Philip Raj A csc –
Readings: Acts 11: 19-26; Jn 10: 22-30
The liturgy of the word invites us to reflect on the theme, “Listen to the voice of the Lord and follow him.” The early Christian community faced persecution. As a result, they were scattered in different places, but they never stopped talking or preaching about Jesus. They listened to the voice of the Lord, and the hand of the Lord was with them to strengthen and encourage them to spread the good news. Amidst persecution, a great number of people accepted Jesus as their saviour, and the number of believers kept growing day by day.
In the gospel reading, we hear about the feast of dedication, or Hanukkah, which commemorates the Maccabean victory over the force of the Seleucid king and the rededication of the Temple by Mattathias and his son Judas Maccabeus. On this feast day, Jews rejected Jesus.
Though they had witnessed several miracles and signs, their hearts were still hard to accept Jesus as the Messiah. Often, in our lives too, we fail to have faith in Jesus and neglect his voice because we are keen on listening to the voices of worldly pleasures and gratifications. The moment we hear the voice of the Lord and follow him, we can be sure that we are secure in the hands of the Lord because Jesus is a good shepherd who goes to the extent of laying down his life for us. Let us join with the psalmist saying, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want” (Ps 23:1).