Today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter, basking in the glorious victory of the resurrection of our Master and Lord Jesus Christ. We acclaim with our voices and our lives: “Alleluia! Alleluia!” The victory of Christ made us a new people, the children of God, the flock of the Good Shepherd.
There is only one Name for the salvation of humanity and that is Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name we too can be healed like the man at the gate of the temple and move from who we are be like Apostles who are martyrs, by our way of living today. Salvation is IN Jesus Christ. Only search for it not in passing things or popular ideologies or in money or power or anything but only in the Person of Jesus our Christ. He is our Good Shepherd, and we are to be His sheep.
The sheep and the shepherd have a close friendship and the voice of the shepherd is the soul of this relationship. The well-being of the sheep is dependent on the shepherd. The key to the survival and well-being of the sheep is found in the knowing and obeying of the shepherd. As the flock we need to be one with our shepherd, we have to spend quality time with Jesus Christ. We encounter Him personally and intimately through the sacraments and the living word of God.
We can only be good shepherds ourselves if we are like the good shepherd and that we do by always asking What Would Jesus Do (WWJD). As sheep we need to listen to the Shepherd in our day-to-day living, we need to be led in our decision making, lifestyle, character by the voice of the Good Shepherd. Let us spend time listening to the Good Shepherd so that we know His voice and can differentiate it from the voices of the world. We can only silence the voices of the world by making a home for the voice of the Good Shepherd. In business, economics politics, sport, relationships, family, vocations, self-definition among all facets of life we are to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd is warning us that there would be thieves and so we need to be on our guard and be safe by knowing the voice of the Shepherd. What are the thieves today?
The consumerist culture is the great thief, pride is the chief thief, the political voices, the voices of the majority, the promotion of the expedient are some of the thieves, though not all.
We need to have the good shepherd guard the gate, so we are safe as a church. Our call is to be both the sheep and learning from the Good Shepherd to be good shepherds. We can only be good shepherds if we are good sheep. As highlighted earlier we can be good sheep by having a daily holy hour, feasting daily on the Word of God. If we are good shepherds of our minds, hearts and bodies, then we can be good shepherds of our sisters and brothers by good example.
Be the good sheep and grow to be the good shepherd with Christ and in Christ.