Frank Capra’s 1946 film, “It’s a Wonderful Life” is a beloved film that tells the story of George Bailey, who in the face of continual struggles and impending doom wishes he had never been born. The wish is granted by an angel, and we witness with George a world where he doesn’t exist. Eventually, George realizes just exactly how wonderful his life was and expresses his desire live, and the angel restores George back to his ordinary, wonderful life. The storyteller uses a subtle but powerful technique to make the revelation. The town policeman, whose name is Burt, finds George and calls George by his name. Without any pretense, the naming acknowledges George's existence. After having gone through the nightmare of a world where no knew George and he didn't exist, George is startled to hear his name and George asks, “Burt, do you know me?" In that moment of soulful awakening, the healing process of George's story begins. 

How do we come to know a person? These days there is a wealth of information that can be gathered on just about everyone by doing a Google search, finding their work history on LinkedIn, or examining their vacation photos on Instagram or Facebook. With the advance of social media, our lives have become less private, and more exposed. But, can we really come to know a person through social media, or what we might read or see in the news? The answer is a resounding, “No.”

To really know a person, even if we've read the most in depth profile on them, there remain two critical human activities in which we must engage before we can say that we know them. The first is spending time with them. But, by this I don’t mean an impromptu encounter at the coffee shop, or a quick visit at a social event. To spend time with someone we need to enter into their world, to see what life is like for them, to understand the joys, as well as the challenges they face on a regular basis. Anyone who has travelled to Uganda to visit our sister parish will know what I mean. We’ve had the benefit of Fr. Matthias tell us about his parish community. And we definitely know a lot about his part of the world. But by actually entering his world, and the world of the people he serves, we not only see firsthand, but we come to know our Ugandan sisters and brothers on a more profound level.

The second essential component of coming to know someone is listening. Here again, listening is not simply the activity of partaking in a conversation. This type of listening utilizes not just our ears, but our hearts as well. To really know a person, we have to hear their story, their life history, their fears and anxieties, as well as their dreams and aspirations. This requires quite a bit of trust for the person to open themselves up on such a profound level. They need to know that the exposing of their vulnerability will not elicit condemnation, ridicule, shame, or advice on how to live their lives from us. Listening with our hearts helps impede such destructive responses, and instead affirms the person that they are understood, they are seen, they are known.

This is Jesus’ very modus operandi! In today’s gospel he describes himself as the Good Shepherd, “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me.” By “know” Jesus does not mean information gathered through social media. Rather, Jesus, the good shepherd knows us because he enters into our world by becoming human, and by listening to us with his heart. Time and time again we see Jesus do this as he eats with the tax collector, heals the leprous, forgives the sinner. When he speaks, he’s usually the second one to speak, so that the other person might speak first and be heard.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is commonly known as “Good Shepherd Sunday” for the image that is presented to us every year. It’s more than just a comforting image. It’s the model for how we are to relate to one another. As Jesus comes to know us, so too are we called to know each other, but without the help of Google or news media. This demands more of us. It means getting on a 16-hour flight to enter the world of Uganda. It means putting aside our own convictions and biases and listen attentively to someone who’s life is completely different from our own. Only by doing these things can we truly come to know someone.

All too often these days we take short cuts, or we let others tell us what we need to know about the other person, such as the immigrant, the single-mother, the poor, the transgender person, etc. All of them, and many others are part of the sheepfold of the good shepherd. Christian discipleship demands that we truly get to know them. As our world continues to change so rapidly, we continue on the journey of knowing, first with the admission that we know nothing, or very little, and then by entering worlds different from our own, and opening our hearts to their life stories.

The amazing thing about really knowing someone this way, is that we come to know something not only about the other person, but we also come to know the Risen Christ. We learn that they too are a child of God, with an inherent human dignity that needs to be protected. And we learn that they too are lovable in the eyes of God. Once we come to truly know someone, as lovable in the eyes of God, they in turn become lovable in our eyes as well.

Our world, and even our church have a long way to go before we achieve this goal. But, it can begin with us. We can refrain from adding to people’s suffering with our judgement or opinion. We can make our community a place where all are known, welcomed and loved. Our aim should always be to create a world where everyone can whole heartedly say, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” 

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