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Dearly beloved brothers and sisters:

 

I recall that some time ago, when I underwent surgery and was recovering from the anesthesia, a nurse entered the room and tried to wake me by calling me by my name—exactly as it was written in my medical chart. When I paid no heed, my mother remarked to the nurse: "You’d be better off calling him 'Jano'..." At that point—or so it seems, for although I was groggy and remember nothing of it myself—I turned my head and opened my eyes.

 

Being called by our name changes our perspective on things. The generic becomes personal. We cease to be merely a number—just another face in the anonymous crowd to whom proclamations are addressed—and instead become someone of importance to another person.

 

Jesus engaged in a dispute with his adversaries by likening himself to a shepherd who knows his sheep by name—one who loves and cares for them; and for this very reason, they trust him and follow him. It is as simple as that. Our faith is not a mass ideology, but rather a personal encounter with Jesus. Unless we feel called by our own name, we will not awaken to the faith. Unless we feel loved just as we are, we will not place our trust in God.

 

Jesus’s words serve as an assertion of his authority before the Pharisees—an authority born of love and a personal concern for each one of us. Just as happened to me while I was under the effects of anesthesia, may we, too, come to feel how the words and deeds of Jesus—which we hear so often in the Gospel—cease to be mere generic discourses and instead become words addressed directly to each one of us.

 

Only in this way will they touch our hearts and bring about a change in our lives. For we will feel, deep within, that it is *to me* that Jesus says there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. It is *to me* that he repeatedly offers that forgiveness which restores and heals; it is *to me* that he turns his gaze, offering words of encouragement and hope whenever I feel weary or overwhelmed. Jesus knows me by my name; and for that very reason, he looks at me and says: "Come, follow me! Place your trust in me!"

 

Happy Sunday!

 

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