EASTER IV SUNDAY: Acts 4:8-12; I Jn 3:1-2; Jn 10:11-18

There is the story of a particular census taker who went to a poor home in the mountains of West Virginia to gather information. He asked the mother how many children she had. The woman began, "Well, there is Rosie, and Billy, and Susie, Harry, and Jeffrey. There's Johnny, and Harvey, and our dog, Willie. The census taker interrupted her aid said: "No, ma'am, that's not necessary. I only need the humans. "Ah," she said. And began to pronounce the names of the children. Once again, the census taker interrupted her and said, "No, ma'am, I just need the numbers." The old woman replied, "But I don't know them by numbers. I only know them by name." In today's gospel Jesus the good shepherd says that he knows his sheep by name.

 

The fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The scripture lessons are about shepherds. On this Sunday we reflect on the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, devotedly taking care of his flock.

 

In the Old Testament, the image of the Shepherd is often applied to God as well as to the leaders of the people.  The book of Exodus several times calls Yahweh a Shepherd.  Likewise, the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel compare Yahweh’s care and protection of His people to that of a shepherd.   “He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against His breast and leading the mother ewes to their rest” (Is 40:11).  Ezekiel represents God as a loving Shepherd Who searches diligently for his lost sheep.  Psalm 23 is David’s famous picture of God as The Good Shepherd:  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want; He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my sou.”(Ps 23: 1-2). 

Introducing himself as the Good Shepherd of his flock, Jesus makes five claims in today’s Gospel:

1) He knows his sheep and his sheep hear his voice: Just as the Palestinian shepherds knew each sheep of their flock by name, and each sheep knew its shepherd and his voice, so Jesus knows each one of us, our needs, our merits and our faults.  Of course, the knowledge talked of here is not mere intellectual knowing but the knowledge that comes from love and experience, and leads to care and concern for the other. Jesus loves us as we are, with all our limitations, and he expects us to receive and return his love by keeping his word. 

2) He gives eternal life to his sheep by receiving us into his sheepfold through Baptism. Jesus strengthens our Faith by giving us the Holy Spirit in Confirmation.  He supplies food for our souls by the Holy Eucharist and by the Divine words of the Holy Bible. He makes our society holy by the Sacraments of Matrimony and the Priesthood.

3) He protects his sheep by placing them in the loving hands of his Almighty Father.  Without Him to guide us and protect us, we are easy prey for the spiritual wolves of this world: that includes Satan, as well as the seven deadly sins of   pride, avarice, envy, gluttony, anger, lust and sloth.

4) .  He goes in search of his stray lambs and heals his sick ones. In the first part of chapter ten of John’s Gospel, Jesus adds two more roles to the work of the good shepherd. Jesus heals the wounds of our souls by the Sacrament of Reconciliation and strengthens us in illness and old age by the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

5) Jesus dies for his sheep:  Just as the shepherds of ancient days protected their sheep from wild animals and thieves by risking their own lives, so Jesus died in expiation for the sins of all people.

Jesus is the innocent lamb of sacrifice as well as priestly shepherd who makes the offering. Jesus offers himself rather than many of his flock. He lays down his life to save them. He came back and offers us forgiveness through his death and eternal life through his resurrection. Jesus’ shepherding unto death shows his complete dedication to his sheep.  ‘When I am raised up I shall draw all people to myself’, Jesus said. He calls all into the one flock through the power of his blood poured out on the cross, through his mercy offered to us by his outstretched arms and open heart.

Jesus’ reference to other sheep and to one flock (v. 16) points to the universality and unity of the community of believers. By “the other sheep” Jesus probably meant the poor, the tax collectors and sinners who were generally ostracized by society.

 

We are called to be receptive and trusting sheep but, whatever our specific vocation, we are also called to be shepherds. We are called to call others to know him who laid down his life for them, called to gather others into the one flock of Christ, in which Christ is recognized and embraced in his goodness so that he can lead us all to the green pastures of divine life.

Let’s pray that we become good shepherds by loving those entrusted to us, praying for them, spending our time and talents for their welfare, and guarding them from physical and spiritual dangers.