THE GOOD SHEPHERD

I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.

This Chapter from St. John is full of the most exquisite imagery, especially with respect to the saving of souls. The imagery of shepherd and sheep abounds in the Bible. Isaiah the Prophet wrote, He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His Arm, and carry them in His Bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Is.40:11. That prophetic image of Jesus Christ is enough to bring tears to your eyes. It is so full of the gentleness which we find in our Lord.

This picture should give rise in us to a burning desire never to offend against our God. We can try to stop sinning for two basic reasons, firstly out of fear of the punishment a just God will mete out. For sure I don’t relish the thought of burning in Hell through eternity.

But in this Eastertide a much better reason comes out of today’s Gospel. We should want to love the Good Shepherd so much that any sin against Him becomes anathema to us. How could we possibly commit a deliberate sin against someone so loving, so caring, so gentle as Jesus Christ.

I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep

When we add to our understanding of the Good Shepherd the knowledge that He is the Lamb of God sacrificed for our sins, the thought of sin should become unbearable. He went to the Cross willingly for us. Is it too much to ask in return that we should try with all our being to stop adding to the burden of sin He bore there.

I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep, and am known of Mine, even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father. He knows those who are committed to Him. Those who keep His commandments and love Him in return for His Love. Jesus tells us in these words just how wonderfully intimate the knowledge is between the sheep and the Good Shepherd. It is as intimate as that between God the Father and God the Son. It is a relationship bound in love, the vast universe of Love which took Jesus to the Cross so that we are redeemed before God the Father.

We know that Jesus loves us like that, but how often can we say that we love Him like that in return. Yesterday I gave a talk on the Persecution of Christians at a church in Bridlewood. During that talk I showed a video clip which included the story of a Christian pastor in India. A violent Hindu mob seized the man and were taking him to be burned alive. They demanded that he renounce Christianity, and he refused. It was dark by then and in their fury at his refusal, they began throwing stones at him. The pastor said he could hear the stones and feel them pass him by but not one touched him. He survived and continues to spread the Gospel.

That is what it means to love Jesus as He loves us. Not all of us have the opportunity to show such love in such a way, so we need to be diligent in taking every opportunity to show it in our daily lives. First and foremost that means setting our minds against any tendency to sin, and when we do sin, for we will, we need to be truly sorry and ask for the strength not to do so again.

In Palestine, shepherds led their sheep. They spent all day with them, because they had to in order to keep the wolves from taking them. The sheep truly did know the shepherd’s voice and they followed him when he called.

Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd is calling us, constantly, insistently, gently. He is calling us to communion with Him in this life and to our heavenly home in the next life. Hear His voice, heed his words, take his hand and follow where He leads. The road is not always easy, but at the end there is perfect peace and perfect rest in the intimate care of the Good Shepherd.