Fourth Sunday of Easter/Good Shepherd Sunday / Vocation Sunday (Year A)

Fourth Sunday of Easter Good Shepherd Sunday April 30, 2023

Acts 2:14a.36-41; 1 Peter 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10

(Image courtesy: Google)

In his book 'The Holy Land', John Kelman describes a field pen. It consists of a circular stone wall about four feet high with an opening in it. Kelman says that one day a Holy land tourist saw a field pen near Hebron. He asked a shepherd sitting nearby, "Where's the gate for your pen?" The shepherd said, "I am the gate." The shepherd then told the tourist how he herded his flock into the pen each night and then lay down across the entrance. No sheep could leave the pen and no wild animal could enter it, without stepping over his body.

We are in the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The day is called the Good Shepherd Sunday and in recent times this day has also become known as Vocations Sunday, a day on which prayers should be said for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

The image of the shepherd is one which appears several times in the New Testament.  It is one that would be immediately understood by the people of the time.  In the Gospel of John Jesus calls himself as the Good Shepherd and promises to take care of the sheep entrusted to his care.  We have the popular images of Jesus the Good Shepherd carrying a sheep over his shoulders, or we have a smiling Jesus sitting under a tree, with a little lamb on his lap. This image of the shepherd appeals to us because it shows the tenderness of Jesus and his compassion. The sheep followed him, because they recognized his voice, and they trusted him. An image of Jesus as a Good Shepherd is reassuring us that he is always our support on our journey through life.

The gospel of the day consists of two comparisons. Jesus explains to his audience through the beautiful and most relevant image of the shepherded.  He compares himself to the Shepherd and to the Gate. The first title represents his ownership and he calls each sheep by name. They recognized his voice and stayed close to him.  The second title represents His leadership. Jesus is the Gate, the door through which the sheep have an access to the shepherd. The central image, too, is not so much that of the shepherd as of the gate.  In fact, later on in the passage, Jesus says that he is the Gate of the sheepfold, while the shepherds who come in and out are pastors who are faithful to Jesus.  Anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, for instance, by climbing over the fence or breaking through it, is dangerous and should be avoided.  Only a thief and a brigand who comes to steal and do harm to the sheep will not use the gate.  The genuine shepherd, however, enters by the Gate and is recognized and admitted by the watchman outside. 

The Jews had a lovely legend to explain why God chose Moses to be the leader of his people. "When Moses was feeding the sheep of his father-in-law in the wilderness, a young kid ran away. Moses followed it until it reached a ravine, where it found a well to drink from. When Moses got up to it, he said: `I did not know that you ran away because you were thirsty. Now you must be weary.' He took the kid on his shoulders and carried it back. Then God said: `Because you have shown pity in leading back one of a flock belonging to a man, you shall lead my flock, Israel.'

As we take the image of the shepherded and compare it with Jesus as our Good Shepherd, we also link it with another theme of the day – Vocation Sunday.   

On this day we are especially asked first of all to pray that the Church may be provided with the leaders needed to do its work of spreading the Gospel.  We know that at the present time there is a critical shortage of such leaders, at least in the traditional sense – priests and religious. But, while we may earnestly pray that our Church is supplied with the leaders it needs, not merely as priests and religious but lay persons who would lead people to God. The church needs today good shepherds after the heart of Christ. The shepherd who can listen to the sheep that is given to his care, take care of them, love them and above all, show them the merciful face of the Father. The Lord, our Good Shepherd knows us his sheep by name. We need shepherds who know their people well. It is great to know that someone knows you by your first name, for that is already a sign of love. If this person is someone you trust, you can put yourself in his or her hands and feel very safe. Jesus presents himself today as a friend who knows and calls us to walk with him the road of life. He sticks to us through thick and thin; he shows us the way to follow. Under his leadership we can truly be a people, God’s people. With Jesus, our Good Shepherd, we now celebrate this Eucharist and learn from him to care for one another.

Happy Sunday