Commentary on Sixth Sunday of Easter (year B) from “First Impressions” (2018)

I was watching a special program on the Weather Channel the other evening. It was a look-back over the past year, when we had a more-than-usual number of tornadoes across the country. A commentator referred to those devastating weather events as “Acts of God.” In effect God was blamed, once again, for killing innocent people and destroying millions of dollars of property! While nature often shows the wonder and power of God—a sunset over the ocean, Spring flowers and tiny hummingbirds—I can’t name a killer-tornado as an “Act of God.”

But, as a believer, I can recognize a powerful “act of God”—God took flesh in Jesus and Jesus gave his life for us. As the gospel says today, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend.” God’s power was demonstrated for us by: Jesus’ joining us in our human journey; not avoiding pain, but accepting it as one of us and giving his life to prove how much God loves us. Now that’s what I call an “Act of God!”

So, we don’t have to come here to church to pray in order to please God; to earn God’s love and goodwill; to wear God down with lots of prayers so that God will favor us and give us what we pray for. We don’t pray and serve God to earn God’s love. Jesus’ life and death make it very clear: God already loves us, what more must God do to convince us? Jesus is a very powerful message that all can read, loud and clear: we didn’t love God first and God returned the favor and now loves us back. Rather, God loved us first and Jesus is proof positive of God’s love for us—if we have any doubts.

The real issue is: since God already loves us and has given such powerful evidence of that love, what should we do to show we got the message? How can we respond and show that our lives are transformed by that love; for love transforms the beloved? You can always tell when someone is in love, they radiate love. They are cheerful, kinder, and more patient.

If we asked Jesus what we must do in response to the love God has shown us in him, he says to us today, “Keep my commandments.” When we hear the word commandments our mind rushes to the 10 Commandments. We check ourselves: have I broken any Commandments? Have I done anything wrong? But we already had 10 Commandments without Jesus. Jesus isn’t talking about not violating the 10 Commandments. He is telling us, “Don’t worry about doing something negative. Instead do something positive: love one another.

It’s one commandment with many faces, many opportunities to put it into practice. If there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend then we can begin by asking ourselves what part of our lives must we “lay down” for the sake of another? For example: “lay down” my prejudice; my angry feelings; my enmity over what others have done to me; my selfishness; my unwillingness to give up my time to help another, etc.

Jesus doesn’t give 10 Commandments that can be checked off one by one, “There, I’ve done that.” But a broader commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Now can we ever say we have lived up to that commandment? Can we check off items and say, “Well, I’ve accomplish that!” No, because love asks a lot of us. When can a husband or wife say to the other, “There, I have loved you. There’s nothing more I can give or do for you?” Love is a fire that consumes us and leaves us looking for ways to love.

Does this sound exhausting? Jesus says we are not to live and think like slaves, groveling, trying to get everything right, fearing punishment. Instead he calls us, “Friends.” Friendship with Jesus isn’t sentimental or sloppy. Some friendships can close us off and make us neurotic. But friendship with Jesus is one of mutual love and respect. I have a friend who joined a men’s quartet. He became friends with one of the men in that group and his new friend taught him to sing without instruments and introduce him to songs he had never heard before. Friendship opens us to new life. Friends keep us normal: pull us out of ourselves when we close ourselves off; help lift us out of depression; are sounding boards when we need to talk to someone; introduce us to new worlds of food, hobbies, and music.

We are friends of Christ already. “I call you friends.” With the help of Jesus’ Spirit we are enabled to act that way now—to resemble our friend Jesus more and more and, as he tells us, “bear fruit” in our lives.

At this Eucharist today we invite Jesus to show us how we can live and reflect our friendship with him. We ask him to show us what must die in our lives, what we must lay down and let go of. We also ask him to show us how we can blossom with new fruit as we pray, “Jesus teach us to love one another and help us to live that love, so people will know we are your friends.”

Fifth Sunday of Easter, April 28, 2024

What it means to be rooted in Jesus

John 15:1–8

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.

“Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

“Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

Music Meditations

• “I Am the Vine” (John Michael Talbot) [YouTube]
• “Give Me Jesus” (sung by Fernando Ortega) [YouTube]
• “In Christ Alone” (lyrics by Chris Tomlin) [YouTube]
• “Abide With Me” (Matt Maher) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

Adapted from “Sacred Space,” July 2012:

O God, you are with me, but more,
You are within me, giving me existence.
Let me dwell for a moment in your life-giving presence
In my body, my mind, my heart
And in my whole life.
Lord, grant that I may always desire
To spend time in your presence.
May I not forget your goodness to me.
Guide me to share your blessings with others.

