Though the sight of a Shepherd walking on the road in a city like Bengaluru may be of a strange sight, we are familiar with the image of a shepherded! As we celebrate the Good Shepherd Sunday today, we reflect upon Jesus our Lord, the Good Shepherd. In John 10:11, we read Jesus our Lord says, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.”
The imagery of a Shepherd that Jesus uses in his public ministry is very cultural and contextual to the time that He lived. The sight of a shepherd was a common sight then. There was no one who would not understand the concept of a being a shepherd. So, Jesus, uses a familiar imagery to drive home an important Lesson about Himself that He is the Shepherd in-charge of the Sheep!
We also realize, in as much as the imagery of the Shepherd is important, the imagery of Sheep is also important. The sheep is vulnerable and dependent and in the situation of any danger, the sheep is defenceless. The sheep need to be led, shown a path and to be accompanied. This imagery of Sheep is intended to drive home an important lesson about ourselves that We, the Sheep, need to be protected.
The brief Gospel passage of today explains to us the nature of the Sheep and the Shepherd. Jesus opens the declaration with this statement: “My sheep hear my voice.” Jesus our Lord sounds very confident and affirmative that we, his sheep hear his voice. Let us do a personal check – do we hear our shepherd’s voice? It is noisy everywhere! There is noise within and there is noise out there in the world. So, are, we the sheep, able to discern the voice of the Good Shepherd Jesus our Lord and hear Him and Only Him?
Jesus continues further and claims, “I know them.” This is undeniable. Like the shepherd who knows his sheep not as a flock and but each one individually. A sheep that is missing cannot lose the sight of the shepherd. The Shepherd will notice it. Jesus as the Good Shepherd knows us too, knows each one us personally in our own situations, with our own weaknesses and strengths.
Jesus knows us like how the psalmist describes – The lord searches and knows us. The lord knows when I sit and when I rise. The lord understands my thoughts from afar. The Lord searches out my path and my lying down. The Lord is aware of all my ways…. It is this Lord who is our shepherd. Because he knows us this well, it is only right, we are with him, seek his counsel and allow him to lead us in our life.
Jesus also proclaims that his Sheep follow Him. Jesus is saying that we his sheep follow him. A confident statement once again. Jesus believes like a shepherd that his sheep, that is, we, follow him faithfully. Let us do a fact-check – Do we follow Jesus? Following implies walking in the footprints of the shepherd and doing whatever the shepherd says. Is that our following of Jesus too? Do we walk in the footprints of the Jesus? Do we carry out all that Jesus teaches us? We, the sheep, should not destroy the confidence of our Lord Jesus.
Jesus then goes on to say – I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. We are reminded of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Eternal life is the life that Jesus wants us to live on this earth because such life is a life forever.
Jesus has given us this eternal life by paying a price on the cross with his death. This is the true nature of the Shepherd. He stands before his sheep and lays down His life for us so that we may live. Jesus has gained a new life for us with his death on the cross. So, the life that we Christians should be living on this earth is such that it belongs to Jesus our Lord. How do we live this life that Jesus has bought for me paying with his own life – is it one of Jesus’ or?
The shepherd who loves the sheep will never let go of sheep. Jesus says in the Gospel proving his possessiveness over the sheep: “No one can take them out of my hand.” Jesus will never let us go. Even if we go astray, he will come, find us and bring us back. He holds each one of us in his loving embrace. Such is our Good Shepherd Jesus, but sometimes, it is we who break from the fold. It is we who astray. When the sheep deliberately wants to break away from the fold, the shepherd is helpless. What about us? do we faithfully remain in the fold of Jesus or do we break away too. Jesus is our good shepherd – a shepherd of love, care, concern, protection, help and accompaniment. Can we be a good sheep -faithful, obedient and following truly the shepherd
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