In today’s Gospel Jesus uses an
analogy of being the good shepherd of his flock, the children of God. The good
shepherd is not simply hired help but has a loving care for his sheep who in
turn know their shepherd, can distinguish his voice among many different
shepherds and together follow the shepherd faithfully. As Christian sheep we
are called to…
1. Believe
and accept in our hearts that God loves us beyond measure, that He is a
good and loving Father and that we are His Beloved sons and daughters.
2. Listen
to His voice. We hear so many voices pulling at us to do so many things
that it can feel confusing and tiring. We need to find time each day to be
quiet and to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd who is guiding us and
walking with us. This means concretely finding time for quiet away from music,
TV, phone calls/texts, internet, etc. Only when we listen to the voice of God
will we rediscover our true identity as the beloved sons and daughters of God
and our mission to love God and others.
3. Flock
together. Sheep flock together; we are created for community as the children
of God to remember our identity and mission and to remind and encourage others
that they too are beloved and sent by God to love others. This is the limit,
and ultimately the fallacy, of being spiritual
but not religious; it separates us from our family. We are created in the
image and likeness of God as social animals to be in relationship with God (and
others) who Himself is relationship (Father,
Son, and Spirit). Within a concrete Christian community we read how St. Peter
in today’s 1st reading was, as we are today, “filled with the Holy
Spirit” to proclaim God’s love through the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. For 2000 years the followers of Jesus, through the power of the Holy
Spirit, receive the Body of Christ in
the Eucharist to become the Body of
Christ to go forth to transform the world. This transformation does not happen
on our own but through the Holy Spirit which is received and shared within the community,
the mystical Body of Christ.
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