Companions for the Journey

From “America” Magazine 2009, the national Jesuit weekly:

“Already Pruned”

“Remain in me as I remain in you” (Jn 15:4)

I am not much of a gardener. As a city-dweller, I am lucky if I can keep a few houseplants alive. What is especially difficult for me is to prune parts of a plant that still have life in them, even if they are scraggly and have stopped flowering. I have no problem clipping off parts that are clearly dead, but it is hard to bring myself to trim off something still living.

In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks of the Father as a vintner who prunes branches that are bearing fruit so that they will produce even more. There is a strong emphasis on “bearing fruit”; the expression occurs five times in the passage. It speaks not only of the fecundity in our relationship with God, but also of missionary outreach and of interdependence with the other branches on the vine.

The image of God as a vine grower and Israel as the vineyard is a familiar one in the Scriptures (for example, Is 5:1-7; 27:2-5; Jer 2:21; Ps 80:8-18). Most often the metaphor is used to express God’s disappointment in the lack of yield from a vine so tenderly planted and nurtured. In the Gospel of John, this is not the case. The disciples Jesus is addressing in this Last Supper scene are “already pruned” so that they will bear more fruit. Branches that do not bear fruit are taken away.

There is a word play between the verb airei, “takes away” and its compound kathairei, “prunes.” Moreover, there are verbal echoes of other parts of Jesus’ farewell discourse at the supper and the passion narrative. The imperative form of the verb airei is found in the cry of the people who call for Jesus’ crucifixion, “aron,” “Away with him!” (19:15). The adjectival form of the verb kathairei, which literally means “to make clean,” occurs in the footwashing scene (13:10-11), where Jesus assures the disciples they are clean (katharoi)

Pruning then is another Johannine metaphor for the passion. It is akin to the image in Jn 12:24, where Jesus speaks of the seed that must fall to the ground and die in order to bear much fruit. The emphasis is on the life that sprouts forth from the dying and the pruning. Expert gardeners know that the place to prune is, paradoxically, where the nodes are bursting with life.

From pruning, the stress in the Gospel shifts to the importance of the branch remaining united to the vine in order to bear fruit. A branch cannot bear fruit on its own; cut off from the vine, it withers and dies and then is good only for kindling. That remaining or abiding in Jesus is crucial for disciples is evident in that the verb menein, “to abide,” occurs eight times in these eight verses. This mutual indwelling has been spoken of since the opening chapter of the Gospel, where the first question asked by the initial two disciples is, “Where are you staying?” (meneis) (1:38). Another important moment is when the Samaritans ask Jesus to stay (menein) with them (4:40). In the Bread of Life Discourse, Jesus tells his followers, “those who eat my flesh and drink my blood, abide [menei] in me and I in them” (6:56). True disciples abide in Jesus’ word (8:31) and Jesus’ words remain in the disciples (15:7). When Jesus tells his disciples he is going to prepare a dwelling place for them (14:2), it becomes clear that the “abiding place” is not a geographical locale, but is Jesus himself (14:6), where also the Father makes his home (14:23) along with the Spirit (14:17).

How can we insure that we are abiding in Christ and he in us? In the second reading, 1 Jn 3:24 gives a simple formula: “Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.” The writer also spells out what it means to keep the commandments: “We should believe in the name of...Jesus Christ and love one another just as he commanded us” (1 Jn 3:23).

Further study:

• Analysis of John 15:1–8 >>
• “I Am” Statements in the Gospel of John >>

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Remain in me, as I remain in you

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Are we connected to the life of God? Can we prove it?
• Do I believe that I am a friend of Jesus?
  What does that mean to me?

• From Paul Gallagher, OFM, in “First Impressions” 2006:

  Do you garden?
  What have you learned about yourself by trying to grow plants?
  What have you learned about relationships by trying to grow plants?

  Why do gardeners prune plants?
  What do they hope will happen?
  What, in human development, would be the equivalent of pruning plants?
  How does it happen in your own life?
  What happens because of it?
  What happens to you if you go through long periods without entering a process of being pruned?
  What does that say to you?

  How do you retain your relationship with Jesus and/or God?
  How do you know if that relationship is healthy?

