for May 4
Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Today’s passage from John’s Gospel reminds me of a visit I made years ago one summer to Vermont. It was there that I saw with my own eyes a shepherd for the first time. We were driving north in the Green Mountain State through beautiful lush farmland and suddenly we saw a lone shepherd with a very large crowd of sheep right next to us as they preparing to cross the road. There were many sheep huddling very closely all around the shepherd. The sheep were so near to him that the shepherd could barely move. It was as if the sheep were tethered to this hardworking shepherd. It looked like the sheep instinctively knew the dangers of the road and in order to feel safe they wanted to know that the shepherd was right next to them—they wanted to literally touch him to know that he was present and near to them. The sheep I saw came in all sizes, shapes, their fleece was of various colors and textures. We stopped the car and watched as the sheep and a tired looking shepherd made their way across the road. It was quite a beautiful and pastoral sight in the mountains of Vermont.

Those of us who live in cities probably do not often see sheep and shepherds. The Gospel of John today presents Jesus as the Good Shepherd and describes what this means in relationship to Christian faith and salvation theology. It is likely that the image of the Good Shepherd who dies for the sheep belongs to the early Christian passion tradition. Even though there seem to be no direct references in the Hebrew Bible to “a good shepherd,” in Mark’s Gospel (14:27) Jesus refers back to the prophet Zechariah (13:7) to the story of the shepherd being slain and the sheep then being scattered. The image of Jesus as the Good Shepard is deeply embedded in various traditions about him. I am struck by the theological and spiritual depth of Jesus’s statements about laying down his life and taking it up again. It seems clear that he can do this because of his love for and closeness to the sheep. And we are able to take up our own lives with him because of the sacrifice Jesus shows and lives in his ministry. Taking up our own lives again is for us much hoped for in these days of isolation during the virus pandemic. There is much here also in how we understand our salvation and our own lives with Jesus the Shepherd.

In the early Church, Peter is also given the title of Shepherd as part of his leadership role in the early Christian community. Today’s reading from Acts presents an important discussion about the meaning of membership in the early and expanding Christian community. Here the background discussion is about the lives of Jewish Christians and table fellowship. Peter proposes that Christ’s message is meant not only to those of the Jewish tradition but for the Gentiles as well. The thinking of Peter and others here mark a profound time in the development of the early Church. We see this playing out in this passage and others in Acts. It is significant that Peter recounts how his dream (in the Bible, dreams are an important way for God to communicate) has revealed to him new ways of thinking about questions of membership in the community and about traditional and important Jewish dietary regulations which ultimately are about deep religious and personal identity. Crucially important here is Peter’s leadership and his shepherding of the community to recognize that faith and life with Christ is more and more a universal religious and spiritual movement with far global reach. Faith in Jesus is not seen only as a movement within Judaism but is open to all. These insights move Christianity from its early Jewish roots to a new and important phase in the spread of the faith and to growth in the ongoing relationships between the early Christian Churches.

Both Jesus and Peter in the readings today are seen as Shepherds guiding the community. These shepherds bring people together for their own good, safety, and flourishing. Both readings today make clear that it is ultimately God’s Spirit and presence that is guiding all of this—and our faith is that God continues to shepherd and guide us each day of our lives. While we likely do not see shepherds and sheep too often, we can be inspired by this heartwarming and enduring image in Christian tradition in our own communities (and in our relationships, families, and circle of friends) especially by the self-giving sacrifice of Jesus our true Shepherd. We are invited to stay close to and cling to Jesus, the Risen One. We also pray for and hope that leaders in the church and all around the world will show the selfless love and devotion of true shepherds who care deeply for the good of the peoples and communities they serve. Our faith is that the Lord shepherds us, and we too are called to shepherd each other by how we live and love.
—Francis T. Hannafey SJ

Today’s readings can be found at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website.