On Good Shepherd Sunday, as the Church prays for vocations, and as he marks the 25th anniversary of his episcopal ordination, Bishop McKeown reflects on what it means to be called by Christ.
In a culture that places fulfilment in self-determination, the Gospel offers a different vision. We discover who we are not by following our own path alone, but by listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd and allowing ourselves to be led.
Each of us has a vocation — a unique calling to holiness. The question is simple: are we ready to trust that call and follow where it leads?
Fourth Sunday of Easter - 26th April 2026
On Easter Sunday, the scripture readings simply announced that Jesus was Risen. That was enough for one day! In these Sundays after Easter leading up to Pentecost, each week we hear about one aspect of who this risen Jesus is for his Church. On week one, the emphasis was on the divine mercy that flows from the pierced side of Christ, poured out to heal hurt, anger and self-loathing. Last week, the Emmaus story told of a Jesus who walks with the disappointed and is revealed in the scripture and in the breaking of bread. This fourth Sunday presents the figure of Jesus as both the Good Shepherd and the gate to the sheepfold. What does that say?
Our culture presents fulfilment as coming through self-determination. I have a right to decide what is good or bad - for me. That is not just a modern notion. The opening chapters of the bible tell of Adam and Eve deciding that they know better for there should be no higher authority than me and my hungers. The temptation to that sort of pride is to refuse self-transcendence. I will not serve, as the fallen angels say. I want my pound on the ground when I am around. The image of the Good Shepherd speaks into that hollowness and says that we find our identity by being called beyond our lonely little world - and by being at peace with being called. As Jesus says, God is not seeking to limit us. That is what the thief does. God in Jesus wants us to have life and have it to the full. Faith is God is not some vague intellectual conviction that there must be a big figure somewhere in the sky who takes nobody's life seriously. That is the real childishness. Faith in God means accepting that I am not master of the universe. It frees me from the illusion of self-sufficiency. That trust in the Good Shepherd does not come easily, especially for those whose trust has been betrayed or have not felt loved. But, in Jesus' words, we have been born again to share the dream of Jesus and escape the nightmare of Adam and Eve. Thus, a life of faith means accepting that God has a vocation, a calling, a unique way for each of us to become a saint. As St Peter in our second reading knew – on the basis of his own experience – we had gone astray like sheep but now we have come back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. And when I discover the form that my vocation to holiness takes, as Jesus says, his joy will be complete in us. And, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we can retell our crosses and dashed plans as part of God' personal call to greatness. The first question today is simple – do you accept that the Good Shepherd is calling you by name to follow him and that he wants nothing but life in its fullness for you if you listen to his voice?
But Jesus is not just concerned with us as isolated individuals, The Church is called to build up in love the visible Body of Christ. St Paul writes to the Ephesians that:
speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (4:15-16)
In the Body of Christ, none of us is as smart as all of us! But what sort of church does Christ call us to be?
St Peter makes an important statement in our first reading from Pentecost Sunday everyone who follows Christ receives the Holy Spirit. In the church of Jesus, there are different gifts – but no second class citizens. The People of God in this diocese is gifted in many ways with leadership at various levels – in families, schools, parishes as well as in the more formal structures. We have marvellous and creative lay movements and initiatives that have sprung up. These have not been the result of leadership from bishop or others at senior level. They have been born of generous spirits who have a deep love for God and compassion for their brothers and sisters. The Good Shepherd frees us from the illusion that it is our church and that everything depends on our plans. In the Acts of the Apostles, the early Chistian church saw that it expanded, despite itself despite the narrowness of the apostle' plans and because of the driving force of the Holy Spirit, often using unexpected people like Paul.
Those of us who have lived through the last half century of the Irish Church know that there was a strong narrative which said that church was over. Even in church many said that we have to prepare to die and that working hard was a waste of time and that we didn't have a business plan. But Increasing numbers of young people are now discovering that the heaven on earth promised by the secular consumerist agenda has delivered fragmentation and a profound sense of meaninglessness as well as a widespread assumption that human life is not particularly important and ultimately disposable if it doesn't suit me. We are back with Adam and Eve – and me, myself and my shadow. Increasing numbers of young people are seeing the stories of St Carlo Acutis and Sr Clare Crockett and they are daring to believe that we can do better than the miserable message of 'eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die'.
There is the temptation to react against the failures of church and society by imagining that there was a Golden Age and that we can return to as 'one that I have prepared earlier'. That certainty and sometimes elitist approach is the opposite of today's Gospel. The Good Shepherd's vision is very different. He wants us to be led forward with trust in him and not in reverse gear by what suits me. Any sense that 'I know better' is no basis for a church that does not need to know where the Good Shepherd is leading – but has complete trust that, even on our Calvaries, grace is hard at work preparing unimaginable resurrection and new life. That is precisely the situation that St Peter was writing about in the second reading.
Today, we give thanks for the Risen Christ who is in our midst, often unseen, calling us individually and together to greatness. He is calling all of us to discern the divine vocation that we have - and to live it so the full. There is a huge need for those who will dedicate their lives to be ordained or consecrated for ministry in the church and to the world. There is a great need in our fragmented society for those who will seek to live out their married vocation and other vocations.
We have many models in history of outrageous disciples of Jesus. The Good Shepherd is calling us all to greatness today as we listen for and to his voice today.
Are we ready for the Good Shephard to call us to greatness – or are we too afraid of that prospect?
+ Donal
Diocese of Derry - News - A Call Worth Listening To – Fr Pat O’Hagan’s Vocation Story