  Do you have relationships where you have no responsibilities?
  How do you feel about the notion that you have responsibility in your relationship with God?

• Using the metaphor from agriculture, how are we changed by being grafted on to the life of the Spirit that is Jesus? Do we lose our personality?
• What does it mean to be rooted in Jesus?
  How do we do this?
• What is the role of the gardener in pruning and training the vine?
  How did Jesus’ passion prune and refine who Jesus was?
  Is it comforting or disturbing to think that Jesus’ own father in heaven cut off and trimmed whatever in Jesus that was not going to bear fruit?
• What in my own personality, goals, or behavior needs pruning to better dwell in Jesus and to bear better fruit?
  What would that better fruit look like?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Adapted from Professor Barbara Reid, O.P., PhD, President of the Catholic Theological Union, Chicago:

• In your own words, ask Christ to prune in you whatever impedes your “bearing much fruit.”
• Spend some quiet time today enjoying simply dwelling with the Triune One who makes a home in you.
• In your own words, give thanks for the Word and the Eucharist, through which we abide in Christ and Christ in us.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

How diverse is our faith community writ large? How diverse is it in my local community? How does the vine and branches image respect the diversity within our church—in this community and beyond? How comfortable are we in that diversity? What are the personal and institutional challenges of diversity in our faith community? How do they affect you? How have we worked to minimize the diversity until we are comfortable?

Sit for a moment and let the image of the vine in this gospel speak to you about your rootedness in Jesus, and about our interconnectedness because we are ALL rooted in God. Where can you do better in this regard?

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Adaptated from “First Impressions”:

Imagine Jesus on that night in Gethsemane: Imagine the noises around you, the snuffling (read: snoring) of your friends behind you. What do you think is about to happen? How do you know this? Imagine talking to your Abba, your Father in heaven, telling him of your fears. What are you afraid of? Name it. What goes through your mind and heart as you ask for His help, his comfort, ask, even, to have this whole thing go away? How do you feel when there is silence from the other end? Is there silence from the other end? What makes you decide to let all of the events play out? Do you hope to be rescued? When you are at your lowest point, without even your friends to bear you company, and you hear the noises of an armed crowd coming through the darkness in your direction, what is being pruned in your spirit?

Upon deeper reflection of Jesus’ last days, we realize that out connectedness to God does not insure that life will be a cake walk. No one was more connected to the “vine grower” than Jesus, yet he had to “walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Look at how much fruit the “vine dresser” brought out of Jesus’ life through his suffering. Feeling abandoned may be a natural feeling when we are suffering; but faith in Jesus reminds us that we are not cast off and that, through Christ, we are in a powerful and meaningful relationship with God. It becomes easy to drift away from Jesus through busyness, anxiety, or personal and relationship preoccupations. What can I do to “remain” in Christ, letting his words nourish and direct me when I am in danger of losing touch with Him?

Poetic Reflection:

Read the following poem by the late Stanford professor and poet Denise Levertov. What does it say about the difficulty of “remaining” with and in God?

“Flickering Mind”

Lord, not you
it is I who am absent.
At first
belief was a joy I kept in secret,
stealing alone
into sacred places:
a quick glance, and away—and back,
circling.
I have long since uttered your name
but now
I elude your presence.
I stop
to think about you, and my mind
at once
like a minnow darts away,
darts
into the shadows, into gleams that fret
unceasing over
the river’s purling and passing.
Not for one second
will my self hold still, but wanders
anywhere,
everywhere it can turn. Not you,
it is I am absent.
You are the stream, the fish, the light,
the pulsing shadow.
You the unchanging presence, in whom all
moves and changes.
How can I focus my flickering, perceive
at the fountain’s heart
the sapphire I know is there?

Closing Prayer

Adapted from “Sacred Space”:

Dear Jesus, you seem to love that little word abide. Teach me what it is to live in you, and for you to live in me. It means being in love with you, being at ease with you, finding my strength in you and being ready, when questioned, to explain to others what you are in my life. Please help those who feel sad, alone, anxious, and abandoned to realize that you are always with them, always abiding in them, always loving them. Help me to reflect that love to others as well.

“I Am” Statements in the Gospel of John

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes seven statements beginning with the words I am. Each of these “I am” proclamations furthers our understanding of Jesus’ ministry in the world. They also link Jesus to the Old Testament revelation of God.

