4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (YEAR B) — GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

1st Reading     Acts 4: 8-12

Psalm               118: 1 & 8 -9. 21 -23. 26 & 28-29 (R. 22)

2nd Reading    1 John 3: 1-2

Gospel              John 10: 11-18

BEYOND HIRED LABOUR, BEING PROTECTIVE SHEPHERDS

Dear friends, today, the 4th Sunday of Easter, has been designed to be called Good Shepherd Sunday or Vocations Sunday. The Gospel passage for this Sunday, from which we shall look at a few details, throws more light on the theme of the Good Shepherd. 

Before that, let us look at how Good Shepherd Sunday relates to Vocations Sunday. We have to recall that in Israel, there are three groups of shepherds (in terms of leadership); Priests, Prophets, and Kings. What is clear is that for these three groups, it is God who appoints. If God is appointing, then he is the one calling people to work. Technically and in reality, it is God who is the priest, the king, and the prophet. However, these individuals who have been appointed only share in God's priestly, kingly, and prophetic activity. Rightly so, Vocation means to call to service. The calling is done by another person, usually one in possession of a higher authority. It only makes it natural that Good Shepherd Sunday should, among other people, be called Vocations Sunday.

In talking about nomadic life in Ancient Israel, shepherding involves attending to animals, famously, sheep. This is animal husbandry. Jesus used this concept of taking care of sheep or attending to sheep to talk about leadership. The one attending to the sheep, the shepherd, is the leader. He leads the sheep. It is usually the Shepherd who has the best art of leadership. This leads us to the Gospel passage for this Sunday (Jn. 10: 11-18). 

Let us first consider John 10: 11-18 with a wider context of Jn. 10: 1-18. In 10: 1-10, Jesus utters an emphatic statement about himself and says, "I am the gate" (v. 9). A gate guards a city. In a way, a gate protects a city. When a gate is opened, there is an opportunity for anyone to attempt to enter. If Jesus is the gate to the sheepfold, he not only protects but regulates who comes in and goes out. A leader should be the one who protects and regulates who goes into the community and who or what goes out.

Only the shepherd leads the sheep through the "gate". The gatekeeper opens the gate. For the shepherd to lead the sheep through the gate, he has to know the particular "gate". Jesus says, "I am the gate" (v. 9). Do shepherds today know Jesus (the gate) for them to lead the sheep through it? If shepherds do not know the gate, they may lead the flock through a false door or gate and danger looms. A shepherd who does not lead the sheep through the right/appropriate/approved gate becomes a thief. 

After this part of John 10, thus, vv. 1-10, Jesus emphatically states twice that "I am the Good Shepherd" (v. 11, v. 14). Jesus defines what 'Good Shepherd' is. A Good Shepherd is one who "lays down his life for his sheep" (v. 11b). What does it mean? I want to propose that the meaning of that definition can be understood in relation to what Jesus says about "a hired man". 

We know that a shepherd is the owner and leader of the sheep. The shepherd knows what it costs him to acquire the sheep. He knows how important the sheep are to him. He knows the stress it took him to pasture the sheep. In fact, in ancient Israel, to have a lot of animals meant a lot to the owner, especially since it indicates wealth and a loss of one is a decrease in wealth. That is why if a wolf wants to attack the animals, he will go to all lengths to fight to defend them. The Good Shepherd is defined within this domain and includes one who protects. In contrast, a hired man does not know the cost of acquiring the animals and how important they are because they are not his. He only does the work of a shepherd for the sake of his pay. This is where the problem is. 

Dear friends, at any rate, we are all hired men. We are hired to take care of God's sheep. However, we are expected to take up the duty of protecting the sheep. This is the only way we can be sure that we are laying down our lives for the sheep. More than hired men, and like a Good Shepherd, so are we expected to be. In fact, it is unarguable that, when the sheep remain intact and even increase in number, our employer will increase our pay. Therefore, as hired men, we need to go beyond the goal of pay and focus on keeping safe what has been entrusted to our care. The basic duty is to PROTECT. To protect is to go ahead, be at the forefront, and defend. 

On this Sunday, we pray for leaders in every sphere of life that they may be ever conscious about the duty of protecting their followers. 

We also pray Jesus, the loving shepherd of the sheep, to keep his lamb in safety and call to his service men who will work like the Good Shepherd will work. 

Pax et Bonum 🙏❤️🕊