Jn. 10:27-30
One of the most beautiful imageries about Jesus is that of the Good Shepherd. Jesus carries a sheep on his shoulder and leads the flock. The sheep that he carries is special because it is lame. Normally, if any of the sheep has a problem, they will slaughter the sheep at the earliest. But Jesus nourishes it with tender care and affection and carries it on his shoulder. He loves it to the extent of sacrificing his own life for it that it may live. ‘My sheep hear my voice and I know them.’ These words of Jesus reveals his immense love for his flock.
The most important factor is to be blessed with the grace to be part of Jesus’ flock. I say because it is the Father who chooses the members of the flock and no one can misguide them because the shepherd is always awake and he leads his flock to the green pastures, the eternal life. Being the members of Jesus’ flock is also an invitation to enter into communion with Jesus and His Heavenly Father.
A careful reading of Ps. 23 would help us to understand the imagery of the Good Shepherd in a deeper manner. The shepherding love of Jesus is par excellence. When a sheep goes astray, he leaves the ninety-nine and goes behind the one who went astray. If a wild animal comes to attack the flock, he saves them even by risking his own life. For a Good Shepherd, sheep is not a mere animal but it is part of his own being. They are his dream and the purpose of his life. The psalmist proclaims this beautifully in Psalm 23: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…’ Kind David has experienced this shepherding love of God in a tangible manner. Each and every line of this psalm reveals what he has experienced. It is the Lord who guided him, his presence always strengthened him, he could withstand Goliath and powerful enemies, God saved him miraculously from the vengeance of King Saul. Though he had number of failures, God carried him always on His shoulders. The shepherding love of God did not abandon him, and blessed him with innumerable blessings and transformed him into a beautiful portrait of God’s shepherding love. Like David, we too have a number of events wherein we have experienced the shepherding love of Christ… Let us thank Him for carrying us on his shoulder and for making us part of his flock…