Today is good shepherd Sunday. The gospel reading speaks of Jesus taking care of his followers. But we need to understand the role of the shepherd, especially in the time in which the gospel was written.
Those who tended sheep were the sole source of protection and guidance for their herd. They spent every waking and sleeping, hour with their sheep.their sheep became family. And the sheep responded. The herd knew the voice of their shepherd and when he would call, they would respond to his voice only, no matter how many other shepherds were calling herds. The herd would be protected at night in a cave and the shepherd himself would sleep across the entrance to the cave so that non of his herd could leave without waking him and nothing could enter without waking him. In essence, he was the gateway in and out.
Jesus is still our gateway. We affirm that Jesus is the way. That He is the good shepherd protecting us from this world's evils and leading us to a new and better life. But we need to respond to his voice in a day and age where many voices call out to us. The voices of society tell us all about what we should believe and how we should live and they try to yell louder than our shepherd's voice. The voices inside of us: regret, fear,failure, defeat, uncertainty yell just as loud in a desperate attempt to disrupt the peacefulness of out master's voice.
We must strain to hear His call. To take moments of silence and listen for the whisper amid the storm that is Jesus beckoning us along the way, His way. We must pray, reflect, and respond.
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