We Are His Sheep: The Good Shepherd

We Are His Sheep: The Good Shepherd

John 10: 1-15

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

We are the sheep of the Good Shepherd and we are His alone. May that be of great comfort to all of us. We belong solely to Him, and He is worthy of our trust and love. Whatever we may encounter in this life, our Good Shepard is greater. All pain and suffering and fear and anxiety cannot overpower us when we trust in our Shepard. He knows all of these things, and truly, He knows us better than anyone else ever possibly could. 

As I discussed in "A Most Calming Voice," it is important for all of us to center our lives around knowing Jesus better and building a relationship with Him that surpasses all other relationships in our lives. We can know Jesus better through participating in the Sacraments of the Church, through reading Sacred Scripture, and through intimate prayer time with God. 

But we also need to remember that Jesus knows us too. God knew us before He knitted us in our mothers' wombs. He knows our hearts, our passions, and our sins. God knows when we are tempted to stray and when we feel that there is no point of going on. He knows how to reach us. In truth, He already reached out to us once in the greatest way imaginable by taking on human flesh and dying a terrible death on the cross so we may live. 

Jesus knows us and we know Him. We belong to Him as He belongs to us. There can be no greater shepherd to follow than the Perfect One worthy of all trust proven by His death on the cross!

Prayer

Our Good Shepard, we glorify You and we praise You because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Though others may come as false shepherds, and millions of voices may attempt to penetrate our minds, may we listen to Your sweet voice and choose always to follow You, our One True Good Shepard worthy of all trust and praise. Please wipe away all fear and doubt from our minds and help us to always trust in You.