Easter 4B 2018

The Good Shepherd

Although I have preached about the good shepherd many times, I have seen a shepherd only once in my life. It was more than fifty years ago, in France. The shepherd I met was a solitary figure who spent the summer on the mountainside watching and protecting his sheep. Although I only spoke with him briefly, I think of him every year on this good shepherd Sunday because he was such vivid image of Jesus the good shepherd.

Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. No one takes his life from him. He surrenders it freely, and he takes it up again in the resurrection from the dead. Jesus is the good shepherd because he gives his life for his sheep. To be sure, there are other people who have made the supreme sacrifice of surrendering their life for others. But when Jesus surrendered his life, he gave his life as the Son of God for the life of the world God. When Jesus surrendered his life, he freed and cleansed us from the power of Sin. His death brings us into God’s life. He death for us changes the world and makes this world a new creation. This is why St. Peter in today’s first reading: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven … by which we are saved.”

Jesus is the good shepherd because he knows us by name. There is no one here today whom the Risen the Lord does not know by name. He knows us better than we know our selves because he lives and dwells in us. Every time we receive the Eucharist, he enters our life; and more importantly, we enter his life. Every time we receive the Eucharist, Jesus recognizes and calls us by our name. As Saint

John says in today’s second reading: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God and indeed that is what we are. What we shall be, however, has not yet been revealed.”

Because we belong to his flock, the Church, we know the voice of the good shepherd. Because we belong to his flock, we know he is the way, the truth, and the life that leads us to God. When we hear his voice in the quiet of our heart, we hear the voice of truth, the voice of love, the voice of God and we know the way to the

Father.

When I saw that shepherd more fifty years I had a concrete image of Jesus, the good shepherd. I like to think that the shepherd on that French mountainside was completely dedicated to his flock. He knew his sheep, and they were familiar with his voice. He protected them, and if danger arose, he was ready to put his own life in danger for their sake. And so, it is with Jesus the good shepherd. He knows us, he loves us, he protects us, even when we are not aware of his presence.

During this coming week pray the twenty third psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd…” Give thanks that you belong to the flock of Jesus that is the church.

Ask for the grace to hear and obey his voice. Remember that Lord who laid down his life for us so that we might share in the very life of God. Give witness by your words, your actions, your deeds that you belong the good shepherd. Testify to the world that you have found life and joy in his name.

This is my testimony to you. I hear the voice of Jesus in the quiet of prayer. I hear the voice of Jesus in the people I meet and minister to every day. I hear the voice of Jesus in the scriptures that proclaim the word of life. I hear the voice of

Jesus in our worship. And when I hear the voice of the good shepherd, I know the way, the truth, and the life.