Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Easter (A)

This coming Tuesday April 15th at exactly 4 pm EST the control tower at Andrews AFB in Washington DC will announce: “Shepherd One is clear for landing.” And for only the ninth time in history, the Pope, the Vicar of Christ, will set foot on American soil.This upcoming Apostolic Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States is a moment of tremendous historical importance. And it has been planned to mark a very special anniversary: the 200th anniversary of the establishment of Baltimore as the first archdiocese in the United States, and the establishment of new diocese in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville.

But it is much more than a historical moment, or even a political moment. The Holy Father’s visit to this country is a uniquely spiritual moment – an opportunity for the faithful of this country to renew their hope in and commitment to the message of Jesus Christ.

I mentioned just a moment ago, that when the Holy Father flies the plane that carries him is always called, in English, “Shepherd One” – because that is precisely what the Holy Father is. He is a shepherd in the model of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd – and as the successor of St. Peter, the Pope continues to answer the command first made by Christ to Peter: “If you love me, feed my sheep.”

Though they are the readings predetermined for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, our readings this weekend connect perfectly and beautifully with our preparation for and anticipation of the Holy Father’s visit.

In our first reading, St. Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit stands in the Temple before all Israel and fearlessly proclaims that Jesus the crucified is indeed the Messiah and Christ. And rather than scold or admonish the people for having put Jesus to death, Peter calls them to repentance and gives them hope, saying: “you will receive the Holy Spirit, for the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off whom the Lord calls.”

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI is the successor of St. Peter and during his visit to the United States he too will stand before all the people and preach the message of hope that comes from God’s promise to us.

The secular media has already, and will continue to view Pope Benedict and his visit with their own categories and through their own chosen lenses. They will refer to Pope Benedict as the “Rotweiller” and the “Panzer,” and they’ll talk about how he is here to admonish priest for the abuse crisis, or Catholic schools for not being Catholic enough, or the faithful for not following the Church’s teaching, or the president for the war, or whatever.

But please do me a favor. Don’t just listen to the headlines and the sound-bites. Take a moment and read what the Holy Father actually says in his speeches and homilies during his visit. Nowadays they are all printed in full on line, and are broadcast on cable TV.

And I promise you, that if you do that, you will see and hear that while these other matters are certainly not unimportant, the Holy Father’s true reason for being among us is to speak the same message of hope that St. Peter proclaims in our first reading. That’s why the theme of the Pope’s visit has been chosen from his recent encyclical on hope, “Spe Salve.” The theme of the Pope’s visit is: “Christ Our Hope.”

Friends, this should not come as any great surprise to us, even if it does seem to surprise our fellow citizens at CNN and the NYTimes. Yes, the shepherds and pastors of the church, the bishops and priests, help the faithful to do what St. Peter says in the first reading: to “save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” And so, yes, the Church offers the faithful the ethical and moral guidelines that are necessary to do good and avoid evil.

But these are not, and have never been, aims in and of themselves. They are a means to an end. The end is Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life. And Jesus Himself says in today’s Gospel: “I came so that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.”

So the true mission of the shepherd, the true mission of the priesthood, the true mission of the papacy is to continue this mission of Jesus Christ – to bring people the life and hope that comes from knowing and following Jesus Christ. And everything else – the moral doctrines, the social justice teaching – all of that flows out of our relationship with Jesus Christ, and returns to Him, giving us not mere “No’s” and negative precepts, but giving us even more hope and more life.

Throughout this week, let us fulfill Pope Benedict’s request to pray for the success of his visit. And once his visit is completed, let’s evaluate its success not by the response of university presidents, or politicians or pundits – let’s evaluate the import of his visit by the increase of faith and hope within our own hearts and minds.