This Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Every year the Fourth Sunday of Easter comes from the 10th chapter of John’s Gospel. In Cycle B this year, we hear the middle verses (11-18) of this chapter. In it Jesus declares himself to be the Good Shepherd: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus goes on to contrast the actions of the good shepherd with the actions of the hired shepherd who abandons the sheep in the face of danger. Jesus tells us that the actions of the good shepherd are based upon the relationship that develops between the shepherd and the sheep. Again Jesus’ words: “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.” You can sense the relationship; you can sense the love.
To what might we compare these words of Jesus in our world today so that we might better understand the kind of relationship Jesus seeks with us? Consider the nuclear family — as it gives us a wonderful example of being both ‘shepherd’ and ‘sheep’. Parents make sacrifices for their children not because it is required, but because it is a choice. It’s rooted in love - the dynamics of a healthy family life. Parents choose to make sacrifices for their children out of love, not obligation. Christian parents model and invite their children to choose to make sacrifices for other family members and for other people, acting out of love and not simply obligation.
So on this Good Shepherd Sunday, when you gather as a family, talk about what it means to be family - and how all members can strive to be ‘good shepherds’. Recall Jesus’ promise to protect us from harm, to rescue us when we stray, and to guide us home at the end of the day. With Jesus and his Father as our model, how can we go wrong?