of God’s love: so that His name is glorified, lives are changed, and souls are saved. Brothers and sisters, let us love one another, obeying the command of our Lord, and following the example of our friend and helper, St. John.
Holy hierarch, father John, pray to God for us!
No comments:
Post a Comment