Gospel Homily for Fourth Sunday of Easter (2025)

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We Get to Pick the Flock.

The book of Jeremiah is one of the longest books in the bible. The reason why is because Jeremiah didn’t write it. He had a secretary whose name was Baruch. Jeremiah sent Baruch to the temple to read it to the people. The book it describes the future

destruction of their beloved city Jerusalem, the exile of the people into Babylon, and their oppression under a foreign nation. Naturally, the king did not like the book, so the king burned the book one page at a time. He did it in that fashion so that every word would be destroyed. Doesn’t the king know that you cannot destroy God’s word? You cannot make the divine Word go away like a puff of smoke. So God told Jeremiah to write the same book again. Of course, Jeremiah did not have to write the book; he had a secretary. Poor Baruch. Imagine if you were Baruch, you would be thinking, “Why am I writing this again. It did not go over very well the first time; I doubt the second edition will have any luck either.”

Seventy years later, someone blew off the dust from the book and read it. Everything that Jeremiah had said came true. Who is this guy who can predict the future like that? If he was right about the disasters, then he would be correct in saying that God will save his people, redeem them, give them a new covenant and a new heart. They will lead the world to God.

One day, the Patriots were losing the football game when Tom Brady threw an interception at the last minute of the game. At that instance, forty thousand fans left the stadium. I called my father the next day and asked if he had watched the game. He replied, “I did.” I asked him what he did when Tom Brady threw the interception at the last minute of the game. He told me that he shut the TV off in disgust and went outside to rake leaves. So forty thousand and one people missed out on one of the best and most exciting comebacks in the franchise’s history. The Patriots regained possession of the ball, and Tom Brady and the boys marched into the end zone in the last seconds of the game.

We fans get our sports team by location. That means the people in Detroit are stuck with Detroit teams. For years Detroit Lion fans wore paper bags over their heads because they were embarrassed by their team. Professionals are different. In free agency, they get to pick the team they want. Of course, they are going to choose a team with the best coach and ownership. When Jesus asks the flock to “Follow me,” it means that the sheep get to pick the flock. Naturally we want to pick the flock that will have a great leader. That is why I read Scripture because I am listening to the coach; I go to church because this is my flock. We follow God always wins, against the odds.