Jesus is our Good Shepherd.

LORD JESUS, YOU ARE MY GOOD SHEPHERD. I AM YOUR CLUELESS LAMB. I BELIEVE YOU ARE WATCHING OVER ME NIGHT AND DAY. NO HAIR FALLS FROM MY HEAD WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION.

"Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (John 10: 27 - 30).

Sunday 8th May 2022, of the 4th Week in Easter. Good Shepherd Sunday.

Jesus declares in the Gospel today that He alone is our Good Shepherd. What does it mean that Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd?
The Church is a family, a sheepfold and Jesus is the necessary gateway into the Sanctuary. God has foretold in the Scriptures that God Himself would be the Shepherd of this flock. 

What does a Good Shepherd do?
He feeds His flock and leads them to rest when they are tired. When we stray from the fold, He searches for us and brings us back. He rescues us from vicious beasts, from hurricanes and flood.

Our experience has thought us that there are false shepherds. They are everywhere: Church, schools, businesses, politicians, police, etc. With this in mind, we can appreciate much more our Good Shepherd. Scripture describes our Good Shepherd as a Lamb who is also a Shepherd. He is gentle, kind and merciful.

Now that we know how tenderly our Good Shepherd knows, loves and cares for us ("Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father"), how do we respond to this revelation? 

Psalm 23 is the picture perfect of Jesus Christ our Good Shepherd.
"The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit."

Psalm 23 is the personal experience of King David. David experienced God so close and so intimately in various circumstances of his life and penned Psalm 23 as a testimony of his gratitude.

Think of this for a moment. If the Lord is truly our Good Shepherd, if we recognize His voice and follow Him, we can claim and own all the promises of Psalm 23. This is what Jesus means when He says: "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." (John 10: 10).

5.8. "Therefore, as St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, asserts, the archangel Gabriel called her [Mary] full of grace: “Ave gratia plena;” because whilst to others, as the saint above mentioned remarks, limited grace is given, to Mary it was given in fulness. And thus it was ordered, as St. Basil attests, that in this way she might become the worthy mediatrix between God and men. For if the Virgin had not been full of divine grace, as St. Lawrence Justinian adds, how could she be the ladder of paradise, the advocate of the world, and the true mediatrix between God and men?" (St Alphonsus Liguori).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com