Fourth Sunday of Easter

May 11, 2025

John 10: 27-30

This gospel selection is only four verses long; but they describe for us how sheep communicate with their shepherd. First is hearing. The sheep hear very well: they can hear the sound of an intruder, but also the sound of their shepherds voice. They know his voice and come to him when he calls them. Second, Sheep have good eyesight. They can see well both at distances and close up. They know their shepherd by sight and can distinguish him from other humans. It is their vision that allows them to graze while knowing where the other sheep are, as well as the shepherd. This is important because sheep do not like to be alone, so they move along grazing together. Finally, they have a refined sense of smell. They know sheep that belong to their flock as well and can tell the smell of their shepherd from other people.

Jesus tells us: “my sheep hear my voice and they follow me.” He goes on to say that he gives his sheep eternal life, so they shall never perish. “No one can take them out of my hand.” This is because the Father has given them to Jesus, and no one takes from the Father because, Jesus says, “The Father and I are one.”

Jesus’ flock cannot be taken from him, because he has become one with his sheep, one with us. He has taken on our human nature, so he has our vision, our smell, our hearing. He knows how to connect with us, so that we can connect with God in a totally new way. And, on top of all that, we are made one with Jesus, who shares with us his own Father; we become one with his Father also.

But it does not stop here. Jesus also asks us, each of us, to become shepherds to one another. We become his connection with all people in the world. We are called to shepherd in his place, not just to look to Jesus to be our shepherd. That is the mission Jesus has given to each of us, not just to bishops, priests, religious, but to all who follow him. How great in the magnitude of this gift; but, also, how great is the responsibility. Our close connection with with Jesus, his Father, and his Spirit is not just something for ourselves; it is something we share with the world. We relate to the other sheep as we relate to the shepherd. We become one with them, so that the sheep can hear his voice and have life that does not perish.

St. Maximus the Confessor, an abbot of the seventh century, pointed out the close parallel between the forgiving shepherd and the forgiving Christ. Of Jesus he said, “When he found wandering in the mountains and hills the one sheep that had strayed from God’s flock of a hundred, he brought it back into the fold, but he did not exhaust it by driving it. Instead, he placed it on His shoulders and so compassionately, He restored it safely to the flock.” Jesus, our good shepherd, calls on us, the sheep of his fold, to return to Him, whether we have wandered far or near; to return not only to him, but to the flock. He asks us to change our lives and change our hearts. We need not fear to say, “I am sorry.” He who calls will treat us gently. He not only loves us; He respects us. 

We, after all, like sheep, do not like to be alone. We need our Shepherd; we need him in each other. We need need to recognize not only the voice of the Shepherd and recognize him by sight, but in the voice and appearance of the members of the flock.

 Fr. John Tran