Good Shepherd Sunday!
Good Shepherd Sunday!
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday, and World Day of Prayer for Vocations.” Jesus, our Good Shepherd, offered his life for us, so we can have an abundant life. Last year, this time, our shepherd Pope Francis died, and we are waiting for the new shepherd. This year, as we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, our new shepherd, Pope Leo XIV, an Augustinian Pope, is visiting several countries on the African continent. Especially, he visited Hippo, Algeria, where St. Augustine lived most of his life, preached, and died. Pope’s repeated message was about our search for God, the search for truth, and the dignity of every human person — a reminder of Augustine’s own restlessness and need in the present world.
On this Good Shepherd Sunday, let us pray for Pope Leo, Bishop Powers, all bishops, priests, religious, deacons, and seminarians. We were reminded of the need to pray for vocations on World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
We see in the Old Testament the theme of the Good Shepherd. Today’s responsorial Psalm 23 speaks explicitly of the Lord as the shepherd who guards, protects, and cares for his sheep. Isaiah 40:11, “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, leading the ewes with care.” In the Book of Numbers 27:15-17, we read Moses’s request to the LORD for a leader “who will be their leader in battle and who will…that the LORD’s community may not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
In today’s gospel of John 10:1-10, Jesus spoke of himself using two images: 1. He is the Good Shepherd who guides his flock and is willing to lay down his life for them. 2. He is the Sheepfold, the gateway by which his sheep enter eternal life. When Jesus said this, people could picture it in their minds because they were very familiar with the shepherd and the sheepfold. Jesus is our shepherd, who lays down his life for us. The sheepfold would be a stone enclosure with one gate or entryway. So, the shepherds could bring their sheep there for the night, lock the gate, and then a gatekeeper would watch over the sheep so that thieves or strangers wouldn't break in and steal them. Jesus says that when he would go in the morning to collect his sheep, he would “call out his own sheep by name” and then “lead them out of the sheepfold.”
In Ezekiel 34, we read the parable of the shepherds. Here, the prophet paints the wicked shepherds, who fed on their flock rather than feeding them. God declares divine kingship over Israel: “I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest—oracle of the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 34:15). When Jesus presented the two types of shepherds, people of the time could picture this scene in their mind. It was part of their life. They have lived with and seen both groups. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. At the Last Supper, Jesus broke the bread and said to his disciples, “This is My Body. Take and eat it. Then he gave them a command, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
Today, the first reading from Acts 2:14, 33-6-41 is the second part of the homily of Peter on the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost was life-changing for them. They proclaimed the Risen Lord. Thousands and thousands of people received the faith and gathered at the table for the breaking of the bread. They followed Jesus' command and handed it over to us. Every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, the Good Shepherd shares with us His very life, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
When we become the Eucharistic people, we are following the example of our Good Shepherd – Jesus. At the end of every Mass, we are sent out to live the Eucharist – break and share our lives with others.
Let us renew our commitment, as we receive Holy Communion, and go out to make his name known and loved by sharing our lives with others.