GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

 

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

This Sunday’s Gospel is short but sweet!  It gives us one of the most beloved images of Jesus, that of the Good Shepherd.  It is worthwhile to read the entire tenth chapter of the Gospel of John on this day, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, which is commonly known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.”  Only in the Gospel of John does Jesus call himself the Good Shepherd.  He uses this image, which was very familiar to his listeners, to illustrate the close relationship he seeks with those who follow him. 

In the other Gospels the evangelists depict Christ as a shepherd coming to the aid of the lost sheep of Israel.  They draw on the Old Testament’s depiction of Israel as a “flock” and the leaders whom God places over them as “shepherds.” Jesus is described as having compassion on the crowds that came out to see him “for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36; cf. Mk 6,34).  He tells a parable in which a shepherd leaves his ninety-nine sheep to go in search for the one who has strayed away (Mt 18:12-13).  In Luke, Jesus says to the people, “Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk 12:32). 

The Gospel of John provides an even more vibrant and personal description of Jesus as Shepherd.  With joy he says, “I am the good shepherd.  I know my own and my own know me” (Jn 10:14).  Sheep had to recognize the voice of their shepherd if they were to be led out to pasture.  It was common for shepherds to join their flocks together at night in one enclosure for the sake of protecting them from wild animals and thieves.  In the morning the shepherds would separate them by calling to them.  Likewise, Jesus calls his sheep by name: “When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.  But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers” (Jn 10:4-5).  How do we recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd?  In the Sacred Scriptures, in the celebration of the Sacraments, in the preaching, teaching, and counseling of his ministers, in our conscience, and in the wise advice of a brother or sister in Christ.  Any voice which is contrary to these is that of a stranger.  

No one in Jesus’ flock is anonymous: “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn 10:14-15).  A shepherd is both a leader and a companion.  King David enjoyed something of this companionship, about which he composed his most well-known Psalm:  “The Lord is my Shepherd…To still waters he leads me…He guides me along the right paths…I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Ps 23:2-4).  When danger approaches, the Good Shepherd does not abandon the flock, as a hired man might; rather, he lays down his life for them.  His reward is in pleasing his Father: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again” (Jn 10:17). 

Jesus looks at his flock – at you and me – and accepts us as a gift to him: “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” (Jn 10:29-30).  True belonginess and security are found within this flock, which is the Church.  The love shared by the Good Shepherd and his faithful flock is a participation in the eternal love of the Father and the Son.  “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand” (Jn 10:27-28).  Therefore, whenever you feel lonely, worthless, or afraid, imagine yourself as a humble lamb, and Jesus as the Good Shepherd who cares for you.