Scripture Reflection, May 3, 2009: The Good Shepherd

Scripture Readings:
Acts 4: 8-12
Psalm 118
1 John 3: 1-2
John 10: 11-18

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Recently I was at home in Virginia for a family event and I visited my older brother, who is in a nursing home that is run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. Dave suffers from a number of very serious health problems that require ongoing care. As a result he has been in St. Joseph’s Residence for more than a year. Though it is never easy to live in such an institution, Dave often expresses his appreciation for the care that he receives there. He feels healthier and more secure at St. Joseph’s than he did at home. He seems to be content there.

During our visit one of the sisters who knows Dave well stopped in to say hello. This Irish sister is not young but she is full of energy, and she is wholeheartedly dedicated to the welfare of the residents at St. Joseph’s. She and Dave have a great relationship and often joke with one another. She even laughs at Dave’s corny jokes (and they are really corny!). The three of us talked about Dave’s health and what was being done to support him physically and emotionally, so that he can lead as full a life as he can under the circumstances. Through that conversation it was evident that this sister has a genuine interest in Dave’s well-being.

As I was leaving St. Joseph’s that day, I reflected on my visit with Dave and this Irish sister. We always hope that when our loved ones become infirm that it will be possible for them to be cared for by family members. Nursing homes and other such institutions are a kind of last resort. But in talking with this sister and witnessing her active concern for my brother, I realized that she cares for Dave as if he were a member of her own family. That is part of the charism of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and it is evident in their work throughout the world. The sister at St. Joseph’s certainly exemplifies that charism by the way she relates to the residents there, including my brother. She cares for them as her own.

The good news of the Scriptures for this Sunday is that the risen Jesus cares for each one of us as his own. This Jesus who has conquered death and is present among us is the good shepherd. The gospel passage from John about the good shepherd is a profoundly rich message, one that deserves to be read again and again and pondered. In the early church it led Christians, especially Christians who were being persecuted for their faith, to cherish the image of Christ the good shepherd. Jesus contrasts the good shepherd with the hired hand, the one who works simply for pay. He assures his disciples that he will continue to care for them as one who knows them by name, as one to whom they belong. They are his, so much so that he is even willing to lay down his life for them. “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.” The risen Christ speaks those same words to each one of us. He knows each of us by name. We belong to him -- we are a part of him. It is this enduring truth that allows us to bring our hopes, our fears, our real-life concerns to him with trust in his abiding concern for us.

Our faith in Christ the good shepherd also sends us forth from the celebration of the eucharist. It missions us back out to the world. This Easter faith is a belief in the God of life, the God who brings life out of death. We are sent forth as instruments of the life-giving work of God in the world. It is sometimes difficult to keep in mind that other people whom God has put into our lives, at least to some extent, belong to us. They are ours, not in the sense that we should try to control their lives or possess them, but because we are called to be responsible toward them. We often receive the message from our culture that we are meant to take care only of ourselves. We are told that we should not let others interfere with our personal pursuits, whether it is the person across the hall from us who is a bother, the poor person, the unwanted fetus, or the terminally ill patient who is considered a burden to society and to the economy. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles the healing of the man who had been crippled for so long stirs things up and gets the apostles in a lot of trouble. They take the time to reach out to this man in Christ’s name. As a result his life is changed. The authorities, however, are threatened by this action; the status quo has been upset and they do not like it. The apostles realized that this man belonged to them because he belonged to Christ. It is that apostolic attitude that we strive for as Christians in our own dealings with others. It is a stance that stretches us, that challenges us and breaks through our narrowness. But it is also a stance that comes directly from our experience of Christ as the good shepherd of our lives.

As we approach the table of the Lord this Sunday, may we ask for a deeper realization of his presence and care in our lives. May we recognize that we belong to him and he knows us by name. And let us pray that we may listen to the voice to the good shepherd, the voice that inspires us to show active concern for others.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp