Archdiocese of Washington
The King of Love My Shepherd Is – A Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter
By: Msgr. Charles Pope
On this fourth Sunday of Easter we turn a corner of sorts. Up until now we have been reading of the resurrection appearances themselves. Today we begin to see how the risen Lord ministers to us as the Good Shepherd. In effect, the Lord gives us four basic pictures or teachings of how, as the King of Love, He shepherds us. Here, then, are four portraits of His love:
I. Passionate love – Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd, a good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Purely gratuitous love is a hard thing to come by in human relationships. In one sense we are too needy to be able to give it purely. In another sense our motives tend to be a mixture of self-love and love of the other. This is our human condition, and few of us rise above it in a consistent way.
But Jesus loves us purely, gratuitously, and for our own sake. His love is passionate in the sense that it is sacrificial. He lays down His life for us, doing it though we are still sinners and often alienated from Him. He dies for us though we cursed, mocked, and ridiculed Him. He loves us and lays down His life for us though He gets nothing out of it.
Hired shepherds, on the other hand, work for pay; above all else they seek their own good. When there is a danger to the sheep, hired shepherds will not risk themselves to rescue the sheep. Theirs is a service based on pay; it is subordinated to their own needs and safety.
Only one Shepherd died for you. In this world there are many politicians, musicians, movie stars, and organizations that seek our loyalty, our votes, our membership, and our dues. They also make us promises in return, even as they want to influence us and exercise leadership over us. None of this is necessarily wrong. People form relationships and seek leaders for any number of reasons. But note this important difference: none of these leaders or “shepherds” ever died for you. Only Jesus died for you.
There remains this problem: many Christians have greater loyalty to political leaders, musicians, movies stars, and the like than to Jesus Christ. Too many people tuck their faith under their politics, giving greater credence to what popular figures say than to what Jesus says in His Word and through His Church.
Only Jesus died for you. Human beings too easily bring along their own needs and agendas. Only Jesus Christ loves you perfectly; only He died for you. Only He is deserving of the role of Chief Shepherd of your life.
II. Personal love – Jesus says, I know my sheep and mine know me. No one knows you the way Jesus Christ does, because He knew you before He ever formed you in your mother’s womb (cf Jer 1:4). He has always thought about you; He created you; He knit you together in your mother’s womb and every one of your days was written in His book before one of them ever came to be (cf Ps 139).
You’ve never been unloved. No matter what you think you may have done to cancel His love, He knew you would do it before He ever made you—and yet still He made you. Do not doubt His love for you or that He knows you better than you know yourself.
An old hymn says,
Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.
Jesus also says that His sheep know Him. And that is both our invitation and our call. We often like to quote the 23rd Psalm “The Lord is my Shepherd.” But this is not a slogan, nor is it merely a psalm of consolation. It is a psalm of confession: that I am one of the Lord’s sheep. The Lord says, “My sheep know me.” He does not say that we merely know about Him.
Do you know Him? To be in the Lord’s flock is to be in a life-changing, transformative relationship with the Lord. To know the Lord is to see our life changed by that very relationship.
III. Persistent love – The Lord says, I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold, These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Jesus is not content merely to shepherd a few thousand Jewish disciples in the Holy Land. He wants His love to spread to the whole world. He wants to embrace and hold close everyone He has ever made. He wants to call every human person into a saving relationship.
Part of our journey as disciples, as sheep of the Lord, is to experience the call to evangelize. But that call will only take flight when Christ’s love for all people fills our heart.
Christ has a persistent love to embrace and hold everyone close to Him. Do you sense that love? He wants to draw others to Himself, through you.
IV. Powerful love – Jesus says, I lay down my life, in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, I lay it down on my own. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again.
We see how Jesus does this for Himself. But as Lord and Shepherd of our life He does it for us, too. Our old self was crucified and died with Him. We have also risen with Him to new life. And this life is the totally new and transformed life that Christ died to give us.
