The Word Of Peace
Homiletic Reflections On Peacemaking

Deacon Robert M. Pallotti

Fourth Sunday of Easter - 1998

Acts. 13:14, 43-52

Rev. 7:9, 14-17

John 10: 27-30

Many years ago I played the clarinet in a school band--I stopped after being arrested for creating a public disturbance. One day while we were practicing our oboeist, an extremely talented person, couldn't seem to hit the right pitch during our warm ups. As a result our music was more offensive that usual. We chastised this oboist with glances and glares directed toward encouraging him to get it right. He adjusted his reed and began again, but the music still sounded distorted. After a few more attempts we finally told the oboist not to play.

Finally our band leader came into the room--he had been listening to all of this in his office. He came in and said to us, " Forgive me for intruding, but don't orchestras tune their instruments to the oboe ?" We looked at each other with that look that said, "Whoops." See, we had overlooked a basic performance principle: an oboe sounds the proper pitch--it was the other members of the group, including myself, that were out of tune. When we began to listen to the voice we needed to the music really started to sound like music.

That was the key ! In any musical group there are several voices. But left to their own devices, each going their own way there is no music only an offensive cacophony--chaos ! Listening to the right voices, melodies and harmonies can lift our hearts and are heard.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is the voice that creates the music in our lives as members of his Church. This seems obvious enough but in practice it can be quite challenging to believers to listen to this voice. We are leaving a century in which many voices have clamored for our attention. Many times these voices have tried to disguise themselves as our Lord's voice--wolves in sheep's clothing. We have witnessed this in one of the most grotesques forms in Nazi Germany where Hitler was portrayed as a modern day Messiah, demanding an absolute loyalty beyond Jesus Christ. And we have seen the results--a catastrophic cacophony of murder.

There are also the voices of Madison Ave, the voices of the modern day "spin doctors" that shield us from the truth and the negative so that we only hear happy stories and never connect with the suffering of others and eventually ourselves. A society that cannot do that will become more violent with each passing day. There are the voices within ourselves that may be destructive of ourselves, others, or the world in which we live. And what is interesting is that this voices always seem reasonable, of the solution at the time. But they are not the voice of the Good Shepherd. How do we discern which voice is the voice of the Good Shepherd and not that of impostors ? According to Revelation, " By washing our robes white in the blood of the Lamb." That is, by faithfulness to the Lord in prayer, study and discipleship that lives and brings Christ's sacrificial love to the world.

Following Jesus in this way can, and will bring the trial and persecution. Some of these trials and persecutions may be small, like being chided for your faith. Others will be large, prison and /or death. For Paul and Barnabas those other voices began to organize a persecution. Yet Revelation tells us to resist these other voices. In fact, the book of Revelation is resistance literature of God's Word against the Roman Leviathan, the Roman state. It was meant to inspire resistance and hope to those voices and powers that would lead Christians away from the voice of the Good Shepherd. What is promised is that we will find ourselves, we will find God. Furthermore, we can resist these voices, because in the knowledge of faith we know that no power on earth can separate us from the Lord. The last trump card of the earthly powers, terror and death cannot steal us away from God's hands. And that is the bedrock of faith and resistance to the powers of chaos and destruction !

These are encouraging words but in proclaiming and remaining faithful to the Lord we risk ejection. Paul and Barnabas experiences it, so did our Lord. Paul and Barnabas, "shook the dirt from their sandals" That is, they had to move on. They had to try to bring the Gospel to those who would listen and let other decide for or against it. What we are hearing then is, it is more important to be faithful than successful. This is because being faithful is successful in the eyes of Jesus Christ. We see this in those walking to help address the problem of hunger, those participating in "Homefront Day", those who teach our children, visit the sick, be good and loving parents and husbands and wives that love one another with respect.

Today is a special day for Mark and Judy Nielsen. They celebrate 25 years of married life this day. Their love for each other and the way they spread around here at St. Joseph's is one way to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.

All of such things help to create harmony from the dissonance of the many voices that compete for our attention. It is in our listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd that leads us to the music that gives us hope and life.

Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.
Uploaded January 14, 2000