The good Shepherd and his sheep

Fourth Sunday of Easter

This week’s second reading gives us a particular call and proposal: “because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps”. Here, Jesus calls us to be humble like him; and to patiently bear harm even when it is being done to us when we have done something that is good. 

Why does Jesus call us to do this? Because that is what love is! Love is not that which is impatient at personal suffering at the expense of others. Love is not that which is egoistic and which cares primarily about self-preservation. Love is not obsessed with being right and with proving a point. Rather, love is there to “set an example”. We love in order to show others the face of God. We love others so that we may show them true freedom – so that we may show them what it really means to be a “human being” (and not merely an “animal”). We love in order to let the Trinity grow within us – so that we may show others that it is possible for us to be free from the snares of anger and vengeance! For it is indeed possible for us to forgive; it is indeed possible to be patient – even when others are not respecting us – because Jesus did it, and Jesus was also fully human. 

All this does not mean that we should allow ourselves to be degraded and to let others violate our dignity – but the question is, did Christ have his dignity violated on the cross? Did his enemies remove any of his dignity by insulting him and by killing him? Not fully, no! Because there is something within us – our value and our god-image— that nothing and no one can take away. This value is given to us by God and it increases the more we embody God. To allow others to berate us and to forgive them is therefore a sign of a flourished humanity. It is not a weakness, but a virtue that only those who are open to grace and to divinity can live out. So, in other words, be meek, be patient, be humble and forgiving – this is who Jesus is calling you to be!Keeping all the above in mind, it is important to note that Jesus doesn’t simply call to love as he loved – before we do this, he invites us to do something else. He first invites us to accept His love for us – “by his wounds you have been healed”. And this is why, in the Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples that he is the “door” that they need to pass through. Jesus warns us that no other prophet or person knows us personally in the way
God knows us. That no one else is the incarnate God, but for Him. Jesus reminds us that He is a Shepherd that shall always be faithful to us – and he calls all of us Christians to do the same for other: through our own unique vocations. All vocations, in their own ways, express the love of Christ as Shepherd. We must therefore discern the way in which God wants us to live our life, all for the sake of His glory!

A reading from the Gospel of John (John 10:1-10)

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

  1. Read the Gospel story so that you are familiar with it.
  2. Reflect on what the Gospel story is saying to you. Which points would you highlight and why?
  3. Take a moment to experience God’s love for you – allow God to express his forgiveness, his mercy, and his awe for you. This can be done in silent prayer, in adoration, by reading a particular book of witnessing, by appreciating the beauty of nature, by seeing ‘others’ as gifts, etc. 
  4. This week we read, “because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps”. Take a moment to understand what God is calling you to do at this point in your life. In what way does he want you to “follow his steps” – i.e., through which vocation? 
  5. Take a moment to remember that we cannot be like Jesus without the help of grace. Indeed, it is impossible for any human being to fully forgive and bear hate humbly unless God gives him the grace and love to do it! This means that need to contentiously pray for “grace”. We need to habituate ourselves to live a life of love. We need to accept God’s love and to feel it, so that we may in turn be able to suffer as Christ did, for the sake of love. 
  6. Together with your family find the right time to read this Gospel. The environment helps, so before you start, prepare;
    i. The Bible reading from St John (John 10:1-10)
    ii. a candle
    iii. Cover the table with a green cloth
    iv. A computer/laptop with the reading and clips
  7. Go through the steps with your children (2 age groups are being suggested).
  8. Feel free to adapt to your situation
  9. Be creative 😊 
  10. Go to the Prayer Corner section to continue praying as a family. 

Sheep know the voice of their shepherd and the Good shepherd guards His flock. 

  • The importance of recognizing that Jesus is our Shepherd – that He is our loving guide, protector, and leader!

Hello dear children! Let me ask you a question: do you have any pets? (if possible, you might show a picture or a live example of yours.) I have one. How do you think I should take care of this animal? Yes … I make sure it has food and water, and a safe place to stay. I help it take care of bathroom needs, and I play with it!

My (cat/dog/bird/etc.) knows my voice. If I call (her/him), it knows me and will come, because it recognizes me… (and often wants food). This creature knows that I care about it and will take care of it. In a way, this is a little bit like being a shepherd.

Do you know what a shepherd does? A shepherd is responsible for taking care of sheep. There are some people who are shepherds now, but in the times of the Bible there were even more of them. The shepherd would guide the sheep to places where they could find grass to eat, water to drink, and a place to rest. Sheep are not always terribly smart, but they learn to follow the shepherd.