In the Old Testament, God revealed His name to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). Thus, in Judaism, “I AM” is unquestionably understood as a name for God. Whenever Jesus made an “I am” statement in which He claimed attributes of deity, He was identifying Himself as God.

Here are the seven metaphorical “I am” statements found in John’s gospel: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51). In this chapter, Jesus establishes a pattern that continues through John’s gospel—Jesus makes a statement about who He is, and He backs it up with something He does. In this case, Jesus states that He is the bread of life just after He had fed the 5,000 in the wilderness. At the same time, He contrasts what He can do with what Moses had done for their ancestors: “Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die” (verses 49–50).

“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5). This second of Jesus’ “I am” statements in John’s gospel comes right before He heals a man born blind. Jesus not only says He is the light; He proves it. Jesus’ words and actions echo Genesis 1:3, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

“I am the door” (John 10:7 and 9, ESV). This “I am” statement stresses that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven by any other means than Christ Himself. Jesus’ words in this passage are couched in the imagery of a sheepfold. He is the one and only way to enter the fold. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber” (verse 1, ESV).

“I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14). With this “I am” statement, Jesus portrays His great love and care. He is the One who willingly protects His flock even to the point of death (verses 11 and 15). When Jesus called Himself the good shepherd, He unmistakably took for Himself one of God’s titles in the Old Testament: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1).

“I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Jesus made this “I am” statement immediately before raising Lazarus from the dead. Again, we see that Jesus’ teaching was not just empty talk; when He made a claim, He substantiated it with action. He holds “the keys of death and the grave” (Revelation 1:18, NLT). In raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus showed how He can fulfill Yahweh’s promise to ancient Israel: “[God’s] dead shall live; their bodies shall rise” (Isaiah 26:19, ESV). Apart from Jesus, there is neither resurrection nor eternal life.

“I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). This powerful “I am” statement of Christ’s is packed with meaning. Jesus is not merely one way among many ways to God; He is the only way. Scripture said that “The very essence of [God’s] words is truth” (Psalm 119:160, NLT), and here is Jesus proclaiming that He is the truth—confirming His identity as the Word of God (see John 1:1, 14). And Jesus alone is the source of life; He is the Creator and Sustainer of all life and the Giver of eternal life.

“I am the true vine” (John 15:1, 5). The final metaphorical “I am” statement in the Gospel of John emphasizes the sustaining power of Christ. We are the branches, and He is the vine. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit unless it is joined in vital union with the vine, only those who are joined to Christ and receive their power from Him produce fruit in the Christian life.

There are two more “I am” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. These are not metaphors; rather, they are declarations of God’s name, as applied by Jesus to Himself. The first instance comes as Jesus responds to a complaint by the Pharisees. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus says, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58). The verbs Jesus uses are in stark contrast with each other: Abraham was, but I am. There is no doubt that the Jews understood Jesus’ claim to be the eternal God incarnate, because they took up stones to kill Him (verse 59).

The second instance of Jesus applying to Himself the name I AM comes in the Garden of Gethsemane. When the mob came to arrest Jesus, He asked them whom they sought. They said, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and Jesus replied, “I am he” (John 18:4–5). Then something strange happened: “When Jesus said, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground” (verse 6). Perhaps explaining the mob’s reaction is the fact that the word he has been provided by our English translators. Jesus simply said, “I am.” Applying God’s covenant name to Himself, Jesus demonstrated His power over His foes and showed that His surrender to them was entirely voluntary (see John 10:17–18; 19:11).

Analysis of John 15: 1–8

Analysis adapted from Invitation to John by George W MacRae, S.J.:

This passage is from the farewell discourse of Jesus, which in John, is long. It covers John 13:3—John 17:26. (In John, the final discourse takes up almost one quarter of the entire gospel.) These chapters are not unified in form and content, mostly because they are composed of variously distinct portions of discourse. Chapter 14 alerts us to this problem in that it is complete in itself, ending in what appears to be a final remark of Jesus. Yet there are three more chapters of discourse to follow. The result of this collection is a very long section characterized by repetition, variations on the same themes, sometimes even contradiction. But there is an overall unity of themes throughout the chapters, such as the departure and return of Jesus, the sending of the Holy Spirit, the mutual love of Father and Son, the new commandment of love, and others.

What is most distinctive about these discourses, however, is the tone of them. There is nothing of the air of confrontation and challenge that mark the discourses of the Book of signs (the first 11 chapters). Even the use of symbols and misunderstanding is greatly lessened, thought Jesus does not explain as clearly as the disciples exuberantly claim in 16:29. What accounts for the change in tone is that these discourses are addressed to the disciples—and thus to the Christian readers of the gospel—to help them (and us) to interpret the death and resurrection of Christ.

Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2024

What it means to belong to Jesus

John 10: 11–18

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; 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. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Music Meditations

• “The Lord Is My Shepherd” (composed by John Rutter) [YouTube]
• “Untitled Hymn” (“Come to Jesus”) (Chris Rice) [YouTube]
• “Shepherd Me, O God” (sung by John Michael Talbot) [YouTube]
• “Give Me Jesus” (sung by Fernando Ortega) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

Lord, on this good shepherd Sunday, I will give thanks because in You I will never perish! No one will snatch me from Your hand. Your Father, who has given me to You, is greater than them all, Amen. Eternal God, Lord, I was once a sheep going astray; but I have now returned to You the Shepherd and Overseer of my soul!

Companions for the Journey

From “Living Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday because, in each year of the liturgical cycle on this 4th Sunday, the gospel is always taken from the 10th chapter of John where Jesus speaks of himself as the “good shepherd”.

In today’s passage Jesus emphasizes the self-sacrificing element in his own life: “The good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep.” He contrasts the good shepherd who owns the sheep to someone who is simply hired to look after them. The hired man thinks primarily of his own welfare and, if he sees a wolf coming, he takes off, leaving the sheep to be attacked and scattered in fear and terror. Jesus, on the other hand, will not be like a hired person: “I lay down my life for my sheep.” Perhaps he contrasts himself with those mercenary religious leaders among his own people—and to be found in every religious grouping—who do just what is expected of them but have no real commitment or sense of responsibility to those in their charge.

He knows his sheep

Secondly, the good shepherd knows his sheep and they know him. There is a mutual bond of love and intimacy. That love is compared to the deep mutual relationship that exists between Jesus and his Father. “My own know me just as the Father knows me.” Again the hired man or the self-interested leader will not have such a relationship with his charges. The Second Reading speaks in similar terms when the author says, “Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children, and that is what we are.”

One shepherd and one flock

Thirdly, the good shepherd deeply desires that many other sheep should come to identify themselves with him. “There are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well.” The ultimate goal is that “there will be only one flock, and one shepherd”, that the whole world will be united together with its God and Lord. This is the meaning of the Kingdom which is at the heart of the Gospel message.

This is a goal which preoccupies us still today. There are still so many millions of people who have not yet heard the message of a loving God, a God who sent his only Son to die for them. They seek meaning and happiness in their lives by pursuing all kinds of other goals which inevitably turn to ashes: material abundance, status in the eyes of others, power over others, mistaking pleasure and hedonism for happiness… In so doing, they reject Jesus the Good Shepherd. “Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us.” This is something we must learn to accept as a fact, even if it is hard to understand and even harder to take. No matter how closely we follow in the footsteps of our Shepherd, in fact, the more closely we follow him, the more likely it is that we will be rejected and even attacked. More tragic still, however, there are so many people who claim Christ as Lord, many of them very good and sincere people, who are often divided, even bitterly divided among themselves. Here, more than anywhere is there a need for all to follow one Shepherd and form one flock. Otherwise how can we give witness to the love of Christ if that love is lacking among the servants of Jesus?

Lastly, there are those who, though incorporated through baptism into the Body of Christ, consistently behave in a way which totally distorts people’s understanding of Christ and his call to discipleship, fulfillment and happiness. Probably, most of us have at one time or another failed in our call to give witness to the truth and love that is to be found in Christ. Jesus emphasizes that, in giving his life for his sheep, he is doing so of his own will. It is not just by force of circumstances. His death is to be the living proof that “the greatest love a person can show is to give one’s life for one’s friends”. This is the proof that Jesus truly is a Good Shepherd.

On the face of it and looked at with purely secular eyes, the life and mission of Jesus seemed an utter failure. Even Jesus’ friends and admirers must have shaken their heads in sorrow as they saw him die on the cross. Jesus himself said “It is finished.” But, for him, the words had a completely different meaning. What do you think He meant?

