May
7, 2017
4th Sun
Easter Good Shepherd Sunday
Acts
2:14a, 36–41; 1 Peter 2:20b–25; John 10:1–10
Today, Good
Shepherd Sunday, the universal Church prays for more vocations, especially to the
priesthood and religious life. One intention we can include in our prayers
today is not just to pray for more shepherds, but to pray for more good
shepherds. Shepherds are modern day leaders. How can we say that a leader is a
good shepherd? Let us look at how Jesus describes what a good shepherd is in 3
points:
A
GOOD SHEPHERD PASSES THRU JESUS THE GATE TO REACH THE SHEEP. How
do we determine a true shepherd in distinction from a false shepherd? See what
gate or what door they use in order to reach the sheep. Jesus says in the
gospel, “I am the gate for the sheep.” False shepherds pass thru another door
and not through Jesus - not through the ideals and teachings of Jesus. If the
door is not Jesus, the gospel tells us that these shepherds are thieves. For
example, we have many shepherds in our lives: parents, teachers, government
leaders, church leaders, business men are shepherds. If we will use the door of
power and ambition to reach you, we will not serve you, we will rather serve
ourselves. If we enter through the gate of manipulation, we will use people for
self-interest. Now we understand what Jesus means, if He is the gate that
shepherds will use to reach the sheep – that is an indication that these are
true and good shepherds.
THE
SHEEP MUST BE DISCERNING OF THE HUMAN SHEPHERDS. For us
who are sheep, we should ask ourselves what door did the human shepherds take
in order to get in touch with the sheep? Is it the door of ambition, of power, of
greed? Or is it the door of Jesus? For the shepherds here present, there are many
doors available to us to reach the sheep, to reach the people entrusted to our
care – please choose Jesus the door. For as the first and second reading tells us,
Jesus is the door of our salvation and the model of what it means to be a good
shepherd.
WE
NEED TO PRAY THAT THE LORD MAY GIVE US GOOD SHEPHERDS. Today
is also the Vocation Sunday. The Church asks us to pray that many young people,
may respond to the call of priesthood and religious life. It is true that there
is a shortage of priests in our Church. Just imagine, the ratio of priests to
parishioners is roughly one to more than 20,000 baptized Catholics. What can we
do to promote vocations? We need to pray and encourage the youth to generously
respond to the call of the Lord to enter the priesthood and religious life. Aside
from prayer we also need to live our faith. Priests and religious do not fall
from the sky. They come from families, schools, communities or workplaces. If
we strive to live our faith in these places, then perhaps people may be
inspired to respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd.
My brothers and
sisters, let us pray that the Lord may give us good shepherds. Let us pray for
the human shepherds around us – Church leaders, government leaders, community
leaders, parents, businessmen, and the like. Pray for us that we may always
choose Jesus the door in fulfilling our role as shepherds. Amen.
