I confess: though a lifelong Jersey girl, the only times I have seen sheep have been while driving past the Cook College campus at 55 mph; while turning the pages in my son’s 100 Words to Grow On soft-cover children’s book; or as a squeaky-voiced hand puppet stuck on Shari Lewis’ fist. I suspect many of you fellow Sacred Heart Parish suburbanites and city dwellers have equally little experience with these wooly creatures, but today’s Gospel passage from John (Jn 10:11-18) can still speak to us.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, can be viewed as an all-knowing yet loving older brother to us sheep-like followers. He tells us, “I know mine and mine know me…I will lay down my life for the[m].” He promises to protect us from the wolves of misfortune and unite us as one family, one flock. Jesus’ voice, if we choose to listen, can serve as a clear beacon of hope by which we can guide our steps and thoughts. This Man-God, newly risen from the dead, can also lead us back to whence we came: his, and our, Father.
A loving older brother would do no less!
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, can be viewed as an all-knowing yet loving older brother to us sheep-like followers. He tells us, “I know mine and mine know me…I will lay down my life for the[m].” He promises to protect us from the wolves of misfortune and unite us as one family, one flock. Jesus’ voice, if we choose to listen, can serve as a clear beacon of hope by which we can guide our steps and thoughts. This Man-God, newly risen from the dead, can also lead us back to whence we came: his, and our, Father.
A loving older brother would do no less!
Christina Leslie
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