4th Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday
✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 10:11-18
Jesus said:
‘I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep.
The hired man, since he is not the shepherd
and the sheep do not belong to him,
abandons the sheep and runs away
as soon as he sees a wolf coming,
and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep;
this is because he is only a hired man
and has no concern for the sheep.
‘I am the good shepherd;
I know my own
and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father;
and I lay down my life for my sheep.
And there are other sheep I have
that are not of this fold,
and these I have to lead as well.
They too will listen to my voice,
and there will be only one flock,
and one shepherd.
‘The Father loves me,
because I lay down my life
in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me;
I lay it down of my own free will,
and as it is in my power to lay it down,
so it is in my power to take it up again;
and this is the command I have been given by my Father.’
1. Today is the Good Shepherd Sunday. It is a day we reflect on our attitudes as sheep of God’s flock whose great shepherd is Jesus himself. Jesus is the Good Shepherd that we celebrate.Today’s first reading (Act 4:8-12) presents him as the person on whose name salvation is offered to humanity: “For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.” Being a shepherd at the time of Jesus was a rugged job. Shepherds spend rough time in winter sleeping on the mountain with the animals and fighting against wild animals and thieves who might attack the sheep. A good Shepherd lives and dies for the sheep even when he knows that sheep are stupid animals.
2. In today’s gospel, the powerful Jesus in whose name salvation is given to all, declared that he is the Good Shepherd who cannot abandon the sheep when a wolf threatens them like a hired man whose only interest is his salary. To have Jesus as our Shepherd should inspire confidence in us because he knows each one by name. Above all, he has power to lay down his life and the power to take it up. Simply put, our Shepherd is caring and immortal. During my Easter holidays in my village, I saw a rich man attending a funeral in a convoy of more than twenty military men. He was moving with confidence because he believes that no one can harm him. It is the same thing that we experience when some politicians are moving. They are full of confidence in their protection. But history is there to show us that such confidence can disappoint. How many presidents have been brought down by their body guards? So many of them. This means that it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in Princes.
3. Some Christians have not understood the quality of protection that Jesus can provide for them. They forget their identity as children of God as we read in today’s second reading (1Jn3:1-2) “Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are.” Ignorance of our identity as sons and daughters of the most high God has led some Christians to take refuge in forces lower than what is in them (1Jn4:4). Like Gehazi in 2king 6:15, they ignore that those who are with God’s people are more than those who attack them. Some times some Christians, in their bids to get protection and success go as low as making pact with occultic forces and secret societies. Such forces can offer some protection but at a great price. Jesus offers super protection at no cost.
4. People who seek protection outside God are certainly doing so because they do not truly know what Jesus can offer. St. Paul in Rom10:14-15 teaches that people need to know God in order to call upon him. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” For people to trust God and follow him as their shepherd they need to be taught. For them to be taught they need teachers. It is based on this that the Good Shepherd Sunday is a day to talk about the vocation to consecrated life. Christians need holy, learned and dedicated priests and religious. They need priests who can lay down their lives for their flock. These will not come from heaven. They will come from among the Christians. Those priests should be you, your brothers or your sons. You must decide today to answer the call or to support those who want to be involved or are already involved. Your support should be material and non-material. Pray daily for vocation to priestly and religious life.
5. Our world has evil people but Jesus, the Good Shepherd watches over those who trust in him. When you realize that he can never abandon you like a hired man, you should live and move in confidence more than those surrounded by soldiers or charms, knowing that no evil will dominate you. Even if you walk in the shadows of death, do not forget that you have an immortal shepherd ready to lay down his life for you. You can remind yourself of this by daily recitation of psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd…
© Vitalis Anaehobi, 21/04/24
