Por Fr. Ed Liptak, SDB

In St. John’s Gospel, as Jesus turned toward Jerusalem, aware that his ‘hour’ had come, Our Savior also turned toward His Father and prayed, “Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (Jn 12:29). Later, at the Last Supper, Jesus was about to offer His “Priestly Prayer,” and He sought the glory of His Father again and made it clear that He, the obedient Jesus, was one with the Father, and together They would be glorified: “And now Father, glorify Me within Yourself with the glory that I had with You before the world was” (Jn 17:5).

The Scriptures of this 4th Sunday of Easter shine with the glory of God in Jesus Christ. First, St. Peter was called up before the Sanhedrin for the miracle of healing he had performed in the Name of Jesus at the Temple gate. Under the impulse of the Spirit, Peter warned: “[Jesus] is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” Jesus must ever be a part of our lives. “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” Shine, Lord Jesus!.

St. John, in the second reading today, reminds us that we are indeed children of God. Why is that true? Because we have accepted the invitation of Jesus to be one with Him in faith and in love. Therefore, in Jesus, we ARE God’s adopted sons and daughters (as St. Paul also insists). We are one with God, and the full glory we shall share with Him will be revealed only when, with the help of Jesus, we are joined with God in heaven. Praise be God! Praise be Jesus!

St. John is still with us in our Gospel today. A unique quality of sheep is that they don’t need to be driven. They follow their shepherd wherever he leads. That is the role Jesus adopts as his own. We are his flock—unique sheep in that he has chosen us, and we have chosen to be his own. Our Good Shepherd leads us to the heavenly sheepfold. All we must do is follow.

“Eternal and Loving Father,

We Adore Thee, We Praise Thee, We Thank Thee

You Send Your Son, Jesus,

To Ransom us, To Save us from Sin,

To Light our Path to Eternal Salvation.

             Alleluia! Sing to the Risen Lord!”