“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” For the sake of his flock the shepherd was sacrificed as though he were a sheep. He did not refuse death; he did not destroy his executioners as he had the power to do, for his passion was not forced upon him. He laid down his life for his sheep of his own free will.
“I have the power to lay it down,” he said, “and I have the power to take it up again.”
By his passion he made atonement for our evil passions, by his death he cured our death, by his tomb he robbed the tomb, by the nails that pierced his flesh he destroyed the foundations of hell.
Death held sway until Christ died. The grave was bitter, our prison
was indestructible, until the shepherd went down and brought to his
sheep confined there the good news of their release.
His appearance among them gave them a pledge of their resurrection
and called them to a new life beyond the grave. “The Good
Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep and so seeks to win their
love.”
Now, to love Christ means to obey his commands. The shepherd knows
how to separate goats from sheep. The
Gospel
says that “all nations will be assembled before him and he
will separate people from one another, as the Good Shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his
right hand, and the goats on his left, and he will say to those on
his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'”
What had they done to earn this invitation? “I was hungry and
you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink I was a
stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me.” What
you give to those who are mine, you will receive back from me.
Because they are naked, strangers, homeless, and poor, so am I, and
in supplying their needs you show kindness to me. It is I who am
afflicted when they cry out.
Win the judge over by gifts before you come to trial. Provide him
with grounds for showing clemency, give him some reason to acquit
you. Otherwise you will be among those on his left hand who hear the
terrible sentence: “Depart from me with your curse upon you to
the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
What are the sins for which we would be condemned with the devil? I
was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no
drink; I was a stranger and you did not welcome me; naked and you
did not clothe me.
Who could turn away from his own shepherd when he was hungry, or
fail to notice when his future judge lacked necessary clothing? Who
could condemn the judge of the whole world to suffer thirst?
Christ will accept even the gift of the poor and for a small gift
grant remission of long punishment.
Let us put out the fire with mercy and avert the sentence that hangs
over us by showing love for one another. Let us be compassionate
toward one another and forgiving, as God has forgiven us in
Christ.
To him be glory and power for ever. Amen.
Homily 26, 2: PG 85, 306-07
Basil of Seleucia (c. 459) became archbishop of Seleucia about the year 440. He is remembered for his fluctuating attitude in the events which preceded the Council of Chalcedon in 451. He voted against Monophysitism at the Synod of Constantinople in 448, but at the "Robber Synod" of Ephesus in 449 gave his support to Eutyches, the originator of Monophysitism. Then at the Council of Chalcedon he signed the Tome of Saint Leo, which condemned Eutyches. Thirty-nine of Basil's homilies have been preserved. They show his concern to place the exegesis of his time within the reach of all.
All Rights Reserved.
Journey with the Fathers
Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels - Year B, pp. 54-55.
To purchase or learn more about
this published work and its companion volumes,
go to http://www.amazon.com/
from Religious Clip Art for the Liturgical Year (A, B, and C).
This art may be reproduced only by parishes who purchase the collection in book or CD-ROM form. For more information go http://www.ltp.org