Further reflection:

• Reflections on Fourth Sunday of Easter (year B) from “First Impressions” >>

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

I know mine and mine know me

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Who are the people who give of their life for your safety?
  How much compassion do you think they have for you as a person?
  How much personal risk do they live with in order to be faithful to your well-being?
• Would you find it more difficult to live your life with a one-time personal risk or daily caring for a person with special needs?
• Who do you think Jesus was talking about when he said he has other sheep not of this fold?
  How does Jesus lead them?
  How do they hear his voice?
  How could you help them feel like they belong to the one fold?
• How does being successful smart, rich, or powerful make it hard at times to look on Jesus as the shepherd of our lives?
• Do I believe that Jesus knows, me—really knows me?
  How does that make me feel?
• How does it make me feel to know that Jesus came to earth, lived and died for love of me?
  What kind of a response does that knowledge call from me?
• From Sacred space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
  How do imagine the voice of God—the voice of a demanding father, a complaining mother, a moralizing preacher, or the voice of a lover?
  Do I hear Jesus’ voice, or do I sometimes ignore it?
• In which people do I hear the voice of the Good shepherd speaking to me?
  Who, in your contemporary world, would you name as “good shepherds”?
• Have I ever encountered anyone in my life who was merely a “hired hand”—doing what he or she did for money, not for love?
  Did I trust this person?
  Was his or her concern for me personal or merely transactional?
  Did this person ever make any personal sacrifices on my behalf?
• Have I ever acted as a ‘hired hand” when someone or some cause needed me to make a greater effort?
• Have I ever met a “bad shepherd”—one who pretended to look out for the welfare of others, but in actuality was uncaring, or worse, a predator?
• Who or what are the “wolves” in my life—
  The wolf of anger and resentment
  The wolf of busyness or achievement
  The wolf of fear,
  The wolf of failure,
  The wolf of brokenness
  In dealing with these “wolves” did I turn to Jesus, my good shepherd?
• Who are the “false shepherds” that I have listened to in my life?
  How did they mislead me?
• I am to bring other sheep also. Do I make other feel welcome in my life, my job, my church?
  Do I make a difference, and if so, how?
  Do I answer this question in terms of power and success or in terms of nurturing another?
• If I am in a position of shepherding—caring for or advising and teaching those more vulnerable, what are my responsibilities in terms of safety, honesty, understanding, personal sacrifice?
• Have I ever found myself in a situation where I was called on to put my own well-being at risk in order to respond to the needs of another?
  Did I do so?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read the following verses from Psalm 118, then re-write it in the second person (e.g., “I thank you Lord, for you are good...”). Feel free to play with the language—this is your letter to God, not the psalmist's. By what salutation do you greet your Good Shepherd (My Lord, Dear Jesus, Dear Friend, Beloved, etc.)?

Give praise to the LORD, for he is good; his mercy endures forever.
I called to the LORD in my distress; he has answered and freed me.
The LORD is at my side; I do not fear. What can mankind do against me?
The Lord is at my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on my foes.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man;
it is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
I shall not die, I shall live and recount the deeds of the LORD.
I will thank you, for you have answered, and you are my savior.
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.
Blest is he who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD;
the LORD is God, and has given us light.
You are my God, I praise you. My God, I exalt you.
Give praise to the LORD, for he is good; his mercy endures forever.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Let’s think about the sheep.

Many people have a problem with the passage because they object to being thought of as sheep. Who are the sheep typically thought to be? Stupid creatures, prone to dangers and worse without someone to lead them, to think for them, to warn them of dangers. (In all honesty, many Catholics resent being referred to as “the flock” because of the many instances in our near and distant history in which the ordinary Catholic was told who was wrong, who was holy, who was sinful, who was good, how to vote, told that their job was to obey unquestioningly their bishop, who carries the shepherd’s crozier.) There has been a movement since Vatican II to own our own consciences, to question even ecclesiastical leadership when bad behavior came to light, a movement to demand moral and financial transparency from our religious and civil leaders. To people who feel that ordinary people have in the past been dismissed by their civil or religious leaders, the sheep reference is insulting.

Let’s look at it another way: there is something about sheep that is exuberant, something about sheep that is abundant, something about sheep that is honest, whole, and life-giving. What makes sheep lovable is their vulnerability, their honesty, the way in which they are always hopeful. According to scientists, sheep feel pain, sadness and loneliness. Sheep are not aggressive, seeking power and dominance. With sheep, what you see is what you get; there is no subterfuge, no hidden agenda. Sheep struggle and do not do well when handled roughly or mistreated; when handled gently and kindly, they are very mild-mannered and agreeable.

