5/11/2025 - 4th Sunday of Easter

Our Shepherd’s Unique Perspective on Life

Today is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, a day on which the Church invites us to reflect on the meaning of God’s call and to pray for vocations to the service of the Church and its mission. To help us reflect on the meaning of vocation – a call to serve others – today’s Gospel presents us with the figure of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Pope John Paul II declared the fourth Sunday of Easter a Day of Prayer for Vocations. In a homily he gave to priests a few years ago, our late Pope Francis reminded them that they must be joyful, stubborn shepherds who take risks and seek out even those who are most distant from God, in imitation of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. 

In Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, there is a memorable scene where Jesus, isolated in the desert, is confronted by the Devil in the form of a snake. The Devil, speaking with a seductive and persuasive voice, tries to convince Jesus that humanity is not worth saving. The Devil suggests that Jesus should abandon His mission of sacrifice, tempting Him with the idea that the world does not need a savior and that He should instead seek personal happiness, such as having a family and living an ordinary life. This temptation is direct and psychological, aiming to sow doubt in Jesus about the value and worthiness of people and the necessity of His sacrificial role.

In stark contrast, the Gospel of John presents Jesus as the "good shepherd" who knows His sheep (followers) intimately and is willing to lay down His life for them. Jesus explicitly states, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep... I know My sheep, and My sheep know me-just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father-and I lay down My life for the sheep.” This metaphor underscores Jesus’ deep love, commitment, and sense of responsibility for humanity. He does not see people as unworthy but as beloved and valuable, worth the ultimate sacrifice. The shepherd imagery is rich with connotations of protection, guidance, and selfless care, drawing on Old Testament traditions. This imagery was used in the Old Testament to speak of prophets and kings whose duty it was to care for the Lord’s flock on behalf of the true Shepherd of the flock, namely the Lord Himself. The shepherd image was also employed by the Roman emperors, who portrayed themselves as shepherds, ensuring peace and prosperity for the people. The idyllic images of emperors as shepherds were only one side of imperial propaganda; the other was the threat of force to impose exploitative peace.

Jesus adds a unique element to the picture of the Good Shepherd for both Jews and Gentiles, repeating it five times in just eight verses. "The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep." This is Jesus' remarkable emphasis. To those of us who are unfamiliar with sheep farming, the ridiculousness of such behavior is not immediately apparent. If a shepherd sacrifices his life, what hope does the flock have of living without him? Surely, a pack of wolves will consume the entire flock. The shepherd's self-sacrifice appears futile. It contradicts the imperial Shepherd philosophy of enforced peace and Jewish expectations of vindication and protection.

Jesus is not playing the usual celestial role. Jesus has taken on flesh, become one of us, and, as the Fourth Gospel puts it, "pitched his tent among us." This has ramifications for both a human birth, a Christmas, and a human death, a Good Friday. Jesus totally embodies our humanity while also transforming it. Jesus gives up His life but then picks up again. The loss of life is genuine; Jesus' body will rest in the tomb. This is not the end. Jesus takes up His life; death no longer marks the end of human life. Jesus breaks the bars of death. Just as His tomb was empty, so too will be ours at the end of time. This is affirmed by us when we recite the Creed, “… I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.” He is the Good Shepherd, who gives up His life so that the flock can have eternal life. Good Friday is followed by Easter Sunday. 

When Jesus takes up His life anew, He opens up a new existence for us, His sheep. Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God until they are born again. Nicodemus inquired, "How could this be?" Jesus' resurrection enables everyone to experience a new birth into eternal life. Importantly, Jesus addresses not only His own contemporaries but also us. He has other sheep who are not from this flock and will hear His call. Jesus knows us, calls us by name, and we are asked to know Him and His immense love for us. This affects our perspective on life. Self-giving love, even at personal loss, is the driving force behind eternal existence.  Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O