What is wrong with the world? The simplest answer is “me.” In the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples, following the instructions of the Risen Lord, announced, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2.
The readings in Easter tell of the Risen Lord:
First, he is recognized by Mary in the garden when he calls her by name.
Second, he is recognized by his wounds. They are the wounds of the cross. Remember the story of Jesus appearing in the upper room, but Thomas would not believe until he probed his wounds.
Third, he is recognized in the scriptures and the ‘breaking of the bread.’ Remember the story of the two disciples walking down the road to Emmaus where they encountered a stranger who explained the scriptures to them. They recognized the stranger as the Risen Lord in the breaking of the bread.
The readings this week direct our attention towards the preaching of the Church after Pentecost. If you want to follow the Risen Lord you must repent and be baptized. The second reading also quotes St. Peter, reminding us that, “He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Pt. 2
The early Church’s testimony repeated Jesus’ description of himself as the good shepherd and the sheep gate. Psalm 23 intones, “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” God is Israel’s shepherd. Shepherds in Israel would sometimes sleep in front of the entrance to the sheep pen, using their body, like a gate, to guard their sheep during the night. Jesus’ promise is to guard his sheep with his own body and so he was crucified.
Jesus also said that he calls his sheep by name. At baptism the Church asks the person to be baptized, what is your name? Our names are personal to us. Jesus uses his disciples’ names throughout the gospel as a sign of his personal love for them:
Mary Magdalene, for example, did not recognize the risen Jesus until he said “Mary!”
Simon Peter’s discipleship began only after Jesus nicknamed him “Rock,” or petrus in Greek.
Saul became Paul after he encountered the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus.
It is why we continue the tradition of naming a child at baptism and the person takes a name at confirmation.
“I am the good shepherd, the one that lays down his life for the sheep.” The preaching of the Church is grounded in the preaching of the apostles. That preaching is the living voice of apostolic authority. It is why during the creed we say that the church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. Our traditions are based on the preaching of the witnesses that the Lord himself chose. That preaching hits home only when we recognize our complicity in the problems of the world and turn to God, repent and be baptized. The problem is me and I need to change.