Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 26, 2015 Cycle B
by Rev. Jose Maria Cortes, F.S.C.E.
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Sunday Reading Meditations
In the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11). The image of a shepherd with his sheep conveys the idea of movement. The sheep need the shepherd to take them to pasture. We need to follow the Good Shepherd if we want true fulfillment.
Life is given to us so that we can return to the Father. We cannot return to him by ourselves. If we look seriously at ourselves, it is easy to understand that nothing and no one is able to fulfill the insatiable desire within us. We are all actually searching for God when we search for happiness, even if we are not aware of it. There is only one path to our eternal destiny.
The second reading tells us that our destiny is to see God: “We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (Jn 3:2). To see God is infinite happiness, the total fulfillment of our lives.
As we are right now, we cannot see God. We need to purify our hearts. We need to take the path toward purification. God wants us to see him as he is because he ardently desires our lives to be fulfilled. That is why he not only created us but also sent his Son to conquer whatever prevents us from reaching our destiny.
The Good Shepherd laid down his life for his sheep, so that we would become children of God. In the second reading, St. John says: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are” (Jn 3:1).
The path we need to take is to become conscious that we are children of God! We are not fully aware of who we are. We are not aware of God’s love.
Through baptism, we have truly received a new nature. The path of purification that we need to take is a path of awareness. As we become more aware of who we are, we change, our lives become better and we love more. Sin makes us self-centered. We need to regain our true center, which is in God. Jesus is with us. He walks with us. He wants to help us make the exodus from our selfishness to a new life in God.
The Good Shepherd is with us. The Risen Lord leads us through his Church. As we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, we pray especially for those appointed by Our Lord as the shepherds of our souls. We pray for the Pope, the bishops and the local pastors. Christ leads the Church but he does so mysteriously, through human shepherds who are full of limitations. We pray for all of them. May they never represent themselves but only the One who called them to their ministry. May the pastors of the Church be the first sheep to follow the Good Shepherd. Only a shepherd who is also a humble sheep can help people reach their destiny and see God as he is.
On Good Shepherd Sunday, let us commit ourselves more decisively to follow Jesus Christ, present in his Church. May each day of our lives be a step forward toward our eternal destiny.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.