Sunday:       4 TH SUNDAY OF EASTER
Date:         April 25, 1999
Year:         A
The readings: [Acts 2:14, 36-41; 1 Pet. 2:20-5; Jn. 10:1-10]
The message:  ENTERING HEAVEN THROUGH THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  917

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"Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit." [Jn. 10:1]

My friends, have you ever wondered if it is possible for someone to enter the sheepfold by climbing in through another way? Have you ever wondered if it is possible for someone to enter Heaven by any other way than through faith in Jesus Christ and the Sacrament fo Baptism? Do you know that it can be done? Surely, Jesus would not have mentioned thieves and bandits are entering Heaven if it could not be done!

In the Old Testament, we learn that God promised to Jeremiah that He would make a New Covenant with His people. In the Book of Ezekiel, we learn that the New Covenant includes a new heart, a new spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ who Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, we were freed from sins so we might live for righteousness. By the wounds of Jesus, we were healed.

Christ was the fulfillment of God's promises. Through Christ and the Church Sacrament of Baptism, we have received our new heart, our new spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Now the human spirit that we have received, what many refer to as the new creation, it is of the seed of God. If some do not believe this, look it up in the Holy Bible. It is written in 1 John 3:9 and 5:18.

This new creation that dwells within us, it cannot sin because it is of God's seed, being born of God. It is protected by God and the evil one cannot touch it. It is through this new creation, the new spirit within us, that we will receive our salvation. When we physically die, our consciousness will continue to live through the new spirit that we received at Baptism through faith in Jesus Christ.

Having received this wonderful gift from God, now we are expected to live as holy children in appreciation of His Divine love, His grace and His mercy. As we read in the Acts to the Apostles today, Peter stood up and spoke to the people. He testified to them with many other arguments. He exhorted them, telling them to save themselves from their corrupt generation. What I am telling you today is the same thing that Peter told the people of that generation. Things have not changed. We are still living in a corrupt generation and we must abandon those corrupt ways. We must run away from those around us who are corrupt. We must live as holy children, holy children that have been called by God.

Now getting back to our first subject, can we enter Heaven by any other way then through Jesus? Yes we can! There are many who think that because they are baptized, they are saved. They think that because they have received their new spirit from God, a spirit of the godly seed that cannot sin, that they will climb the walls and go around Jesus. Well, let me tell you something, are they in for a surprise!

Jesus said that anyone who enters in by another way are thieves and bandits. Well my friends, thieves and bandits will not be allowed to stay in Heaven. They are thieves and bandits because they stole from God. They were baptized so they could receive the free gift of the spirit, believing it would be their assurance of salvation. They never had a sincerity of heart. They used the power of the Church, the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus gave to Peter, to obtain their free gift of a new creation of the seed of God as their assurance of eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
By rejecting the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, we are rejecting God's gift of the new spirit that He gave us. We are saying, "God, I do not need Your gift. I do not need Your new spirit. I want my way, my worldly pleasures, my lust, my wealth. It is me that counts." By such actions, we will lose the indwelling Holy Spirit, the only character witness who can testify that we are a child of God.

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us that He is the Good Shepherd. His voice calls us to come to Him, to repent of our sins and to live the holy life by entering the proper gate. Those who enter by Jesus will be saved. They will enter Heaven. They will find the eternal joy and peace that they seek, their blessed hope becoming a reality. They will have life in Christ and they will have it abundantly.

My friends, this is today's message that God sends out to us. It is not long but it is straight forward. I pray that by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, that all have all heard it very clearly so one day, we will all rejoice together in Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"When the day of Pentecost had come, Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd. "Let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to peter and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." And he testified with many other arguments, and exhorted them, saying, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added to their number." [Acts 2:14, 36-41]

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Second Reading...

"Brothers and sisters: If you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. Christ Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls." [1 Pet. 2:20-5]

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Gospel Reading...

"Jesus said to the Pharisees: 'Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.' The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." [Jn. 10:1-10]

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