He has the power to crucify our old and sinful self as well as the power to raise it up again. And it is not merely our old self that rises; it is a new and transformed humanity that the Lord takes up on our behalf. He has the ability to do this, for His love powerful.
I am a witness of this and I pray that you are as well. He has the power!
Thus, as King of Love, Jesus the Risen Lord shepherds us with a love that is passionate, personal, persistent, and powerful. No one loves you more than Jesus does, with His Father and the Holy Spirit. He is the King of Love and He is your Shepherd. Here is the final line of the beautiful hymn “The King of Love My Shepherd Is.”
And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever.
Here is a performance of that hymn, one of my favorites. Its peaceful strains amount to a kind of musical onomatopoeia (a word, or in this case a song, that sounds like what it describes).
22. And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
23. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
24. Then came the Jews round about him, and said to him, How long do you make us to doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us plainly.
25. Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
26. But you believe not, because you are not of my sheep, as I said to you.
27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28. And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30. I and my Father are one."
AUG. And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication. Encænia is the feast of the dedication of the temple; from the Greek word signifying new. The dedication of any thing new was called encænia.
CHRYS. It was the feast of the dedication of the temple, after the return from the Babylonish captivity.
ALCUIN. Or, it was in memory of the dedication under Judas Maccabeus. The first dedication was that of Solomon in the autumn; the second that of Zorobabel, and the priest Jesus in the spring. This was in winter time.
BEDE. Judas Maccabeus instituted an annual commemoration of this dedication.
THEOPHYL. The Evangelist mentions the time of winter, to show that it was near His passion. He suffered in the following spring; for which reason He took up His abode at Jerusalem.
GREG. Or because the season of cold was in keeping with the cold malicious hearts of the Jews.
CHRYS. Christ was present with much zeal at this feast, and thenceforth stayed in Judea; His passion being now at hand. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
ALCUIN. It is called Solomon's porch, because Solomon went to pray there. The porches of a temple are usually named after the temple. If the Son of God walked in a temple where the flesh of brute animals was offered up, how much more will He delight to visit our house of prayer, in which His own flesh and blood are consecrated;
THEOPHYL. Be you also careful, in the winter time, i.e. while yet in this stormy wicked world, to celebrate the dedication of your spiritual temple, by ever renewing yourself, ever rising upward in heart. Then will Jesus be present with you in Solomon's porch, and give you safety under His covering. But in another life no man will be able to dedicate Himself.
AUG. The Jews cold in love, burning in their malevolence, approached Him not to honor, but persecute. Then came the Jews round about Him, and said to Him, How long do you make us to doubt? If You be the Christ, tell us plainly. They did not want to know the truth, but only to find ground of accusation.
CHRYS. Being able to find no fault with His works, they tried to catch Him in His words. And mark their perversity. When He instructs by His discourse, they say, What sign show You? When He demonstrates by His works, they say, If you be the Christ, tell us plainly. Either way they are determined to oppose Him.
There is great malice in that speech, Tell us plainly. He had spoken plainly, when up at the feasts, and had hid nothing. They preface however with flattery: How long do you make us to doubt? as if they were anxious to know the truth, but really only meaning to provoke Him to say something that they might lay hold of.
ALCUIN. They accuse Him of keeping their minds in suspense and uncertainty, who had come to save their souls.
AUG. They wanted our Lord to say, I am the Christ. Perhaps, as they had human notions of the Messiah, having failed to discern His divinity in the Prophets they wanted Christ to confess Himself the Messiah, of the seed of David; that they might accuse Him of aspiring to the regal power.
ALCUIN. And thus they intended to give Him into the hands of the Proconsul for punishment, as an usurper against the emperor. Our Lord so managed His reply as to stop the mouths of His calumniators, open those of the believers; and to those who inquired of Him as a man, reveal the mysteries of His divinity: Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believed not: the works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.
