[Salvation]

Jesus, Our Good Shepherd

Pastor’s Column

4^th Sunday of Easter

April 26, 2015

 

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want….

Though I walk through the valley of darkness, I shall not fear.”

                                                                                 Psalm 23

 

The 23^rd psalm is one of the most beloved passages in all of Scripture, the Lord, our Good Shepherd.  We hear it sung at almost every funeral, and with good reason.  Our lives are filled with both mountains and valleys alike, and we are comforted to know that Christ is with us through it all. What are some of the characteristics of Jesus, our “Good Shepherd?” 

Jesus will guide us on a path we need to travel on, not necessarily the most pleasant one.  Notice that he promises to be our guide in green pastures (which we all want) as well as through dark valleys (which most of us would prefer to avoid).  Valleys and darkness are as essential to our growth as green pastures are, yet when we enter such a time of trial and difficulty, we can feel that God has abandoned us, our Shepherd no longer is with us, or our sufferings are meaningless.  Yet nothing could be further from the truth.  It is easy to follow Christ in the good times; the test is trusting him in the darkness.

The Good Shepherd remains by our side even when we can’t see him or sense him.  How easy it is to follow Christ when it is sunny and warm and we are in a place with lots of “green pastures!”  But love is proved by sacrifice and difficulties, not just in good times. Love that is not tested does not mature.  Our whole eternity is being decided precisely by our response to the times of both green pastures and darkness.  Earth is a time of testing, and we grow the most when we are deeply challenged.  Yet Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows our limits and will give us no more than we can endure, if we trust him to the end. 

The teacher is always quiet while the test is being administered.  The spiritual life goes in cycles of light and darkness.  Jesus often allows us to have experiences of his presence and closeness, times when we are deeply fed so that during the tests (the times God seems to grow silent), we will remember our experiences of him and his words and persevere.  This is how it was with the disciples as the cycled through three years of his presence, the darkness of the crucifixion and abandonment, and the joy of the resurrection.  Christ the Good Shepherd is with us through it all.

                                    Father Gary

[Salvation]

Reflections from Scott Hahn

The Shepherd’s Voice: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Posted by Dr. Scott Hahn on 04.23.15 |

Readings:
Acts 4:8-12
Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 29
1 John 3:1-2
John 10:11-18

Jesus, in today’s Gospel, says that He is the good shepherd the prophets had promised to Israel.

He is the shepherd-prince, the new David—who frees people from bondage to sin and gathers them into one flock, the Church, under a new covenant, made in His blood (see Ezekiel 34:10-13, 23-31).

His flock includes other sheep, He says, far more than the dispersed children of Israel (see Isaiah 56:8; John 11:52). And He gave His Church the mission of shepherding all peoples to the Father.

In today’s First Reading, we see the beginnings of that mission in the testimony of Peter, whom the Lord appointed shepherd of His Church (see John 21:15-17).

Peter tells Israel’s leaders that the Psalm we sing today is a prophecy of their rejection and crucifixion of Christ. He tells the “builders” of Israel’s temple, that God has made the stone they rejected the cornerstone of a new spiritual temple, the Church (see Mark 12:10-13; 1 Peter 2:4-7).

Through the ministry of the Church, the shepherd still speaks (see Luke 10:16),and forgives sins (see John 20:23), and makes His body and blood present, that all may know Him in the breaking of the bread (see Luke 24:35). It is a mission that will continue until all the world is one flock under the one shepherd.

In laying down His life and taking it up again, Jesus made it possible for us to know God as He did—as sons and daughters of the Father who loves us. As we hear in today’s Epistle, He calls us His children, as He called Israel His son when He led them out of Egypt and made His covenant with them (see Exodus 4:22-23; Revelation 21:7).

Today, let us listen for His voice as He speaks to us in the Scriptures, and vow again to be more faithful followers. And let us give thanks for the blessings He bestows from His altar.