“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this flock. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” — John 10: 11-18

We will hear those words of Jesus read from the lectern the fourth Sunday of Easter 2024. Personally, I’ve been thinking a lot about certain things connected to this very discourse of Christ.

I invite you to enter into these thoughts. Perhaps we can invite Jesus as well. May he illuminate our path. (Psalm 119:105)

Good Shepherd

Perhaps one of the first things we should have in mind about being Christians is the belief that God is good. He is Goodness Himself. God is good and benevolent, actively benevolent. That includes God’s guidance. God guides his flock benevolently to good pastures. (cf. Psalms 23)

Imagine a line, a road with two ends: on one end there is God, the ultimate good; on the other end is the ultimate evil. We are somewhere between the two ends. If we are good ourselves we will move away from evil and closer to good.

God is on the good end. His goodness is infinite so, there is no limit to that goodness. We can move deep into goodness and there will always be more of it as we grow closer to God. On the other side things are different. There is an end and that end is nothingness, the destruction of the soul: there “you will have nothing and will be quite unhappy.” We thread a path between nothingness and an abundance of good that is catholic because it extends universally in time and space. It cannot be measured because God’s goodness cannot be measured.

The Good Shepherd comes to us from the very depths of that goodness.

In the beginning of mankind our earliest ancestors —after believing a lie— decided to walk away from God’s goodness. Originally, the path before Adam and Eve was filled with good things. A blessed future was the true destiny for Adam and his family. There was a straight line from Eden to that blessed destiny but Adam’s sin distorted that path. Instead of bliss, mankind’s path now pointed to death.

As soon as sin happened, God began to work to return mankind to the correct course. Mankind was made to thread the path of life (walking towards God)  by moving away from the path of death (walking towards evil). Forgive my simplicity. I am not a theologian and this blog is only about the thoughts and questions of a simple layman.

The Good Shepherd is in a singular position: He is the one who created everything. He is the one who gave life to the flock. Now that the flock has been stolen and taken away from the path of life, the Good Shepherd needs to do something drastic to rescue his flock. Christ acceptance of a sacrificial death at Calvary is the beginning of a divine corrective action to return the whole universe to the path of life. The flock needed to be redeemed and the offence against God had to be addressed and cleared. Only the Good Shepherd Himself could do it. No hireling —not even a holy angel— could complete the task.

I know my sheep and my sheep know me

There is a relationship between the Shepherd and the flock that is unique. The flock was created to find happiness in the goodness of God. The sheep know the goodness of God, seeking it is in their very nature. That is why they recognize the voice of the Shepherd and seek to follow Him. Sin has altered the life of the flock but the connection between the flock and its Shepherd was not completely severed. When the Shepherd comes back the flock will recognize Him.

This command I received from my Father

The flock is naturally obedient to Christ but there are others who have lost that most desirable quality. Those will have to be rescued and taught obedience as well. The end of this terrible age of disobedience will be happy because all things that come from the Father are conducing to happiness. God is good and benevolent even when he punishes his wayward creatures. In the end there will be only one flock and one Shepherd. That is God’s original design. God is guiding us to good pastures. It is up to us to listen and not stray from the path.