HOMILY 4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER 2026
ANZAC DAY, WITH JESUS AS GOOD SHEPHERD AND GATE IN AND OUT
Jn 10.1-10 AA 2.14,36-41 1Pt 2.20-25
So now we come to another Anzac Day, once again we are reminded of the horror of war, and the suffering it brings to not just the combatants, but those caught up in the middle of it all, particularly innocent civilians, who have no say at all in the catastrophe. War is hell! There are no two ways about it. At the same time, we remember, and pay tribute to those who served and suffered, but acknowledge there is nothing to glorify about war, and its accompanying death, destruction and disaster, with the ensuing after-effects of physical and psychological trauma.
We see it playing out yet again, in so many parts of the world today, such that it’s difficult to keep track of what’s going on where, from Israel and Palestine (also involving Lebanon and Syria), Israel, USA and Iran, Ukraine and Russia, so on it goes, sadly and tragically. ”When will we ever learn?”, as Peter, Paul and Mary sang in the 1960’s, with “the answer is blowing in the wind”?!!
Who said this? “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can.”
“Dwight D. Eisenhower stood before World War II veterans in 1952 (the year I was born), tried to speak about D-Day, and broke down mid-sentence as the man who sent 150,000 soldiers into fire could not finish the words… The general who won the war stood in front of those who survived it and could not speak past the memory of those who did not.”
Says Jesuit priest and theologian Antonio Spadaro: “Leo XIV has become the one figure in the current international landscape whom raw power cannot assimilate and cannot ignore. He has no army, no. treasury, no electoral base. He has a pulpit, a tradition and a tone… The freedom of Leo XIV is of a particular kind: disarmed and disarming. It has no weapons to surrender and cannot be dragged into confrontation. It judges by the exercise of power by a criterion that power does not control, and precisely for this reason, it unsettles those who would like the moral field to be as governable as the military one.”
And I quote local letter writer Alan Patience: “Pope Leo XIV and the Archbishop of Canterbury have had the courage to speak out with great moral clarity, condemning the handful of warmongering tyrants imperilling the security of the entire world. We need more church leaders to speak out.”
Finally, words of wisdom from songster Bruce Springsteen: “Choose hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, resistance over complacency, unity over division and peace over war.”
And let’s not forget the first words of the Risen Jesus to his friends: “Peace be with you.” The obvious implication is that it’s up to his followers to spread that peace in our own lives and relationships.
Today’s Gospel focusses on Jesus as both gate and good shepherd, mixed metaphors or images, but indicative of his message of solidarity with those for whom he felt responsible, that is, those who were open to his voice and committed to becoming his disciples. His is a message of peace and inclusion. He offers security and care for each individual, calling by name, and concerned for the welfare of all. What is required is openness to his words, and willingness to follow, but with a commitment to supporting each other as well.
There is safety within the sheepfold, but the gate is there also to lead outside, where there is pasture for nourishment and freedom to move, but with the reassurance and knowledge that the shepherd accompanies his sheep, and knows who and where they are, vigilant and protective still.
As Brendan Byrne SJ says: “By describing himself as ‘the Gate of the sheepfold’, Jesus is indicating that only through vital and continual interaction with himself will members of the community find life and growth.”
Claude Mostowik MSC, chairperson of Pax Australia, also puts it well: “Jesus, the open gate, calls us to break down the walls and build bridges of love among people, communities and creation.”
Jesus has just accused the Jewish leaders of being blind, because they resent his challenge to think and act differently, not to impose or judge others, so much as to support, encourage and walk with, rather than look down from a position of superiority and self-importance. Some respond positively to his teaching, but others remain hard-hearted and determined to get him out of the way, as an interfering presence. While they ultimately achieve this, our Easter faith reminds us that he is truly risen and continues to walk with us.
Taking the Good Shepherd as our model, we are all called to be shepherds in our own way, looking out for each other, and seeking out those who are troubled or lost. As Pope Francis emphasized, with a specific reminder to priests and bishops as pastors, we all need to have ‘the smell of the sheep’, as we walk together as God’s people and faithful disciples of Jesus, the paradigm, or model, ‘Good Shepherd’.
john hannon 26th April 2026
For end of Mass reflection: “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” is a 1971 anti-war folk song by Eric Bogle, sung well by Canadian John McDermott.
Claude Mostowik MSC, comments on Pope Leo’s recent trip to Africa: “The Good Shepherd shows us that care for others and humility are not weaknesses but strength. In his visit to Cameroon, he spoke against wars and corruption, and that peacemaking must be based on love of neighbour, including diplomacy… He again called, as he did in his 2026 Message of Peace for a ‘peace that is unarmed, that is, not based on fear, threats or weapons, and at the same time, disarming, because it is capable of resolving conflicts, opening hearts, and generating trust, empathy and hope… Peace must be embodied in a way of life that renounces all forms of violence, both personally snd institutionally’ It is everyone’s responsibility.”
“The Anzac Days I remember are those when the marchers were old men whose limbs and youth had given way to an implacable hostility to war. Years before their smiling grandchildren inherited their medals, there were actual Gallipoli veterans, bitter with the memory of what had been done to them and their mates. There were many who refused to take part in any ceremony they felt was a celebration of war. For as long as the Gallipoli veterans marched, Anzac Day was unmistakably anti-war.” (Malcolm Knox – author and journalist)