4TH Sunday of Easter
This weekend we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Easter which is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. It is also the Sunday by tradition when we pray in a special way for vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life.
The idea of Jesus as the Shepherd of the flock is good thing because it is well-known fact that the shepherd never leaves his sheep outside the sheepfold. If any are outside the sheepfold the shepherd will seek the lost sheep at all costs until they are found. In the same way Jesus the Shepherd will seek us out and help us to find our way back into the sheepfold of faith. In the Old Testament, the shepherd was a metaphor for the leaders of the people of God. Most often those leaders failed in their responsibilities and many were corrupt. God excoriates the incompetent and sinful leaders who were appointed to shepherd the people which they did not do.
With the failure of the leaders of the people, God decided to take on the shepherding role. “For thus says the Lord: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. (Ezekiel 34:11). In this Sundays gospel Jesus likens Israel’s corrupt shepherds to the “hired man” who leaves the sheep to fend for themselves when danger approaches. The hired shepherd may leave the sheep behind but Jesus the Good shepherd who is the Son of the Father does not leave his sheep. A good shepherd has to be willing to take risks to protect the sheep. A good shepherd has to care for the sheep entrusted to him. As our shepherd Jesus cares He values each of us. He goes the extra mile in order to bring us back into his flock. He died on the cross for each and every one of us. His care for us gives us value: we are important to the Eternal Son of God and his father in heaven. St. Damien of Molokai wrote about a leper who was given a blanket someone had sent in answer to one of Damien’s appeals for help. The man held the blanket close to himself and cried. He asked Fr. Damien if he could be buried with it. You see, to this man, this wasn’t just a blanket.
It was proof that there were people in the world who cared for him as God cares for all of us. One of the most comforting of the Psalms which is also a hymn begins with the line: “The Lord is my shepherd.” It ends with this line: “Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Goodness and mercy, in the person of Jesus the good Shepherd are with us even now. The Gospel of the Good Shepherd teaches us how to embrace the gift of faith by listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd. There are so many voices calling us to believe and to practice things that might seem good and wholesome, but those voices are not of or from the Lord and what they are saying is not good. We need to tune ourselves into the voice of truth that comes from the Good Shepherd. We are his people the sheep of his flock and that means that we are people who are able to recognize the voice of the Lord and to faithfully follow what he is asking us to do in his name .
Fullerton T 