Scripture Reflection, April 25: Christ the Good Shepherd

Scripture Readings:
Acts 13: 14, 43-52
Psalm 100
Revelation 7: 9, 14-17
John 10: 27-30

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A few years ago there was a show broadcast by PBS titled “The Face.” It chronicled 2000 years of artistic representations of Jesus, from the earliest Christian art in the catacombs to the present day. The show featured famous works like Michelangelo’s painting of the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel and Leonardo Da Vinci’s rendering of the Last Supper. It was fascinating to see the ways in which Christians through the ages, from many different lands and cultures, have expressed their understanding of who Jesus is and what he means for them.

This presentation showed that when Christians at Rome were being persecuted their drawings and paintings of Christ in the catacombs were rather simple. One of the earliest and most revered ways in which Jesus was depicted was as a shepherd. He was rendered as the Good Shepherd carrying the lost sheep on his shoulders. This was a treasured image of Jesus for Christians at a time of hardship, when it was very difficult to profess that they were followers of Jesus. This image expressed their experience of the Lord as the one who gave them protection and consolation, who carried them when they had lost their strength.

In the gospel reading for this Sunday (traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday), we hear a brief section of the famous Good Shepherd discourse in the Gospel of John. In these sayings Jesus tells us that his love for his followers is so real and enduring that he will do anything for them. He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. He knows each of us completely, in all of our individuality. Those who live in relationship with him recognize his voice when he calls them: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” These are images and words that speak to us of a close, enduring relationship with Christ – the one who knows us through and through, for all that we are.

Christians have always relied on revelatory images like the Good Shepherd to express their experience of the Lord. We need images in order to think and talk about a person whom we cannot see with our physical eyes. I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in Rome and Assisi with some family members. We took the train up to the beautiful town of Assisi on the Thursday after Easter. We began our visit at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, built around the small chapel which Saint Francis once tended. It is a fascinating place. While we were walking around the church, Mass began in the upper sanctuary and we joined about thirty people in the pews for the liturgy.

The priest presiding at the Mass was an Italian Franciscan who preached his homily with great fervor and animation. My Italian is very “spotty” – I can follow the Mass, but I lost this priest after the first minute of his homily. And it was a rather long homily (especially for a daily Mass)! But sitting in front of us was a young Italian mother with her daughter. Her daughter, who was probably six or seven, was in a wheelchair in the center aisle. It was obvious that she had some serious developmental disabilities. After the first few minutes of the homily, this little girl became agitated and began to cry out. Her mother just calmly reached over and put her arm around her daughter and drew her close. She caressed her head, rubbed her back, and spoke to her very softly. And her daughter calmed down and became very peaceful. A little while later, her daughter became a bit agitated again, and her mother drew her close and did the same thing. The profound tenderness with which this mother dealt with her disabled daughter was something to behold.

I did not understand much of the homily that was delivered at Mass that day. But the young Italian mother sitting in front of us delivered a homily in a language that all of us could understand, by the way she cared for her daughter. Her homily-in-action spoke eloquently of the way in which the risen Christ offers us his Easter gift of peace. It reflected the action of the Good Shepherd in our lives, the one who knows his own and lays down his life for them, who carries them on his shoulders and gives them peace.

This Sunday has also been designated as “World Day of Prayer for Vocations.” Catholics are invited to pray that the Good Shepherd will continue to raise up men and women who will act as shepherds for his people, through the vocations of priesthood, religious life and lay ecclesial ministry. The daily news reports of tragic instances of abuse and neglect by church ministers, especially by priests and bishops, can be so disheartening and disillusioning. It is precisely at a time like this that we need to ask the Lord to call gifted, committed men and women to shepherd his people through ministry in the church. From my involvement with Catholics on Call, I know firsthand that there are many very admirable young adults who are considering such vocations. We need to keep them in our prayers and to encourage them as they discern God’s call in their lives.

All of us, whatever our particular vocation, are challenged to imitate Christ the Good Shepherd in our care for the people God has put in our lives. We are called to offer such care, not like the hired hand who works for pay, but like the good shepherd who knows his own and is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. Left to our own devices, our selfishness often prevents us from caring for others with fidelity and generosity. And so we come to the table of the Lord to be nourished by the one who carries us on his shoulders and who strengthens us in our vocations. The (alternative) opening prayer for this Sunday’s liturgy beautifully expresses our belief in Christ the Good Shepherd:

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, though your people walk in the valley of darkness, no evil should they fear; for they follow in faith the call of the shepherd whom you have sent for their hope and strength. Attune our minds to the sound of his voice, lead our steps in the path he has shown, that we may know the strength of his outstretched arm and enjoy the light of your presence for ever.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp

(Images by http://freechristimages.org)