St John's Gospel - Chapter 10: 11-18Most Christians feel comfortable with the idyllic presentation of St. John’s gospel story about a truly concerned shepherd. We call him the good shepherd. There shepherds who were more concerned about themselves than the flocks entrusted to their care. It is to these men, the Pharisees, that Jesus spoke so forthrightly when he said: “I am the good shepherd.” These are five words that reveal much about the mission that God the Father entrusted to Jesus. They are Jesus’ words to humankind about his role for humanity. His description of himself to the Pharisees was a challenge to their protesting that they were not spiritually blind leaders of the people. That was then. Today Jesus’ words are a challenge to each of us.
Jesus’ words are a reminder that we are particularly blessed to be children of a loving and protecting Father because his mission was to teach us that it is the love of the Father for us that empowers us.
If you watched the Kentucky Derby yesterday, you saw a spectacular event: a horse and its rider were one chance out of fifty to win the race. The jockey, Calvin Borel, was empowered by a love for racing and winning. It was that power that enabled him to come from far behind to be out 18 other horses by a significant distance. Borel was, in a strange way, the good shepherd who loved his sport and used that love to empower his drive to bring home the roses. His love for challenge each race offered him enabled him to come from so far behind and find the way along the rail to the space that opened up victory for him and his horse. As a jockey, through many hours in training not only his horse but himself, he became a good shepherd for his horse.
God has empowered us with his love for us. We have to know this and embrace it. We need to possess an awareness of this God-given gift every day. It is this understanding that gives us the power to become truly holy men and women. But, just as in horse racing, it takes time and practice to achieve the goal. We must be patient. We must listen to God’s voice when it tries to lead us where God wants us to be. We have to spend much time with God’s Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. And, at the same time, we must recognize that God’s love for us is God’s love for others in and through us. We are to be shepherds, leading other to live in the power of God’s love.