CHRYS. He reproves their malice, for pretending that a single word would convince them, whom so many words had not. If you do not believe My works, He says, how will you believe My words? And He adds why they do not believe: But you believe not, because you are not of My sheep.
AUG. He saw that they were persons predestinated to eternal death, and not those for whom He had bought eternal life, at the price of His blood. The sheep believe, and follow the Shepherd.
THEOPHYL. After He had said, You are not of My sheep, He exhorts them to become such: My sheep hear My voice.
ALCUIN. i.e. Obey My precepts from the heart. And I know them, and they follow Me, here by walking in gentleness and innocence, hereafter by entering the joys of eternal life.
And I give to them eternal life.
AUG. This is the pasture of which He spoke before And shall find pasture. Eternal life is called a goodly pasture: the grass thereof wither not, all is spread with verdure. But these cavilers thought only of this present life. And they shall not perish eternally; as if to say, you shall perish eternally, because you are not of My sheep.
THEOPHYL. But how then did Judas perish? Because he did not continue to the end. Christ speaks of them who persevere. If any sheep is separated from the flock, and wanders from the Shepherd, it incurs danger immediately.
AUG. And He adds why they do not perish: Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. Of those sheep of which it is said, The Lord knows them that are His, the wolf robs none, the thief takes none, the robber kills none. Christ is confident of their safety; and He knows what He gave up for them.
HILARY. This is the speech of conscious power. Yet to show, that though of the Divine nature He has His nativity from God, He adds, My Father which gave Me them is greater than all. He does not conceal His birth from the Father, but proclaims it. For that which He received from the Father, He received in that He was born from Him. He received it in the birth itself, not after it; though He was born when He received it.
AUG. The Son, born from everlasting of the Father, God from God, has not equality with the Father by growth, but by birth. This is that greater than all which the Father gave Him b; viz. to be His Word, to be His Only-Begotten Son, to be the brightness of His light.
Wherefore no man takes His sheep out of His hand, any more than from His Father's hand: And no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. If by hand we understand power, the power of the Father and the Son is one, even as Their divinity is one. If we understand the Son, the Son is the hand of the Father, not in a bodily sense, as if God the Father had limbs, but as being He by Whom all things were made.
Men often call other men hands, when they make use of them for any purpose. And sometimes a man's work is itself called his hand, because made by his hand; as when a man is said to know his own hand, when be recognizes his own handwriting. In this place, however, hand signifies power. If we take it for Son, we shall be in danger of imagining that if the Father has a hand, and that hand is His Son, the Son must have a Son too.
HILARY. The hand of the Son is spoken of as the hand of the Father, to let you see, by a bodily representation, that both have the same nature, that the nature and virtue of the Father is in the Son also.
CHRYS. Then that you may not suppose that the Father's power protects the sheep, while He is Himself too weak to do so, He adds, I and My Father are one.
AUG. Mark both those words, one and are, and you will be delivered from Scylla and Charybdis. In that He says, one the Arian, in we are the Sabellian, is answered. There are both Father and Son. And if one, then there is no difference of persons between them.
AUG. We are one. What He is, that am I, in respect of essence, not of relation.
HILARY. The heretics, since they cannot gainsay these words, endeavor by an impious lie to explain them away. They maintain that this unity is unanimity only; a unity of will, not of nature, i.e. that the two are one, not in that they are the same, but in that they will the same. But they are one, not by any economy merely, but by the nativity of the Son's nature, since there is no falling off of the Father's divinity in begetting Him.
They are one whilst the sheep that are not plucked out of the Son's hand, are not plucked out of the Father's hand: whilst in Him working, the Father works; whilst He is in the Father, and the Father in Him. This unity, not creation but nativity, not will but power, not unanimity but nature accomplishes.
But we deny not therefore the unanimity of the Father and Son; for the heretics, because we refuse to admit concord in the place of unity, accuse us of making a disagreement between the Father and Son. We deny not unanimity, but we place it on the ground of unity. The Father and Son are one in respect of nature, honor, and virtue: and the same nature cannot will different things.
