4th Sunday Easter Jesus is My Shepherd

Jesus is the good Shepherd who takes care of his flock
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
In the Old Testament, the image of the Shepherd is often applied to God as well as to the leaders of the people. The book of Exodus represents Yahweh several times as a shepherd. The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel compare Yahweh’s care and protection of His people to that of a shepherd. “He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against His breast and leading the mother ewes to their rest” (Is. 40:11). Ezekiel represents God as a loving shepherd who searches diligently for the lost sheep. Psalm 23 is David’s famous picture of God as The Good Shepherd: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. In green pastures you let me graze; to safe waters you lead me.”
Jesus makes three claims in today’s gospel. Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd and calls us his sheep, his flock, and says that we hear his voice, he knows us, we follow him, he gives us eternal life, and we will never perish.
1. He knows his sheep and his sheep hear his voice: Just as the Palestinian shepherds knew each sheep of their flock by name, and the sheep knew their shepherd and his voice, even so Jesus knows each one of us, our needs, our merits and our faults. He loves us as we are, with all our limitations, and he expects us to return his love by keeping his words. He speaks to us at every Mass, through the Bible, through our pastors, through our parents, through our friends and through the events of our lives. C.S. Lewis wrote "God whispers to us in our pleasures, he speaks to us in our consciences, and he shouts to us in our pain!"
Jesus is our Shepherd and we are his followers, his flock. We listen to his voice, we hear his voice, we go where he leads us into greener pastures and we know that as long as we follow Jesus, we are safe. But, if we are going to be members of Jesus’ flock, we can’t belong to any other flocks. If we are going to let Jesus be our Good Shepherd, we can’t have any other shepherds. You can only follow one shepherd, and there is only one Good Shepherd. You can’t be members of several flocks at the same time.
2) He gives eternal life to us, his sheep, by receiving us into his sheepfold by Baptism, and by strengthening our faith, giving us his Holy Spirit in Confirmation. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. I myself will look after and tend my sheep. (Ezek 34:8-9, 11)
God says in Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Let me figure out a judgment: After my death I was taken to the court for the final judgment. The prosecutor rose and said, “My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this man belongs in Hell.” He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole and in the past when I cheated others etc. etc. Satan told of other horrible perversions that were once in my life and more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank. I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t look at anyone, even my own lawyer, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about. Satan finished with a fury and said “This man belongs in Hell, he is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person who can prove otherwise”
Then my lawyer got up and said “Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned, I won’t deny any of these allegations. And yes, the wage of sins is death and this man deserves to be punished.” Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, “However, I died on the cross so that this person might have eternal life and he has accepted me as his savior, so he is mine”
My Lord continued with “His name is written in the book of life and no one can snatch him from me. Satan still does not understand yet, this man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy.” As Jesus sat down, he quietly paused, looked at his Father and replied, “There is nothing else that needs to be done, I’ve done it all,”
God the Father lifted his mighty hand and slammed the gavel down and said, “This man is free- the penalty for him has already been paid in full, case is dismisses.”
Yes dear brothers and sisters Jesus paid in Full for each one of us to save us.
3) He protects his sheep by placing them in the loving hands of his Almighty Father. Without him to guide us and protect us, we are easy prey for the spiritual wolves of this world: that include the chief wolf, Satan, as well as seven other wolves: pride, greed, envy, gluttony, anger, lust and sloth.
Jesus says that no one can take us out of his hand, that no one can take us out of God’s hand that our lives are in good hands because we are in the hands of God. We are held in the palm of God.
We are in the “hand of God,” a beautiful expression of loving care. I have always resonated with the notion of being in the hand of God. I well remember how safe and secure I felt as a young child when my hand was held by the huge hand of my father as we walked down the street. I didn’t have to worry about anything. I have always felt that if God’s hand is anything like that big hand, we are safe indeed.
On the evening when Pope John XXIII announced the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council -- the first one since 1870 -- he couldn't sleep. Finally, he called himself to order: "Angelo Roncalli( that was his name), why aren't you sleeping? Who's running the church, you or the Holy Spirit? So sleep." And he did.
During her visit to the United Nations several years ago, Mother Theresa was approached by a diplomat who said, “I am not a Catholic, Mother. But I want to know: how should I pray.” The frail little nun took his burly hands in hers and spread out five of his fingers on one hand. “When you pray,” she said, “Think about the many blessings you have received; then, at the end of the day, count out on each finger the words spoken to you by Jesus: You.. did.. this.. for.. me. The diplomat left holding up his hand as though it were a trophy and saying: “You did this for me.” The love and peace of the Good Shepherd is present to us in the many moments of compassion that bless our lives. In kind words, in the listening ear, in the generous actions of others for us, there is Jesus, doing this for me. He is also present in the blessings we extend to others.
In the first part of chapter ten of John’s Gospel, Jesus adds two more roles to those of the good shepherd. He goes in search of stray lambs and heals the sick ones.
“God is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want” As we pray today for an increase in vocations let us also pray for a better understanding and appreciation of the life and work of ordained ministers so that more and more people avail themselves of the grace which God makes available through them.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.