The Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday due to the Gospel theme in all three cycles of the lectionary.

Today’s post will focus on the Book of Revelation. Whether it is the Gospel or Revelation, keep in mind that we are following Christ intentionally.

We do not follow Christ in the same manner as we play the game Simon Says where one simply copies what a leader does. We follow the slain Lamb because we want to imitate him, to love what he loves and as he loves.

Today’s passage from Revelation is an interlude between the sixth and seventh seal. Those standing at the throne are actively committed to the Lamb as they wash their white robes in his blood and worship him. The slain Lamb is also committed to these countless numbers as he will provide for all their needs as a shepherd. These are overtones of a well known psalm,

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

They trust the slain Lamb completely and follow him wherever he goes as they have been redeemed as first fruits for God. They are spotless which is another indication of their white robes. 

Not all of these countless followers are martyrs. There is overlap as some of them are faithful witnesses. The commonality of all those who follow the slain Lamb is the name of the Lamb and his Father’s name written all on their foreheads. This is an illusion back to Exodus when God’s people took the lamb’s blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses. In the Old Testament, the mark of the lamb’s blood was their passage over death. In the Book of Revelation, the mark protects the faithful witnesses and they carry palm branches which are symbols of victory.    

All baptized have received a mark. This mark is permanent and eternal and given once in this earthly life. The seal of baptism sets you apart for worship to Almighty God and incorporates you into a family known as the Church. All who have been baptized in Christ belong to the Church and this truth extends beyond the walls of Roman Catholicism. 

As newly baptized Christians, we must be attentive to ecumenism which is a task of uniting all those who are baptized in Christ. In light of ecumenism, the foreshadowing of the martyrs from the Book of Revelation is real today as ever.

Christians have been martyred across the various denominations of the faith. Some have been deaf to their cry simply because they are not in communion with us. It is important for us to be attentive to what Pope Francis has called the ecumenism of blood. He said:

When terrorists or global powers persecute Christian minorities or Christians, when they do this they do not ask: Are you Lutheran? Are you Orthodox? Are you Catholic? Are you a Reformed Christian? Are you Pentecostal?”. No. “You are Christian”. They recognize this alone: the Christian. The enemy does not err; he knows well how to recognize where Jesus is. It is this ecumenism of blood. Today we are witnesses, and I think, for example, of our Coptic Orthodox brothers beheaded on the Libyan beach: they are our brothers. They bore witness to Jesus and died, saying: “Jesus help me!”. With the name: they confessed Jesus’ name. And so, ecumenism of prayer, ecumenism of walking; and the enemy teaches us the ecumenism of blood (Pope Francis. Address to the Participants in the Conference of Secretaries of ‘Christian World Communions.’ October 12, 2016).

Let us be mindful of this unity. We are united first to Christ who died for us and called us to himself through the gift of Baptism. We all belong to him in baptism irrespective of the various Churches we belong to. This seal marks you as God’s chosen people journeying to eternal life. Jesus reminds us of his commitment to us as those set apart in today’s Gospel:

Jesus said:“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one” (John 10:27-30).

This Gospel passage reminds us that the sheep know the voice of Jesus. If we truly listen, the voice of Jesus will always be the voice of the beatitudes, the voice of mercy, the voice that teaches us to pray the prayer Jesus taught us. His voice will always direct us on the way of discipleship, on works of mercy, and to authentic prayer. Whether we are the sheep who recognize his voice, or the martyrs and faithful witnesses in the Book of Revelation, we all recognize him and we follow.

This sacramental seal and the imagery of those who wash their robes in the blood of the lamb remind us of who we are and what we are destined to become if we stay the course.