Catena Aurea John 10
The Word Among Us
Meditation: John 10:11-18
4th Sunday of Easter
I am the good shepherd. (John 10:11)
This is the fourth of seven “I am” declarations that Jesus makes about himself in the Gospel of John. In other ones, Jesus says that he is the bread of life, the light of the world, the resurrection and the life, the gate, the true vine, the way, and the door. Each of these declarations tells us something unique about Jesus and who he is as the Son of God.
Using the simple analogy of sheep and their shepherd, Jesus is telling us something central to our life of faith. Like a shepherd, he leads us, feeds us, protects us, and saves us from death. But there’s one mystery that this statement—or any of the others—doesn’t answer: why does God have such unending and boundless love for us?
The answer to this question is both simple and profound. God is love. It’s who he is. He can’t stop loving us. We are his children, and he will always care for us. He loves us so much, in fact, that he asked his Son to leave his heavenly home, take on a human body, and lay down his life for us.
Now risen in glory and enthroned with his Father, Jesus still cares more about us than he cares about himself. Like a good shepherd, he guides us to safety, restores our strength, and anoints us with his grace (Psalm 23). He is the “shepherd and guardian” of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). He is the “great shepherd” who gives his all to his sheep (Hebrews 13:20).
Jesus knows that his sheep are defenseless against the temptations of Satan, the “thief” who wants to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10). He wants us to know it as well, so that we will cling to him and follow him like faithful, innocent sheep. Aren’t you glad that God is so faithful toward you? Today in prayer, tell the Lord how grateful you are. Tell him that you want to follow him wherever he leads.
“Jesus, you are my good shepherd. Come, Lord, and keep me safe.”
Acts 4:8-12; Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28-29; 1 John 3:1-2
Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion
Mass Readings:
1st Reading: Acts 4:8-12
Responsorial: Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 29
2nd Reading: 1 John 3:1-2
Gospel: John 10:11-18
1. In the first reading, Peter tells “the people and the elders” that it is in “the name of Jesus Christ” that “this man stands before you healed.” Why do you believe there is power in the name of Jesus, especially when we pray, and do you believe this power is available to us today? Have there been any times when you prayed for someone or something in the name of Jesus, and God answered your prayers?
2. In the first reading, Peter also says that there is no “other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” What do these words mean to you?
3. In the Responsorial Psalm, our response is “The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.” As Christians, each of us is called to make Jesus Christ the cornerstone of our life, even when we are immersed in the busyness of our day? What steps can you take to make this call a greater reality?
4. The second reading exalts in the love the Father has bestowed on us (“lavished on us” in another translation). So much so that we can now be called “children of God.” How much time do you spend talking to God, your Father, in prayer during the week? Knowing that you are his beloved child, are there some steps you can take to spend more time in prayer with him?
5. In the Gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the Good Shepherd, who knows each one of us, and who gives his life for us. What experiences in your life can you say have been examples of how Christ was the “Good Shepherd” for you in a difficult time?
6. Jesus also goes on to say that not only does he “know mine” but “mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.” What do these words mean to you and how can you make them a greater reality in your Christian walk?
7. In the meditation, these questions are posed to us: “Why does God have such unending and boundless love for us?” and ““Aren’t you glad that God is so faithful toward you? How would you answer these questions, and how can your answers have a greater impact on how you live your life each day?
8. Take some time now to pray and thank the Lord for being the good and faithful shepherd who lays down his life for us, and watches over us and keeps us safe. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.
