Readings:
Acts 2:14, 36-41; 1Peter 2:20-25; Jn. 10:1-10
The
Shepherd and the Lost Sheep
1. Today
is Vocations Sunday. The Mother Church invites us to pray that young men may
hear the voice of the Shepherd, and give their lives in service to him, as his ministers.
Christ “Came not to be served but to serve and gave his life as a ransom
for many” (Mk. 10:45). We pray also that religious men and women in
consecrated life may continue to say ‘Yes’ to the Good Shepherd as they bear
witness in the world through their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
The laity are equally encouraged to use their gifts of time, talent, and
treasure in their service of the Church and humanity.
2. In
today’s Gospel, Jesus calls Himself: “The gate for the sheep.” (Jn. 10:7).
Earlier on, He said: “Whoever does not enter a sheepfold through
the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.” (Jn.
10:1). Jesus is not just the Good
Shepherd; He is the Gate itself. The sheep must go
through Him. He is the one who calls them out and leads them to pasture.
3. Dear
friends, the image and attitude of the shepherd is the one who goes out of his
way to look for the wandering sheep in Luke 15:1-7. Jesus is The Good Shepherd.
He is the Gate of the sheepfold. He came to reconcile us to the Father, and he
laid down His life for the sheep. “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter
and destroy. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
(Jn. 10:10). He hears the cries of His sheep and comes to their rescue. “I
myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest. The lost I will
seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I
will heal.” (Ezekiel 34:15-16). “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his
arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom and leading the ewes with
care.” (Is. 40:11).
4. David
calls God his shepherd, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
There is a story told of an actor who recited the 23rd Psalm and
held his audience spellbound. When he finished, a great burst of applause broke
from his guests. As it died away, an old man rose from behind the room and
declaimed the same psalm. His voice was not remarkable; his tone was not as
faultless as the actor’s, but, when he finished, there was not a dry eye in the
room. The actor rose, and his voice quivered as he said, “Ladies and
gentlemen, I reached your eyes and ears; he has reached your hearts. The
difference is just this: I know the Psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.”
5. The
questions for us today are: do we know the Shepherd? Do we listen to Him and
allow Him to lead us to green pastures? Many times, in our struggles, we fail
to see the shepherd in our midst. The second reading urged us to be patient in
suffering if we suffer for doing what is right. “For to this you have
been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that
you should follow in his footsteps.” Our world is replete with prophets
whose aim in preaching the gospel is to brainwash people for money. They care
for themselves alone and what they could benefit from their congregation. They
preach the prosperity gospel only to enrich themselves. They extort money in
the name of tithes and seed-sowing for their lifestyle, building mansions, buying
a fleet of exotic cars, airplanes, and jets, while most of their congregants
are impoverished. These are the thieves and robbers referred to in the Gospel.
By their fruits you shall know them.
6. Let
us open our eyes and see the Good Shepherd who meets us at the points of our
needs. When we are bereaved, the shepherd appears to us as a gardener (Jn.
20:15), calls us by name, and eases our problems. When we fail at our jobs, he
stands on the shore of our uncertainties and asks, “Children, have you
caught anything to eat?” and then tells us what to do. (Jn. 21:5-7).
When we are hungry, he appears as a cook and provides us with food, “Come,
have breakfast.” (Jn. 21:9-12). When we are sad and in distress, he is a
stranger on the road who explains things to us. (Lk. 24:13-28). When we lose
our faith, he helps us to believe again (Jn. 20:26-29). The Good Shepherd loves
flawed people like the harlots and tax collectors, the thieves and those feared
by others: the lepers and those possessed by demons. He rejects no one, “Everything
that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who
comes to me.” (Jn. 6:37,39). Even the young adults and college students,
who stopped going to church and lost their faith after Confirmation, he waits
for them to return to baptize their children or seek to regularize their marriage.
He waits as the merciful father waited for his prodigal son’s return, with no
condemnation, anger, judgment, or bitterness but mercy, compassion,
understanding, and love.
7.
Dear friends, let us listen to our Good
Shepherd as he calls us by name and leads us to green pasture. Yes, we may
wander away from his love, but we are his Beloved Wanderers. He will look for
us and bring us back to himself. For “There will be more joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine righteous people who have
no need of repentance.” (Jn. 15:7). B blessed!
Rev. Augustine
Etemma Inwang, MSP
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