I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:14)

"I am the gate of the sheep." (John 10:7)

Today, the Fourth Sunday after Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday, the Catholic Church celebrates it as ‘World Day of Prayer for Vocations to the Priesthood and the Religious Life’. The readings, antiphon and gospel talk about Jesus the Good Shepherd.

Psalm 23 is the most quoted passages of Scripture. It is often, recited at funeral services around the world. This Psalm is so universally loved that it finds expression in delightful musical versions. Yet there is a danger of repeating it so often as to miss its true significance. Question is do we truly know the shepherd or just the words of the psalmist?

In the gospel text, Christ presents himself as the "Good" Shepherd and, that he is the ideal or model shepherd who lays down his life for his flock. In Jesus’ time, the sheep were protected in two kinds of pens:
(a) A common village pen, and
(b) A field enclosure with loosely connected rocks with a single entrance, more like a cave
First, when Jesus says, "The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd," (John 10:2) he refers to the village pen, which was guarded by a gatekeeper. The gatekeeper would identify the shepherds at dawn; then, the shepherd would take their flocks to pasture.

Second, when Jesus says, "I am the gate of the sheepfold," he alludes to the field enclosure or cave where the sheep were protected during the night. Often times, the shepherds slept at the mouth of the cave, and he became literally a 'gate' – blocking wild beasts from entering the pen, and lambs from straying out.

There is this story of a shepherd whose young sheep constantly strayed from the pen. Patiently, the shepherd would go out into the wilderness, find the lost sheep, carry it on his shoulders and re-unite it with the fold. His friends mocked him since the pen had a hole, and advised him to mend it. "It is the duty of a shepherd to go after straying sheep," explained the shepherd; and added, "I love my sheep and allow them to go in and out freely!" Similarly, Jesus promises, "Anyone who enters through me will be safe; he will go in and out freely" (John 10:9)

In the second reading, Peter the first shepherd writes, "You had gone astray like sheep but now you have come back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls." Speaking of the Good Shepherd he says, "When he was tortured he made no threats but put his trust in the righteous judge." On March 7, 2005 a Catholic priest, Fr. Prasad Gonsalves SJ was arrested on fabricated charges in Radhanpur, north Gujarat, India. The public prosecutor accused him of "forcible conversions" and "deceiving the poor by soliciting sexual favours." Fr. Prasad spent four nights in prison for a crime he hadn't committed. His trust in the Righteous Judge saw his release.

Christ the Good Shepherd does protect his sheep from the evil of society. We need to put our faith in our Lord, and not believe what we hear, read or see in the media. The information we get from TV, the secular newspapers, or from so-called religious novels are sometimes fabricated. Usually the scripts, articles or novels are, written by non-believers or people with an anti-Catholic agenda. We have to be vigilant and learn to recognise the voice of the Shepherd.

We have the Divine Protector with us. Christ is more powerful than the evil one. Just as He won't let us stray out of the sheepfold and hurt ourselves, He won't let the devil come in and hurt us. The Body of Christ, the Eucharist is our defense. Jesus is the Sheep-gate and we are the people of his pasture the flock under his care.

"Heavenly Father, you led your beloved Son from the shadows of death to the light of glory, Lord grant that we too may be worthy to enter into the kingdom you have promised."