A Christian Pilgrim
I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD
(A biblical refection on THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER [Year B] – April 26, 2015)
Gospel Reading: John 10:11-18
First Reading: Acts 4:8-12; Psalms: Psalm 118:1,8-9,21-23,26,28-29; Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-2
The Scripture Text
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know My own and My own know Me, as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed My voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from My Father. (John 10:11-18 RSV)
The image of the shepherd is one of our most popular concepts of God. And the psalm of the shepherd (Psalm 23) is one of the most popular prayers of all time. But an overly sentimental picture of the shepherd might well obscure the strength of this divine title. Our sentimental concept comes from the countless pictures we have seen of misty-eyed shepherd, handsomely bearded and immaculately groomed. And the pastures in our mind are a combination of Alpine postcards and lush grasslands, with pretty lambs gambolling about.
The reality was that sheep territory was anything but lush grassland. The good land was reserved for other agricultural purposes and the sheep were out on the rocky outbacks where they had to scavenge for survival. And as for the shepherds in our Lord’s time, they were regarded as robbers dressed in smelly sheepskins, too dirty to be admitted to the local synagogue. Two features of the shepherd which Jesus took up were the dedication of the shepherd’s life to the flock, and his one-to-one relationship with the sheep.
Sheep are particularly timid and stupid animals, always needing a leader to show the way, a searcher when they stray and a healer when they are cut and bruised. The oriental shepherd gives his whole time , “lays down his life”, for the flock, for he had to leave home for very long periods to lead the flock to far of pastures. The sheep become his family and he gets to know each of them as an individual. This expresses the desire of Jesus that each individual person would grow in intimate relationship with Him.
Jesus called Himself the good shepherd to contrast to the hired man. The hired man was concerned only about his own job or what he was getting out of it: the genuine shepherd had the concern of the sheep at heart. Originally the statement about the false shepherds was a criticism of the Jewish leaders who were failing to give proper leadership. But the criticism is valid for all time as there will always be false shepherds trying to beguile people away from following the voice of Jesus Christ.
The situation is particularly true today when traditional Christian culture is – directly or indirectly – under attack from the media advocates of secularistic humanism. There are also self-appointed shepherds who lead people away from the voice of Christ to a different understanding of life, to different values and standards of behavior. Whose voice do you follow? Whose values do you respect and aspire to? Does your “shepherd” offer a comprehensive meaning to life …… a meaning which will carry us through the dark valley of suffering and across the bridge of death?
Jesus said that there will be only one flock and one shepherd (John 10:16). This expresses His own unique position as the only true way to salvation, the only name in which we can be saved. A contemporary confused person regards all religions as more or less the same. But this is to underestimate the unique role of Jesus Christ, the one whom God raised from the dead, in which name alone is healing, and who is the keystone of all human history (see First Reading: Acts 4:8-12).
Jesus calls us to follow His way and this leads directly to the Father. His will was always perfectly united to the Father’s, as He demonstrated when He freely laid down His life in obedience to the Father’s will. In today’s second reading Saint John asks us to reflect of the love of God which raises us up to be children of God. To follow Jesus as our shepherd is the same as belonging to His family as a sister or a brother. Only heaven will reveal what all this means. For the moment we follow our risen Savior day by day on our journey of life. We are strengthened in prayer as our minds delight in the psalm’s description of what the shepherd does for us (See Psalm 23).
Prayer: God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, though Your people walk in the valley of darkness, no evil should they fear; for they follow in faith the call of the Shepherd whom You have sent for their hope and strength. Attune our minds to the sound of His voice, lead our steps in the path He has shown, that we may know the strength of His outstretched arm and enjoy the light of Your presence for ever. Amen.
Note: Please also read the biblical reflection entitled “TO FOLLOW IN FAITH THE CALL OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD” (reading for April 29, 2012) in the blog: A CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE.
Indeed we all act like sheep on many occasions, when it comes to the things that concern our spiritual welfare. We often ramble off from the flock to nibble at little bits of forbidden pasture. However, we have a Shepherd who understands us, one whose patience and love are infinite. He is always ready to go after us when we stray too far; his voice is constantly reaching out to us in missions, retreats, sicknesses, crosses and other various ways. How many times have we already felt his loving grace calling and helping us back to the safety of his fold?
