Sermon: Jesus my Good Shepherd

From the content of the gospel Catholics call the fourth Sunday of Easter “Good shepherd Sunday.” The depth of the concept indirectly reveals what also makes a bad shepherd. Lastly, it brings out the qualities of a good member of the flock. So our reflection today brings these into perspective.

Characteristics of a good shepherd include the willingness to lay down his life to save his flock because his drive is the good and safety of the flock and nothing more. This quality shows that what is spoken about goes beyond the everyday shepherd we know. Being this shepherd is not a business which one explores but a calling which one embraces. Therefore, the shepherd does everything in his power to save the flock even to the cost of his own life.

To be able to do this the shepherd is said to know the flock. This knowledge goes beyond nomenclature to include their strengths and weaknesses, their joys and sorrows. This is because what the good shepherd labors to save in the flock is the condition that has the power to take them in another direction in search for help. Furthermore, the good shepherd is not parochial in his outreach. Yes there are those who belong to him in the meantime but there are the many who have not come to believe as yet. The reasons could be because they may not have been informed, or they have previously been misled and deceived.

Anything outside of these makes any shepherd a bad shepherd because he sees it as business and not as a calling; and thinking of the maximization of his profit he knows that he must be alive to enjoy it. Consequently, he cannot accept an iota of discomfort talk less dying for the flock to outlive him and becomes another’s delight.

Often leaders of all types are looked upon as shepherds and rightly so because we know from scriptures that wherever this concept was used it spoke about the leaders of the people; thereby making the people the flock. It is such that we compare our leaders and judge if they are good or bad. Do they see their roles as business or as vocation? Are they ready to suffer discomfort for the greater good of the people? Do they know the hurts, joys, pains, delights, and longing of the people? Do they really appreciate that the flock they lead are humans with aspirations, dreams, and disappointments?

As we struggle to make sense of these we ought to remember that it is because there is a flock that there is a shepherd; and that sometimes it is the flock that brings out the good or the bad in the shepherd. Be that as it may, we are called to be good members of the flock because we have a good shepherd, Jesus who did not cling to his equality with God but became human for our good (Phil. 2, 6). Reflecting on it further he exhibited the highest form of love by laying down his life for us (Jn. 15, 13). He was the good shepherd in the image of the shepherd whom the Psalmist spoke about in Psalm 23. He leads, he guides, he nourishes, he protects, and he did all these because he knew that he came that we may have life to the full (Jn. 10, 10).

So now the test. Is Jesus your shepherd? If so, do you listen, and do you follow where he leads? Are you a good member of the flock?

Fr. Uju P. Okeahialam, PhD, Sacred Heart Church