In my parents’ house there is a picture hanging on the wall
between the laundry room and the kitchen. This picture used to hang on the wall
between a bedroom and the living room in my grandparents’ house. I don’t know
if the picture belonged to my great grandparents. I know we have had this
picture in the family for a long time. The image is clear. The image is
powerful and comforting. The image is gentle and peaceful and enduring. The
picture in my parents’ house is an image of Jesus the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd is really one of the most popular images in
Christianity. We like Jesus the Good Shepherd. He is gentle and peaceful,
powerful and comforting. We see the Good Shepherd and we quote the Psalms: The
Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. We see Jesus the Good Shepherd and we
remember the search for the lost sheep. We see Jesus the Good Shepherd and we
remember the words, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” We really like the
image of Jesus the Good Shepherd.
And maybe that is why
every year on the fourth Sunday of Easter, we hear about Jesus the Good
Shepherd. It’s called Good Shepherd Sunday. It’s the World Day of Prayer for
Priestly Vocations. It’s the day when the Pope ordains new priests for the
Diocese of Rome. In seminaries around the world on this Sunday, the men who are
training to become priests will be encouraged, “Be a good shepherd; be like
Jesus the Good Shepherd when you are sent to the flock.” It’s a good word of
advice. It’s a good word of encouragement. Be like the Good Shepherd. We like
the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd, for his part, loves us. And we like that
too. The Good Shepherd loves us. John the Apostle tells us that. We are loved
and we are called the children of God. The love of God will make us more like
Jesus. Jesus will reveal his life and his love in our lives. We like this. We
like that we are loved by Jesus. We like that we are loved by the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The Good
Shepherd knows his sheep and his sheep know him. The Good Shepherd speaks to
his sheep and they follow him. The Good Shepherd gives himself completely to
the care of his flock. He protects them. He cares for them. He heals them. He
leads them to fresh waters and green pastures. We love the image of the Good
Shepherd surrounded by the sheep of his flock.
In the picture that hangs in my parents’ house, there are
many sheep. They are in the background. You can see them. They are there in the
green pasture. They are there next to the flowing waters. But one sheep is next
to Jesus. He is comfortable there. The one sheep stands on all four legs, but
almost leans on Jesus. There is one sheep that stays close to the shepherd.
There is one sheep in the picture that Jesus could pick up at any moment and
carry gently on his shoulders. There is one sheep that seems to have the total
attention and love of the shepherd.
Each of us is that one sheep.
Each of us is that one sheep.
Saint Paul knew this. He wrote to the Galatians about it. The
Son of God loved me . . . and he gave himself up for me.
Jesus walks with each of us as if we were the only sheep in
the flock. And so we can say: The Good Shepherd loves me. The Good Shepherd
gave himself up for me. The Good Shepherd speaks to me and walks with me. And
here, in the midst of the flock, the Good Shepherd will feed me and lead me to
that kingdom where he lives with the Father and Holy Spirit, one God, forever
and ever. Amen.
