4th Sunday of Easter Year C - Gospel Reflection


John 10:27-30

Of the many titles given to Jesus Christ, there are two that at first glance, seem contradictory.  We call Him the Shepherd and the Lamb.  How can this be?  Well, when the Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt, it was their offering of the blood of a lamb which spared them from the plague of death and led to their flight.  This was a foreshadowing of Christ’s offering of His own blood to save us from our slavery to sin, and therefore, we call Jesus the “Lamb of God.”  The Good Shepherd, of course, was a name that Jesus used in reference to Himself.  The relationship between a shepherd and his sheep is astounding!  The shepherd provides for his flock, and forms a deep bond with them.  The sheep know and trust their shepherd, distinguishing his voice among others and recognizing in him their source of safety.  By calling Himself the Good Shepherd, Our Lord reveals to us the sort of relationship He has with His own people.

An extraordinary point to note is that in His humility, our Shepherd gives us a model to follow by becoming the Lamb.  Think: if Jesus so freely gives Himself to us as our Shepherd, how are we to become a flock worthy of Him?  On a scale, the shepherd is above his sheep; our God is far above us.  On our own, we would not know how to be sheep!  But we have no need to worry about such things, for the Good Shepherd humbled himself in becoming the Lamb, and embraced the joys and sorrows experienced by His flock.  As the Lamb of God, Jesus embodies the love of and submission to the will of God, which He wishes His flock to practice.  He becomes the image of those virtues He wants to see in us, nourished by grace.

As Christians, we are greatly blessed in having the privilege to have a Shepherd who has not only made a safe path for us, but who also guides us our way.  A Shepherd who, unlike any other, has adopted His flock in a unique way, so as to take on their own nature.  The Shepherd, and the Lamb.

Reflect on a time the Good Shepherd led &/or protected you.  How did you recognize Him as your source of safety?

Choose one or two attributes of Jesus as the Lamb of God that you would like to emulate. What can you change in your life to fulfill that desire?

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