Good Shepherd Sunday
by Fr. Gus Carter
4/17/05

Good shepherd Sunday means that we reflect on and celebrate our belief that Jesus Christ is the "shepherd and guardian of our souls." Jesus declares that he calls each of us by name and leads us to follow him. The question is "How do we let Jesus be our leader?" One of the major aspects of our belief in Jesus, risen from the dead, is that he is at the right hand of the Father. His human body now receives the fullness of glory that is his right as Son of the Father and also as the obedient servant who always did the Father's will. Jesus' body, now divinized, is capable of being present in person to each individual who addresses him.

The Holy Eucharist is an essential part of the Paschal Mystery. We believe that it is the risen Jesus to whom and with whom we pray in the Mass. We join Jesus in praising the Father's goodness; we receive and return the Father's love for us with Jesus. This past week in the Church's continuing celebration of Easter, we have been reading chapter six of John's Gospel which is his great Eucharistic Discourse. In the first part of this section of John, Jesus stresses that he is the bread from heaven. The people of Israel believe that the Old Testament is a kind of food upon which humans must live. As Jesus quoted from the Book of Deuteronomy, "One does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." The second section of John's discourse stresses Jesus' flesh and blood as food that endures unto everlasting life. In his Eucharistic Discourse John highlights the main purposes of the Mass. The Vatican II document on Sacred Scripture reflects John's teaching: "In the sacred liturgy the Church unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God's word and of Christ's body."

Jesus spells out clearly in the Gospel that our Creator invites human beings to enter into an intimate relationship with God. Jesus said at the last Super, "Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and 1 will reveal myself to him." Jesus said to all his disciples, "1 have called you friends." In the power of the resurrection Jesus' body was transformed so that he could be intimately present to each person. The reception of Holy Communion signifies how close Jesus is to us. It gives us a special reminder that God pays personal attention to each person. Love requires knowledge of the other person. The Word of God became human to offer all humans intimate knowledge of our Creator. In the humanity of Jesus Almighty God reveals what God is like. In the Gospel God reveals the depth of divinity to us.

What God is like has been revealed to us first in creation, then through God's acting among the people of Israel and ultimately through the life and death of Jesus Christ. The history and prophecy of the Jewish people prepared the way for understanding Jesus. The Old Testament records the Jewish experience of God for almost two thousand years. Those experiences are still valid and available to us to deepen our relationship with the Father through Jesus.

At each Mass we attend we are reminded of the Lord's invitation to intimacy. All the experience of the church over the centuries assures us that we are known intimately by God. St. Augustine said, "God is nearer to me than 1 am to myself." Each time we come to pray we must remind ourselves that God is looking at us with penetrating love. The Lord knows our sins but is always using his knowledge and love to help us move away from sin. We must never be afraid of God's knowledge of us. One of the common prayers of many saints was, "Lord, let me know myself as you know me." Yes, the Lord knows our sins, but he also knows the great good of which we are capable.

We believe that each time we take up the Scriptures to pray, God speaks directly to us through the words of the Bible. We ask ourselves, "What is the Lord saying to me in this passage?" We advance our prayer by reflecting on what a particular section of the Bible says to us. Especially the words of the Gospel teach us about God through Jesus. Jesus said, "He who sees me, sees the Father." We might ask ourselves what of God is revealed in the part of the gospel we are reading. Then we can talk to God about what we have discovered. Saint Ignatius said, "Speak to God as you would one friend to another." Reading a passage from Scripture, then reflecting on what we have read, having conversation with God, make up the traditional way of using Scripture in prayer. The fourth part of this type of prayer is to rest in any sense we have of God's presence to us. Rest in a sense of the Lord's nearness, feel the peace our God brings to us, taste the divine love available to us. Let our gratitude for sins forgiven by part of our lives.

It is awesome, beyond our wildest dreams, that the Creator of the vast universe could care personally about you and me. God is awesome and loves in a way that is beyond our understanding. Teresa of Avila wrote, "Keep in mind how this true lover never leaves us. We must realize that we could never find a better friend." The aim of Christ is that he may fill us with his love so that we in turn may help others find and live by the grandeur of living as dear friends of our majestic God.