John 10:11-18
The Good Shepherd
by Rev. Jack Peterson
Reprinted with permission of "The Arlington Catholic Herald"

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John wrote to show that Christ was
the Messiah, the Divine Son of God.

Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd.  A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them.  This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.  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."

The image of the Good Shepherd given to us by our Risen Lord, has endured throughout the history of Christianity as a way of understanding Jesus' tender compassion for his flock.  There are three dimensions that I would like to tease out of this inspired image: intimate knowledge, protection and sacrificial love.

One element that always stands out is the level of intimacy he desires to have with each individual sheep.  A very common practice among shepherds at the time of Christ was to bring your flock to a large pen at night with other flocks where they can rest and be kept safe.  In the morning, the shepherd arrives, enters through the gate and gathers his flock for the day.  He does so by calling each sheep personally by name.  They draw near, and he then leads them out of the pen to safe and green pastures for grazing.  Jesus, in our Gospel for today, highlights this intimate relationship by proclaiming, "I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father ..."

This is spectacular: Jesus actually desires that this intimate relationship with us be modeled after and, indeed, a participation in the relationship he has with his Heavenly Father.  God desires that we share with him and with one another in the Divine intimacy that exists between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Along these lines, I can't help but recall the moment when Jesus, on the morning of the Resurrection, calls Mary Magdalene by name as she is wallowing in the pain and darkness of Good Friday.  Hearing her name spoken with great love by her Risen Lord and Savior must have been transformative.

Secondly, Jesus uses the image of the Good shepherd to make it clear that he is present among us to grant us his protection.   Our Savior very specifically mentions wolves, thieves and shepherds who work only for the money with no genuine concern for the flock.  The Good Shepherd provides a totally different kind of concern for the sheep.  He will not flinch before these dangers.  Rather, he will stand up with uncommon courage to provide for the greatest needs of the flock.

Along these lines, I cannot but think of the great moment when Muslim soldiers arrived in Assisi to attack the city.  At the foot of that beloved city, St. Care was cloistered in San Damiano with her sisters when the soldiers arrived at their little place.  Profoundly concerned about what the soldiers might do to her fellow Poor Clares, St. Clare went to the tabernacle, brought out Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament went to a large window, and presented Jesus in the monstrance to the soldiers.  In an unexplainable turn of events, the soldiers turned away and did not attack the convent or the sisters.  The Good Shepherd came to their rescue.

Thirdly, Jesus offers to us another angle on the depth of his divine love.  Jesus is not just one who seeks intimacy with the flock, nor one who provides strong protective measures for the sheep under his care, but he is one who will actually lay down his life for the flock.  "I am the good shepherd.  A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."  For a human being to surrender his life for the lives of sheep and goats is hard to imagine.  For the Son of God to actually die for the lives of the Father's rebellious, sinful children is arguable preposterous.  Yet, that is what Christ did for us.  And to drive the point home, our Good Shepherd continues, "No one takes it (my life) from me, but I lay it down on my own."  How can we not choose to surrender the whole of our lives and place all of our trust in Jesus who treats us in this fashion?

Once more, I can't help but think of numerous college students throughout my many years of campus ministry who, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, came to grasp this beautiful element of our faith.  I remember one student who gave a witness talk on one of our retreats.  She recounted a long list of big struggles in her life, concluding with a huge battle with depression.  However, on  a previous retreat, following confession and a period of adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, she came to a moment of profound new faith and healing.  "After my amazing confession and just these moment of true clarity, I went back and sat in front of the monstrance...  All I could think of was that he died to save us.  He died to save me...  As I sat at his feet, I just could absolutely think of nothing else".  She went on to speak of healing, new life and joy that remained in her life.

Allow me to finish with the opening prayer for today, "Look upon your flock, kind Shepherd, and be pleased to settle in eternal pastures the sheep you have redeemed by the Precious Blood of your Son.  Who lives and reigns for ever and ever."