Fourth Sunday of Easter
Good Shepherd Sunday
John 10.11-18
New born lambs in Warwickshire fields this month are a powerful reminder of the gospel picture of the good shepherd. And even if sheep dogs do much of the work today, and the shepherds zoom around on quad bikes the gospel image still leaps to life.
Those who have been good shepherds in our lives are a blessing to treasure. Think of parents who gave us life and love, teachers who gave us learning, counsellors who gave us wisdom and nurses who cared for our parents during the pandemic.
There were social workers who gave us security and doctors who gave us healing. There were priests who gave us guidance and politicians who gave us leadership. The list goes on ……
None of them was ever a perfect shepherd, and even those who did their best had limitations and sometimes couldn’t provide what we needed at the time.
Many people carry emotional scars well into adult life because they did not get the shepherds they needed. But is this simply part of being human? Has any of us ever had a perfect shepherd? Who knows for sure!
One thing we can be sure of is that each of us is called in this life to be a shepherd to someone, and Jesus the good shepherd is the ideal to which we aspire.
God grant that each of us be good shepherds to one another, and forgive us our shortcomings when the sheep need more than we can give.
Fr.Austin scj