I’m thinking that alternatively, our culture values the wolf of busyness, the wolf of achievement, the wolf of needing approval, the wolf of always having to be right and in control. Or maybe it is the wolf of failure, the wolf of despair, the wolf of brokenness, because we are not “wolfish” enough.

How many of us are dealing with wolves in our lives right now? Are we wolves in the lives of others because that is how success works? Is life really a zero-sum game? If so, there is certainly no place for sheep. Have there been any sheep in your lives? Have they brightened your day, made life better? Have you been a good shepherd for them? Is that necessary? Do you possess any wolf qualities? Do you possess any sheep qualities? Be honest. Which are more Christ-like? Who needs the good shepherd—the sheep, the wolves, or both?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

By Sr. Terry Davis, SND

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”. Because the Gospel describes this image of God, that is where my reflection carried me. I am often reminded of the time I wandered into a church, was surprised by the large number of children and was treated to an hour of listening to different children’s choirs. One song in particular still lingers and it is “Do you know your Shepherd’s Voice?”

In the Gospel, Jesus states, “I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and mine know me.” This implies a relationship that is so much more than a list of moral codes and religious practices. Jesus is calling us to a deep and intimate relationship, in which we know and hear his voice, and this is reciprocal.

I have listened to the song numerous times and it still calls to me, in the innocence of the voices and in its compelling questions: Do you hear? Are you listening? This is the chorus:

Do you know your Shepherd’s voice
Are you list’ning with your heart
Have you stopped to hear Him calling
Felt the peace His words impart
As the world shouts its orders
That are easiest to hear
Won’t you draw away and listen
To your Shepherd.

(Text and Music by Susan Lord)

Here is a link to one YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-Oy1Cwi0SM There are many more versions that you can watch. I suggest, however, that you close your eyes and simply listen to the children singing. Perhaps you can then take some time to let their questions find a home and an answer in your heart.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/A sort of “Examen”:

Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Not only does Jesus welcome everyone into his flock, but if I’m not there, he invites me in
Jesus loves me and invites me to love him just like he knows and loves the Father… that is a serious depth of love.
I take a moment to imagine being loved in this way.

Do I hear Jesus’ voice, or do I sometimes ignore it?
If he comes searching, am I going to listen?
“they will listen to my voice”
How do I imagine the voice of God? A hectoring father? A nagging mother? A moralizing preacher? A roaring sergeant major?
No, it is the voice of a lover, who knows me in my uniqueness and calls me by name.

The true voice of Jesus tones in with the deepest desires and hopes of the human heart—for love, justice, forgiveness and fulfillment. Other sheep will hear his voice and will not find it strange. He speaks a language all can understand—the language of the heart. He speaks the language of self-sacrificing love and faithful love for all.

Of all that you say here, Lord, your last words hearten me the most: “I must bring the other sheep also, so there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Your voice will now be heard mainly through the lives of others, through my life… where I share goodness and love and all that goes with them, your voice, O Christ, will be heard.

Jesus, I look back over my day and reflect on the ways in which I have listened to your voice, on the ways I ignored or rejected your voice calling me to be in in your presence, wrapped in your love and care. I reflect on ways in which I have brought your love and message to others whom I have encountered this day… I pray in thanksgiving for all the beauties with which you have surrounded me, all the graces that have been presented to me this day, whether I was aware or not. I pray for greater consciousness of your presence and for openness to the needs of others in my life.

Thank you. Thank you.

Poetic Reflection:

How does this poem/prayer by Thomas Merton remind you of Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd) or of what we need the Good Shepherd to help us with in our lives?

Teach me to go to this country beyond words and beyond names.
Teach me to pray on this side of the frontier, here where these woods are.
I need to be led by you.
I need my heart to be moved by you.
I need my soul to be made clean by your prayer. I need my will to be made strong by you.
I need the world to be saved and changed by you.
I need you for all those who suffer, who are in prison, in danger, in sorrow.
I need you for all the crazy people.
I need your healing hand to work always in my life.
I need you to make me, as you made your Son, a healer, a comforter, a savior.
I need you to name the dead.
I need you to help the dying cross their particular rivers.
I need you for myself whether I live or die.
It is necessary.
Amen.

(from A Book of Hours, Ave Maria Press, p. 67)

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, I believe that you are the good shepherd. I believe that you love me. I believe that you will never leave me. I trust you.

Help me to spread your love and care to those in need of comfort and reassurance, and to those who may not realize their need for your comfort and reassurance.