Each year on the 4th
Sunday of Easter, the gospel reminds us that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and we
are His sheep. Without a good shepherd,
sheep cannot live a good life and often will have a very short life. The reason for that is the shepherd makes
sure that his sheep have food and drink and are kept safe from wolves that will
destroy them. Without a shepherd to
follow, sheep get lost and find themselves all alone or, even worse, fall off
mountain cliffs and die.
Without Jesus, we will not have
eternal life. Without Jesus, we will not
have the Eucharist, our spiritual food and drink. Without Jesus, we can easily get lost and
wander into unsafe, dangerous places.
For sheep to live well, they have to follow the shepherd and stay close
to him. The same is true for Jesus and
us.
In order to follow Jesus
faithfully, we have to live a moral life, to follow the commandments, to do our
best to avoid sin, to imitate Jesus in our daily life. That means we have to serve others, forgive
those who have hurt us, trust God to care for us, and the Holy Spirit to lead
us.
To follow Jesus faithfully, also
means we need to be part of a community that prays together to give praise and
worship to God. At the Last Supper, as
Jesus gave His disciples His Body and Blood, He told them, “Do this in memory
of me.” Ever since the beginning of the
Church, Christians meet on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, for the Eucharist, which is
why we are here right now. Sunday Mass
is the best prayer and the highlight of the week for our spiritual lives. Our
relationship with Jesus, and with each other, is centered on Sunday Mass where
we share again in the sacrifice Jesus offered on the cross for us.
To follow Jesus faithfully also
requires us to take time each day to pray.
Perhaps it can only be for a few minutes, but we have to stay close to
Jesus by speaking to Him, reading God’s word, and listening for the Lord to
speak to us.
In the first reading, Peter preaches
that salvation is in the name of Jesus, a reminder that our relationship with
the Lord has to be important to us. In
the second reading, John tells us that the Father loves us and we are God’s
children and when we see God, we will be like God. Again, that means we have to stay close to
God each day.
All of this reminds us that we need
to put time into our relationship with Jesus, the Good Shepherd. As His flock, we need to stay together, to follow
Him faithfully and to stay united to Him each day, but especially on Sunday at
Mass. There is no better place we could
be right now than right here.
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