From Scattering to Gathering: The Voice That Secures

Voice over by Gracie Aye Chan May

Acts 11:19-26, Psalm: 86, Jn 10:22-30

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The Easter season reveals a pattern that runs through the life of the Church: what seems like defeat becomes the seed of victory. Today, we witness a scattering that becomes a sowing, and a gathering that no power can undo. Through the witness of ordinary believers and the voice of the Good Shepherd, we learn that the Church grows not by human strategy, but by the irresistible draw of the One who holds us in His hand.

In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that after the persecution that followed Stephen’s death, believers were scattered as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. The scattering was meant to silence them. Instead, it became the engine of the mission. At first, they spoke the word only to Jews. But some among them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

When news reached Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. He saw the grace of God and rejoiced, encouraging them all to remain faithful to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to find Saul, and for a whole year they gathered with the Church in Antioch, teaching a great number. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. A scattering became a planting. A persecuted minority became a seedbed for the nations.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is in Jerusalem during the Feast of Dedication. The Jews gather around Him and demand, “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answers that He has already told them, but they do not believe because they are not among His sheep. Then He speaks words of profound assurance: “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.”

This is the security of the flock. The sheep hear the Shepherd’s voice, they follow Him, and they are held in a grip that no power—neither persecution nor fear nor the world—can break. The scattering of Antioch did not scatter the sheep from the Shepherd. The voice that called them continued to guide them, and the hand that held them continued to secure them.

Pope Francis reflects on this pattern: “The Church does not grow by proselytism, but by attraction. When the faithful live the Gospel with joy, others are drawn to the Lord.” The believers scattered from Jerusalem did not argue people into faith; they proclaimed the Lord Jesus, and the hand of the Lord was with them. St. John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage, noted that the name “Christian” was first given in Antioch, a name not of human origin but of divine grace.

For us today, the message is both comforting and challenging. When we feel scattered—by life’s difficulties, by the pressures of the world, by our own failures—we are still held in the Shepherd’s hand. No one can take us from Him. And we are called to be like those first believers: wherever we find ourselves, to proclaim the Lord Jesus with our lives, trusting that His hand is with us.

This Easter season, let us listen for the Shepherd’s voice. Let us trust His securing hand. And let us become, like Barnabas, sons and daughters of encouragement, building up the Church wherever we are scattered. Amen.

May God bless you all!