EASTER IV: Acts 2:14, 36-41; 1Pt 2:20b-25; Jn 10:1-10 

Today is called Good Shepherd Sunday, and, appropriately, this day is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  Today, the Church calls us to reflect on the meaning of God’s call for each of us and to pray for vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate and the consecrated life, because the entire Christian community shares the responsibility for fostering vocations. Both the Old and New Testaments use the image of a Shepherd and His flock to describe the unique relationship of God with Israel and Christ with Christians.

For a long time, the Jewish people had used the Good Shepherd image for God. The psalmist addresses Yahweh as his Shepherd.  Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my Shepherd; nothing shall I want.” “He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand” (Ps.95:7).  “Like a shepherd, He feeds His flock; in His arms He gathers the lambs, carrying them in His bosom, and leading the ewes with care” (Isaiah 40:11). Ezekiel foretells what the Messiah will do as Good Shepherd.  “I myself will tend My sheep …I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.  I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak” (Ezekiel 34: 15-16).  In short, God is the ultimate Shepherd of the people, providing guidance, sustenance and protection (Psalm 23), and He intends their Kings and other leaders to be their shepherds as well.

In the gospel, Jesus wants us to know who he is: the Good Shepherd who protects and cares for the people of God. Shepherds always want their sheep to be healthy and happy. They want them to have the best grass, fresh water, and safety, so that they can grow and multiply as much as possible.

A sheep has no greater friend than a good shepherd, and we have no greater friend than Christ. He invented life, he gave us life, and he came so that, in him, we might learn to live it "more abundantly". He does not claim to be one good shepherd among many shepherds, but the only one: "All others who have come are thieves and robbers." Some so called, self proclaimed shepherds simply lack sufficient wisdom or power to provide the human family with the kind of hope we long for and need.  Jesus alone, the Good Shepherd, gives the Church her wisdom and the sacraments their power.

With Jesus’ flock, the problem is not the shepherd's limitations or ignorance, but the sheep's lack of docility: we stray from the flock and trap ourselves in thistles and swamps of self-centeredness, self-indulgence, and stubborn disobedience. 

When a lamb is fearful or overconfident, it constantly wanders away from the shepherd, putting itself in danger. When that keeps happening, a shepherd will sometimes purposely break one of its legs. He then puts the lamb around his neck and carries it to and from pasture for the couple of weeks while the leg heals. By that time, the little lamb has become attached to the shepherd, and never again strays far from its master's protection and guidance. The present situation in the world looks like something like that. The people have been straying away from God, busying themselves in everything except listening to the shepherd’s voice, and to get them back to the shepherd, God allows tough times like this happen so that we get enough time to refocus our life on the good shepherd. As Pope Francis said about the pandemic that it is not a punishment from God but a way of asking us to refocus our life and look for what is essential in our life.

Each one of us needs to give Jesus a chance to feed us with the rich food of Catholic doctrine and literature. 

As sheep we need to obey Jesus our good shepherd by obeying the commandments of the Bible, the teachings of his Church, and the voice of conscience whenever it is clear and well-informed. The Christian also obeys just laws and legitimate authority in society.

Besides attending the Mass via social media now, we need to spend a daily quiet time of at least 15-minutes or more with the Lord, in prayer, reading, and reflection to actively let him be our Good Shepherd.

If we do, as today's Psalm promised us, "there is nothing we shall want."