Good Shepherd Sunday
It's the fourth Sunday of Easter and we are celebrating Good Shepherd Sunday and at the same time it is the World Day of Prayer. Who but the Catholic Church celebrates a day of prayer, which for those who are prayerful would not find unique, but for those who do not pray much, this is a good day for them to stop and reflect on their lives in prayer. Today's gospel reading comes from John 10:11-18 on the Shepherd and the Gate.
"11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-and I lay down my life for the sheep.16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-only to take it up again.18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
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The title Good Shepherd is the title that our Lord Jesus Christ calls himself. But we know very well that the Lord Jesus Christ has so many titles. Just to name a few; he is the Bread of Life, the Bridegroom, he is the Light of the World, the Alpha and the Omega and the Holy Lamb of God, a title bestowed upon the Lord by John the Baptizer who saw the Lord walking along the other side of the River Jordan and declared, "Look at the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." So today we are taught about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
The title of the Good Shepherd can be seen when you see our bishops, cardinals, and yes, especially the Pope, who walks during official functions with the staff of a shepherd which has a circular head, which is used to catch the head of the sheep. As we all have been taught, our bishops, priests, and pastors are our shepherds and they vary in their personal character or traits. Some may be considered as good while there are those who look at their vocation into the priesthood as a profession.
This is why early in his papacy; Pope Francis admonished those bishops and priests who are found mostly in airports leaving for somewhere. More importantly was when Pope Francis told his bishops and priest to go out of their parishes and "smell like sheep." By this, the Pope meant that bishops and priests shouldn't just sit inside their convents and go out to meet their parishioners where they can be found.
Then the Lord Jesus comes up with two kinds of shepherds when he said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep."
Indeed, the best shepherd is one who owns his flock of sheep because the sheep listens to his voice and obeys his commands, unlike the hired hand whose voice they do not recognize. So when a wolf comes, the hand then runs away rather than stays to fight the wolf. But the Good Shepherd stays and fights the wolf even if he dies while defending his flock. So to you parishioners out there perhaps now is a good time to ask yourselves: Is your parish priest a good shepherd to your parishioners?
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