Following the Shepherd
Father Phil Paxton, CP
To All,
During this Easter season, we have come to a point where we have concluded hearing about the appearances of the Risen Jesus to His disciples after His Resurrection. But our Gospel readings still invite us to reflect on how we might live in the hope of Easter and how we might follow Jesus Crucified and Risen.
In our first reading from Acts (4:8-12), Peter and John have just healed a beggar, and Peter, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” takes the opportunity to explain to the leaders and the people what is going on: “If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed.”
In our Gospel reading (John 10:11-18), Jesus uses the image of a shepherd to explain who He is: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life 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…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 pwer to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”
These two readings point to having faith in Jesus, our Good Shepherd. What are we to do with our faith? For me there are several things we are called to do. The way I present them might imply there is a linear progression, but all these things are connected and flow from each other.
We open our hearts to Jesus – I see this as a matter of trusting that Jesus really is a Good Shepherd to us. When Jesus speaks about having the power to lay down His life, He is telling His disciples that the sacrifice He will make is a willing sacrifice. Jesus laid down His life for us out of love for us. And so, we can be assured that we are God’s beloved children, as we hear in our second reading (1 John 3:1-2). Open your hearts to the One who loves you.
We follow Jesus – If we accept God’s love for us in Jesus Christ; if we accept that He is our Good Shepherd, then we are called to follow Him in love. We are called to be mindful of the needs of others. We are to dedicate ourselves to working for justice for all, and to give of ourselves in charity. We are called to practice mercy and compassion and forgiveness. We are called to work for peace.
In following Him, we are to bring hope and healing – In other words, we are called to do what Peter and John did with the beggar, and to proclaim in our lives the source of our hope and healing – the risen Christ.
May the hope of Easter be expressed in our lives as followers of our Good Shepherd.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In the Crucified and Risen Christ,
Phil, CP