Chapter Chaplain's Homily Reflection - I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD

This Fourth Sunday of Easter, called the Good Shepherd Sunday, celebrates the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The ancient Near East was known for raising sheep, and shepherds were those who kept them. Later, the imagery started to be used to associate with kingship where it was commonplace for shepherds to care for flocks. These kings were described repeatedly as shepherds because of their leadership positions. They were expected to protect the people and provide them with what was necessary for their well-being, such as food, land, and justice.

As time went on, the Israelites began to use the image of the Shepherd to describe their relationship with God. They came to know and address God as their Shepherd because of his caring roles in history from Egypt to the Promised Land. To make his services concrete, God chose some leaders in Israel to bring about his loving care in their leadership. When they failed to serve the people well, God promised his people a Davidic shepherd-appointee who would shepherd according to his own mind (Ez 34:1-25; Jer 3:15).

Jesus is the answer to the promise of the Davidic shepherd-appointee. In today's Gospel from John, Jesus tells us: "I am a good shepherd: the good Shepherd is the one who lays down his life for his sheep… I know my own, and my own knows me…they listen to my voice…" In these statements, Jesus alludes to the identity of God as the Great and Good Shepherd of Israel. He presents himself as the revelation of God the Good Shepherd. He is the Good Shepherd, not in the sense of superlative but in the sense of true and real. He is the real and true Shepherd after the manner of God.

As the Good Shepherd, after God's example, Jesus demonstrates the Father's love by his sacrifice to save humanity. He laid his life down by his death on the cross and took it up by his resurrection from the dead. His willingness to sacrifice his own comfort, even his own life, for the sake of his sheep reveals the truth of who he is as a good shepherd. As our Shepherd, Jesus knows us individually and collectively. He has absolute knowledge of his people: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you…" (Jer. 1:5); and "I know the plans I have for you, plans for peace, not disaster, reserving a future full of hope for you" (Jer. 29:11-12). The awareness that the Shepherd knows us individually not only provokes trust within us for the Lord but also assures us that he knows our plight and understands our cravings. All that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, wants from us is to believe in him as our Shepherd and listen to his voice.

As our Shepherd, Jesus promises that those who share in the life he gives will never perish, and no one can snatch them out of his hands. This is so because believers have eternal security that cannot be stolen or taken away from them. In other words, salvation can never be stolen or taken away from those who share in eternal life because it is through eternal security that we rest secure in the arms of the Good Shepherd without any fear of the destroyer.

Therefore, the commemoration of Christ the Good Shepherd today serves as a reminder that we are not only the sheep but also the shepherds. Each one of us is called to the task of leadership by our Baptism and to obedience to the Good Shepherd. We can find the Shepherd in every caring mother or Father, or in an honest president or governor, and in a holy and caring priest. We can find a shepherd in every humble and God-fearing youth, in a caring brother or sister, and in every just police officer. In fact, wherever there is a caring medical doctor, a dedicated teacher, a good cook, cleaner or gardener, there is a good shepherd. Today, let us welcome the Good Shepherd into our lives and continue his shepherding by a good witness of life.