Walking with Jesus: Fourth Sunday of Easter B

For Sunday, April 21, 2024

Acts 4:8-12, 1 John 3:1-2, John 10:11-18

Today we hear the beautiful image Jesus uses in the Gospel to identify Himself: “I am the good shepherd.” [John 10:11] This is an image the people can identify with since King David had come from the fields tending a huge flock for his well-to-do father. Also, flocks of sheep are all over Israel and lamb is “The Meal” for the Passover feast.

In the early Church the picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd adorned the catacombs in Rome and the early church in general. A model shepherd is concerned with his sheep — finding them safe pasture, protecting them from predators, even suffering for them. In our culture we are not so familiar with this image except in sermons and throughout scripture study. Today’s readings also suggest another image of a shepherd as a savior or leader. Do I look at Jesus as my savior and leader? Why or why not? This is exactly what He came to do and did: He saved us from our sins of pride — feeling that we have all the answers; from the sins of gluttony, lust and selfishness; from the feeling that we need all these pursuits to make us really happy; from the sins of complacency, smugness and pride, feeling we need to pamper ourselves because we are the “top banana.” So can I try to envision Jesus as sent by God to let me know that God loves me just the way I am, and that He wants me to see that the real rule — the law of life — is the law of love, and living it each and every day is my entrance ticket to God’s promise of heaven for me?

In the first reading we see Peter and the other apostles becoming more aware of the gifts of the Holy Spirit: the gifts of bold preaching about Jesus and God’s love; the gifts of healing — today the cripple — and tying it all together to increase the number of believers. People want answers: They want to know that their creation wasn’t an accident and that there is a reason why God wants them — and us — here at this point in our lives, and that death is not the answer to a life well-lived. Peter says all of these gifts come from God who loves us and is leading us to heaven. What he and the others are doing is not for show or to build themselves to be bigger than they are. Rather, they are God’s instruments to salvation. “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” [Acts 4:12]

John focuses on the present and the future, showing that certainty and hope are the prevailing virtues. He begins his letter with “Beloved” [1 John 3:1]. God’s love is so prevailing and persistent that we are His Children now. This implies and means that their destiny as apostles and believers, and ours too, will be shaped by the eternal vision. We will “see God as He is” if we come to resemble Him in His love for all people, especially those most in need. I’ve seen various short “visions” in movies, TV programs and books where a question is asked, usually by a youngster, of a really kind person: “Are you Jesus?” It may be embarrassing, but it is a real question that says it as it is: Am I living as a follower of Jesus, who is a person of love in this situation, or am I not?

In the opening of the Gospel we may have missed how Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” [John 10:11] Moses saw a bush that was burning and not being consumed. He heard God telling him to go and free His people from slavery in Egypt. Now, Moses had run away from the Pharoah because he had killed a man, so he really didn’t want to go back. He asked God for His name so he could tell the Israelites who He was: “God replied, ‘I am who am.’ Then He added, ‘This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.’” [Exodus 3:14]. These powerful words are the same words Jesus uses today: “I am.” They suggest the distance of God from humanity while simultaneously identifying Him as the Good Shepherd — showing how intimately connected God is to each of us and that He is laying down His life for His sheep: that is, us. Now what am I doing with this awareness?

I reflect on:

• As I look at my life and the ”roles” I play — priesthood, work, ministry, family, friends, etc. — where am I more like a sheep or a shepherd and what qualities come forth in each area?
• When I am following a shepherd, how do I know the other person is following Jesus? And when I am being followed, how do I show that I am following the Good Shepherd?

Sacred Space 2024 states:

“The shepherd imagery is used prominently in Scripture to illustrate God’s love and concern. God’s personal relationship is at the heart of it — ‘I know My own and My own know Me.’ May we grow in that relationship so that we, in turn, are good shepherds for others in life.

“The good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep. Jesus lived that out in His love and concern for us. He desires unity among us all as His followers. As the lost sheep of this age, we ask the Lord to gather us and direct us to the abundant life He promises.”