by Sr. Marci
In the scriptures for today we are introduced to what the qualities of a Good Shepherd are. We will possibly take note that it doesn’t say that Jesus the Good Shepherd “herds” the sheep for generally when we hear or use “herding” it denotes the aspect of restriction or coercion. Jesus does not force anyone to follow but He gently leads them to the truth or pastures of His love. This is the difference between doing the job just for the pay or doing this task out of love for his sheep. We are fragile like sheep and need to be treated with care and shown the way to go not by force but by love and example.
In John we see two qualities expressed for what a Good Shepherd “Jesus” does for His sheep “humanity”. Jesus is shown as a true Good Shepherd who is willing to place His very life on the line to help his sheep so as to be able to share the great love that God has for all of his sheep. This goes beyond what a hired hand would be willing to do for his sheep. He would do what he could but not to the point of dying for one little sheep. Jesus is willing to go all the way to death for each and every one of us and he did.
The other side of what it takes to be a Good Shepherd is that the shepherd is aware of all of his sheep and they know him as well. Each of us have to know who our God is and be willing to respond to his call to us. It is important that we know Him; that is, what he stands for in our lives and what he requires from each of us which is a part of our reality to continuously work to follow the lead of Jesus to be able to hear His call.
The resurrection is a verification of the great love that God has for humanity. He has chosen to gently lead us to the warmth of his love and to show us what we can expect from His love and to reveal for us that death is not the end but a great new beginning for each of us totally surrounded by this love. It is a reminder that humanity can’t be held captive by the sin of Adam and Eve that introduced death into the world but that like Jesus we too will rise to a future of eternal presence with God. Isn’t this something that each of us desires for ourselves and our loved ones? If this is what we desire how much more would this beautiful creator desire for each of us.
In the week ahead let us truly remember that God is always ready to share His love with us and hopes that we too will be willing to share his message of love with others.
We hope you enjoyed this article, and as always, comments are welcome and encouraged. God Bless! – Jack
