THE GOOD SHEPHERD

IV EASTER SUNDAY - John 10:27-30

Every year, the fourth Sunday of Easter is dedicated to the Good Shepherd. It is Jesus himself who says: “I am the good shepherd, I know my own sheep and my own know me.” (Jn 10:14). The ancestors of the People of Israel - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - were shepherds, and the flocks were their wealth. Because of their flocks, they lived a semi-nomadic life. And this primordial experience marked the people of Israel for their future history. David, the king who would become the role model for all other kings, was a shepherd in his youth. It is not surprising that the kings and other leaders of the people were considered as shepherds who should take good care of their people. The prophets would give voice to God’s complaints that the shepherds did take good care of the flock (Jer 10:21; 23:2; Ez 34)); in fact, they exploited and used it for their own profit. And then God promised to take action in order to put things straight:

“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.” (Ez 34:7-10).

He will choose a shepherd according to his own heart:

“I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.” (Ez 34:23). 

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who gives his life for his sheep. He came to serve, not to be served. Indeed, Jesus is the role model of all shepherds, that is of all leaders. As we celebrate the Sunday of the Good Shepherd, we are called to pray for all those who are in a position of service, for them to be true servants according to Jesus’ manner. We pray mainly for the Pope, the bishops, priests, deacons, catechists and any other kind of ministry in the Church. And we pray for vocations.