Scripture Reflection, April 13: Good Shepherd Sunday

Scripture Readings:
Acts 2: 14, 36-41
Psalm 23
I Peter 2: 20-25
John 10: 1-10

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There are some people whom we encounter who are truly alive. Last week I was speaking on the phone with a good friend. We used to work together in retreat ministry and have remained friends since that time. She is a person who is just full of life. She seems to be able to relate to anyone, no matter what the age or background. She has a wonderful laugh and a sense of humor that is disarming. I have seen her defuse tense and volatile situations with a humorous remark. She seems to receive special delight in expressing her sense of humor at my expense! Her sense of life has endured even through a year of grappling with a very serious illness and debilitating medical treatments. Even through those challenging and depressing times, she has remained a person who gives life to others. You might not immediately perceive her as overly pious or religious, but at the heart of her approach to life are a profound faith and a deep love for Christ. Her vibrant faith is the source of her ability to give life to so many other people.

This Sunday’s gospel reading concludes with a very significant saying of Jesus: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” This is a powerful statement that tells us so much about who Jesus is, the meaning of his ministry, and the way in which he relates to us. Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, writing near the end of the second century, echoed this saying of Jesus when he said, “The glory of God is humanity full alive.” The presence and power of God are most fully displayed when people are genuinely alive, when they discover real life. God does not need to put us down in order to be great. God wants us to have life in its fullness. The human being fully alive is what makes God most happy.

The fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday. We pray with the compelling discourse of Jesus from the tenth chapter of John’s gospel. The image of the shepherd would have been a rich and evocative portrait for the people whom Jesus addressed. It would have suggested closeness, loyalty, and faithful care. Jesus tells us that as the good shepherd he is the one who walks ahead of us. He calls each of us by name and leads us on the journey. We are called to be disciples who recognize his voice and to follow him. The Good Shepherd is the one in whom we discover abundant life.

There is another image in this famous gospel discourse as well. It is the contrasting image of the thief. The thief is the one who comes to steal, slaughter and destroy. The thief robs people of life. Perhaps as we pray with this gospel, we might ask ourselves about the “thieves” in our lives. What are the things that rob us of the life God wants us to have? What are the forces or attitudes that make it difficult for us to engage life? Some of those “thieves” may be things that we cannot change. They may consist of burdens or sufferings that we have to try to cope with and to bear. All that we can do is to pray for the grace of acceptance and to ask Christ to help us to carry those burdens.

There may well be other “thieves” in our lives that we need to confront in order to discover new life and freedom. It may be excessive worry that disables us. Living as people who are consumed by worry can drain the life right out of us. So often we find ourselves paralyzed by worry about things over which we have no control. We need to ask for the grace to entrust those worries to the Lord. Perhaps the “thief” is some form of addiction – either in our own lives or in the life of someone we love. It may be addiction to alcohol or other drugs, to sex or pornography, or something else. Addictions take away our freedom to make good choices and to relate to others in loving, life-giving ways. The “thief” that takes life from us may involve an inability or refusal to communicate with others. When we shut down in our relationships with family, friends and others we are deprived of the life that healthy relationships give us. That shutting down may happen because of past hurts or the inability to forgive. Sometimes a rupture or breakdown in communication can become a pattern that is difficult to change. Maybe the “thief” that drains us of life is actually a tendency toward self-absorption. It may be an excessive emphasis on me – on my needs, wants, and desires. Self-absorption seems to be very appealing in our contemporary culture. The most selfish people may appear to be living life to the full. In reality, however, they are deprived of so much. When there is little sense of generosity and service to others, there is no real life – just a shell of life.

These are just a few examples of the “thieves” that can rob us of the life that Jesus the Good Shepherd wants us to have. Each of us needs to ask the Lord for the light and wisdom to recognize the forces or attitudes that may be taking real life away from us. And we need to pray for the grace to address those things and to find freedom from them.

The (alternative) opening prayer for this Sunday is a beautiful expression of the desire of everyone who wants to follow Jesus the Good Shepherd. Let us make it our prayer as we gather for liturgy:

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