Today’s readings: Acts 13, 14.43-52; Apocalypse 7, 9.14-17; John 10, 27-30.

With the publication of his post-Synodal document The Joy of Love, Pope Francis has given yet another concrete sign and testimony of what Catholicity should mean. As long as ‘Catholic’ serves as a label to exclude, to judge, to discriminate, to isolate those who claim to believe in God from the rest, then it should be clear to all that God is not Catholic.

From Acts today, we read how Paul and Barnabas “turned to the pagans” in the face of the rejection of their proclamation on the part of those who presumptuously claimed exclusivity on their belonging to God’s people.

For too long in the Church we always distinguished pastorally between practising and non-practising believers and non-believers, and those in regular or irregular situations. Now is the time to shift focus and start distinguishing between authenticity and non-authenticity, between those who thirst for life and those who are simply sure of themselves and comfortable where they are. It is the Spirit that gives life, not the law. Theology very often divides; it is mysticism that unites.

Even in our times, as at the time of Paul and Barnabas, this shift may sound as a turning to the ‘pagans’. The world we live in today is going through changes of epochal dimensions. And that poses a challenge for the Church that we cannot ignore or escape. It is not a matter of following suit or adjusting.

It is rather a question of deep discernment by the Church of God’s footprints and whereabouts in today’s culture and in today’s landscape. Belonging is no longer regulated by simply adhering to rules of a club. What makes us really belong, according to the shepherd imagery as reported by John in his gospel, is the capacity to listen to his voice.

John’s gospel today presents an imagery that we most probably don’t like. We are far past the time of being considered ‘sheep’, given that in the past this imagery implied just being herded by those in authority. But this is not what the gospel says. Jesus is the wandering prophet, a roving shepherd in search of all those wandering in the deserts of life.

Jesus keeps moving because he is not a settler. As a shepherd he is always seeking out new pastures. The Church is made up of diversities, of people who easily settle down for securities and of others who are authentic seekers and do not think of faith as something achieved.

From the very beginning, with the first apostles themselves, there was always the temptation inherent to the mission itself they had received to transform the message in something possessed. But God’s Word cannot be bound. That is why through­out the history of Christianity and from within, there have al­ways been strong and healthy provocations coming from prophets, mystics and shepherds who prioritised missionary conversion rather than a false security or certainty.

Orthodoxy undoubtedly has its importance. But not to the extent of suffocating the Spirit or of domesticating the Church in a world of constant change, making it resemble more a dead faith of the living. There is nothing more dangerous in the Church than to render God’s Word submissive to our dogmatic truths. It is not the magisterium of the Church, the authoritative role of those who hold the office of teaching, that enlightens God’s Word but the other way round.

This is what is being narrated in Acts today, the so-called conversion of Paul and Barnabas to the pagans. This is also the vision of John in the Apocalypse, seeing a huge number – impossible to count – of people from every nation, race, tribe and language standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. This is also the gist of the gospel text of the good shepherd.

What is mostly highlighted is not the authority that comes from above and that imposes uniformity, but the ability to listen to his voice, which creates unity in the diversity around us. All those who listen to his voice belong; and they will never be lost.

The Church today, in the footsteps of the good shepherd, is challenged above all to bring people together in the embrace of the merciful Father, rather than just in towing the line of dogma.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.