They know when he is talking to them and follow along, recognizing that he will lead them to good things. If a wolf or a bear tries to come attack the flock, the shepherd must protect his sheep, and be willing to fight off the predator. Sometimes, the shepherd even acts as a door! See, the sheep would often get herded into a fenced-in space together (show picture if you have one), and the shepherd would lie down right in the opening. Anything that tried to enter or leave the pen would have to come through him first, so he could monitor and make sure all of the sheep stayed safe.

In our Gospel today, Jesus compared Himself to a shepherd. He says that He is the gateway. He is the way to life, and anyone else that might try to make such a claim is tricking us. We are like sheep, wandering around and needing guidance! We can trust in Jesus to provide for us and to protect us. He said that a good shepherd would even lay down his life for the sheep, and that’s exactly what Jesus did!

We can trust in His promises and rejoice that our shepherd has rescued us from sin and from death. We can listen for His voice through prayer, Scripture, the Sacraments, and everyday life discernment. And we know that He cares for us. We can feel it too sometimes. Each of us is precious in God’s eyes, and we can rest assured that He listens when we call to Him, and gives us life. What a blessing! We should thank God for this.

Sign of the Cross 

Dear Jesus, 

Thank you for being the Good Shepherd! Please help us to listen to your voice and to follow you and trust you. We know you will guide and protect us. Thank you for caring about us. Thank you for your love! We love you, dear Jesus!

Amen.

Jesus calls us to follow his example and to be loving even when we are being mistreated for our good actions. He also reminds us that He is the perfect Shepherd and calls us all to be like Him.

  • To be like Jesus means to be forgiving and humble in all situations in life.
  • Whiteboard marker
  • Whiteboard

Today I want to tell you about a situation that some of you here may have experienced. I want you to image two children who are always well behaved. Keep in mind that these are two completely imaginary kids who don’t exist in reality. They don’t believe it’s right to hit, but one day you catch one of these children – perhaps a friend of yours – hitting someone. You tell them, “why did you just hit your sister? Don’t you know it’s wrong to hit?”

Can you guess the answer you’re going to get? “well, he did this to me, so…” and you can fill in the blank.  Has anyone experienced this? “Yes, it’s wrong to do [blank], but because of this, I had no choice“. Have you ever done something similar in your lives? 

I want you to take a minute and chat with someone around you and come up with a couple of situations in which someone might agree that doing something is wrong, but because of the circumstances, it’s right. Let me give you a couple of examples myself, and then give you a minute to come up with your own:

“It’s wrong to cheat, but because the tax law is unfair, I have a right to pay cash and avoid paying taxes”.

“It’s wrong to gossip, but because my friend doesn’t listen to me, I have a right to tell others what I think of her”.

Try coming up with a few of your own examples.

[discussion].

In this week’s second reading, we discover a proposal that God makes us . We read, “to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps”. Here, Christ calls us to be like him – but in a very specific way! He tells us that if we ever do something good and we still get told off for it, we should not try to get revenge or to get angry. This is a very difficult thing to do. Indeed, think about it: suffering for doing good, and enduring it!

But the example of Jesus is the ultimate example of someone who endured under suffering while doing good. In fact, the example of Jesus is exactly what can give hope to a slave who is suffering for doing good at the hands of a harsh master. We don’t exactly suffer for our faith in the same way, but the example of Jesus is what can sustain us when we are given a command we don’t feel like obeying. Even though we should not always obey everything (because it depends on the command) – we need to learn to obey to do good even when we don’t feel like. Jesus endured suffering unto death; so we can put up with a grumpy friend or teacher without blowing it! Anyone can fight back; but it takes the example and power of Jesus to submit to God and obey him when it costs. 

So let me ask you: what are you going through right now? What suffering are you enduring? What friend or person is making your life miserable, so that you have a hard time submitting? What person in your life is acting so badly that you are tempted to compromise everything that you believe so that you can take your revenge?

Look at the example of Jesus, so that He can give you any good reasons for being loving and for staying faithful even when it is difficult. 

Finally, it is good to note that all the above relates to the primary Gospel message for this week. In this week’s Gospel passage, Jesus tells us that He is our Shepherd. This means that Jesus is always there to guide us when we are lost, to rescue us when in danger, to forgive us, and to love us. He goes out of His way to protect us and he knows each of us personally by our name! How can we follow Jesus’ example even here? How can we be Shepherd’s too? 

(leave a moment for discussion).

Let us pray so that Jesus will help us be Shepherds like Him!

Sign of the Cross

Dear Jesus, we humbly pray that you may help us be like you when we are faced with difficult situations in life. We pray that you may help us endure even when someone is making it difficult for us to be patient and kind! Give us the strength to love, to guide, and to  set an example to others in your name!

Amen.

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God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.