GOOD SHEPHERD:
Scripture: “I am the Good Shepherd, and I know mine and mine
know me.” – John 10:14
Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The ‘power of the keys’
designates authority to govern the House of God, which is the
Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, confirmed this mandate after His
Resurrection: ‘Feed My Sheep’.” – CCC #553
Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd and we are
His flock. He loves and cares for us and wants to share eternity with
us. As His flock, we are called to follow Him; follow in His footsteps
to love, and allow others to love us back.
The image of a shepherd has always been a comforting thought to
Christians, even at the beginning of our faith. For instance, early
Christian symbols (as found in the catacombs of Rome) were the fish
and the vine, and the Good Shepherd. They spoke to what was
essential to Christians of all creeds, the idea of Christ and His
salvation, as the only comfort in life and death.
The image of the Good Shepherd suggested the recovery of the lost
sheep, the tender care and protection, the green pasture and fresh
fountain, the sacrifice of life: in a word, the whole picture of a Savior.
As history has shown us, the very first Christians were from the
Jewish sector. But, after a while, the people that were faithful to the
Jewish faith, threw the Jewish Christians our of the synagogues,
forcing them to branch out and forming their own communities. And
yet, they not only survived but thrived. Let us remember, brothers and
sisters, that the shepherd’s call means nothing with the response of
the flock to follow Him.
As such, we must do our part; we must be active in our relationship
with the Good Shepherd, and the other sheep in the flock. Whether
they are of our own flock or the others that Jesus mentions, all will be
joined so that there is one flock shepherded by the One Lord. And for
this to happen, we must respect one another’s differences, focusing on
what we have in common – the One Lord.
As Pope Benedict said to a group of newly ordained priests in Rome
in May 2006: “Jesus, the Good Shepherd, did indeed lay down His life
for us, His flock. And by His resurrection, we too have the promise of
eternal life; to, ‘Dwell in the house of the Lord for endless days’.”
“I am the Good Shepherd, and I know mine and mine know Me,
just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I will lay
down My life for the sheep.
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, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order
to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on My own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from My Father.”
-John 10:14-18
