The Fourth Sunday of Easter (2024)
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
—John 10:14-16
In his message for the 50th World Day of Prayer for Vocations (which is celebrated each year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter) Pope Benedict XVI observed, “Hope is the expectation of something positive in the future, yet at the same time it must sustain our present existence, which is often marked by dissatisfaction and failures… To have hope, therefore, is the equivalent of trusting in God who is faithful, who keeps the promises of the covenant.”
This sense of hope is at the heart of the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, which places before us one of the greatest biblical images of God’s faithful care and mercy: the Good Shepherd.
The Gospel of John uses the image of the Good Shepherd (cf. chapter 10) to illustrate the intimate way Christ knows each of us—the flock entrusted to his care—and how, like a faithful shepherd, he constantly watches over us and lifts us up. The most important point of this Sunday’s Gospel, however, is that eternal life is the Good Shepherd’s gift for us. Jesus is the source of this life and, precisely because he has given his life for “his flock,” we have an abundance of life. The Gospel, however, goes beyond its presentation of this truth and also presents us with an unspoken invitation: we have to be attentive and receptive to this gift of life and accepting that gift means that we listen to and follow the direction of our Shepherd. We see this lived out in the ministry of Peter and the Apostles who, through their preaching and the wonders they performed, witnessed to the salvation offered to us in Christ Jesus (cf. the First Reading: Acts 4:8-12).
“We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. In many passages we are told o the joy with which the Shepherd will come from heaven to recall his wandering sheep to life-giving pastures... Enter his gates, says the psalmist, giving thanks. ”
-Saint Peter Chrysologus; image: “The Good Shepherd” from the Catacomb of Priscilla (3rd century)
And so, on this Sunday when we pause to pray that God will bless the Church with an increase in the number of priests, deacons, and religious brothers and sisters, the Readings remind us that each of us (and not only our pastors) is called follow the example of the One who is the Good Shepherd and imitate him by building up the Church, promoting what Henri Nouwen has called the “three spiritual qualities of the resurrected life”: unity, intimacy, and integrity. “We are called,” he reflected, “to break through the boundaries of nationality, race, sexual orientation, age, and mental capacities and create a unity of love that allows the weakest among us to live well” (from The Road to Daybreak).
While we can (and should) take comfort in the Shepherd’s provident care and protection—and the gift of eternal life that he offers us—we can only say we truly know this Good Shepherd if we are willing to listen to his voice and follow his commands in our daily lives. In this Fourth Week of the Easter Season, we would do well to remember the words of Saint Cyril of Alexandria: “The mark of Christ’s sheep is their willingness to hear and obey… People who hear God’s voice are known by him.”
Almighty ever-living God,
lead us to a share in the joys of heaven,
so that the humble flock may reach
where the brave Shepherd has gone before.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
