Gospel of 4 May 2020
Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
John 10:11-18
The good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep
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.’
Reflexion
This passage is read in one of the lectionary cycles for the Fourth Sunday of Easter which is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday for obvious reasons. Since it is the day the Church prays for priestly vocations, the homily is often preached to speak of the virtues and criteria needed of priestly candidates. However, when our Lord first introduced this theme and spoke of the Good Shepherd, He was certainly not referring to the potential priestly candidates or providing a criteria to measure the suitability of ministers of the Church. He was speaking of Himself. And so, as we come to know the Good Shepherd through this chapter, we can also come to know what it means for us who are His sheep.
The Shepherd lays down His life for His Sheep. Never for a moment forget this. Never forget that Our Lord chose to suffer and die for you. This was not imposed on Him. He gave Himself willingly. “No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will”. And this is what He has done for you. As Christ’s sheep you can say with Paul, “The Son of God…loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
The Shepherd will not abandon His Sheep. This is so comforting for so many of us who often have to struggle with a sense of abandonment, because we have been betrayed and rejected by so many others. But the good news is that there is One who will not abandon us. And the reason is because you are His, you belong to Him. He is not only present just because He desires to get something out of you. That would be the spirit of the hired hand. There will never be a time when He will say, “You’re not worth it.” He made you His own, at the cost of His life and, having made you His own, He will never leave you; He will never forsake you.
The Shepherd knows His sheep. The Lord knows you completely! There may be times when you are a mystery to yourself, but you are never a mystery to Christ. Christ knows your temperament, your moods. He knows what lifts you up, and He knows what gets you down. There is nothing you could ever tell Jesus about yourself that He does not already know completely. In fact what we ask from Him may not really be what we need. But we can be certain of this - since He knows what we need more than we know it ourselves, He is able to give you what you need at precisely the time that you need it.
Finally, you are His sheep because the Shepherd has led you to His flock. You are not just an individual whom He loves. He draws you into the sheepfold, into the living community called the Church. Pope Francis once said that those who say they want Christ but not the Church, do not know what they are talking about - how could one claim to desire the head but not the body? To love Christ means to love the Church. If we wish to belong to Christ, we must always desire to belong to His Church.
So let us not be afraid to run to the Good Shepherd, for in Him, we know we are loved, ransomed and known in the deepest sense of the word.