Fourth Sunday of Easter (C): John 10:27-30
We are His people; the sheep of His flock. – Psalm 100:3
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. This is because the Gospel reading for this Sunday is always drawn from John 10, where Jesus speaks at length about Himself as the Good (or True) Shepherd.
For us, the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is consoling and comforting. We imagine Him, gentle and humble of heart, smiling and tending to His sheep. We picture cute lambs romping in meadows, amid wildflowers of all kinds. A very peaceful, totally non-threatening image.
There is a great deal of truth in this image, of course. Jesus is all these things for us, and more. We forget one “minor” detail, however. What was the result of Jesus’ original sermon on how He is the Good Shepherd? What kind of reaction did He get? Were people all starry-eyed and smiling dreamily? No. Read on for a few verses past our Gospel reading for today. They wanted to kill Jesus. Continue reading “Who Is My Shepherd?”