JESUS, THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Blessed 4th Sunday of Easter. Let our joyful cries of “Alleluia! Christ is Risen!” continue to ring throughout the whole earth.
Today is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday, where we read that the Lord Jesus will be our Good Shepherd. Our Entrance Antiphon today declares powerfully “The merciful love of the Lord fills the earth; by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, alleluia” (CF Psalm 33:5-6). Indeed, one key attribute of a shepherd is his merciful love & care for his sheep. Scripture abounds with beautiful descriptions of the shepherd. My favourite one is found in Isaiah 40:11: “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” How blessed we are, my dear friends, to be like little lambs being carried tenderly by Jesus, the Good Shepherd, held closely to his heart, with no fear, no anxiety, but feeling peaceful & resting secure.
In our Gospel today from John 10:27-30, Jesus says that His sheep listen to Him; that He knows them & they follow Him; that He gives them eternal life & they will never be lost nor stolen from Him. In the previous verse (John 10:11), not read in Year C, Jesus declares “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” We see here the extent of the shepherd’s love & care for his sheep – protecting them, fending off attacks from ferocious wolves, even dying in order to defend & save his sheep.
Our 2nd Reading from Revelation 7:9,14-17 tells us that the Lamb on the throne (Jesus) will be our shepherd, who will lead us to springs of living water, and God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. What a loving image of a shepherd who feeds us & brings up to life-giving water, who accepts us & who comforts & wipes our tears of rejection & pain away.
What’s our response to Jesus today? Can we open our hearts to him anew, to let Him heal, protect, restore, nourish, refresh & comfort us in our journey of life? If we have wandered astray, can we open our ears to the voice of the Good Shepherd calling us to return to safety? Can we, like Paul & Barabas in today’s 1st Reading, follow Jesus’ example & be a good shepherd to others? These may be our children, employees, ministry members & people we have authority over. Can we truly love them & care for them, especially the ones who we find hard to understand & accept?
We also celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend. A big shout out of love & appreciation to all mothers reading this article. You know, mothers are like shepherds too – leading, protecting, nurturing, nourishing, caring for & loving their children as a shepherd does his sheep. We praise & thank the Lord for all mothers.
Finally, our wait for our new Pope is over. Habemus Papam! Pope Leo XIV is our Pope, elected on 8 May. Praise the Lord for blessing us with Pope Leo XIV. May the Holy Spirit anoint him & empower him to lead the Church in the coming years. May he be a man after God’s heart, like King David (cf 1 Samuel 13:14); may he radiate the love & care of Christ, the Good Shepherd to all; and may he, like his Name portrays, be brave & strong like a lion in his Papal ministry, following in the footsteps of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah who has triumphed! (cf Revelation 5:5)
Article by Damian Boon, HFC Blog Team Lead