4td Sunday of Easter (B) - Good Shepherd Sunday

First reading: Acts 4:8-12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118
Second reading: 1 John 3:1-2
Gospel reading: John 10:11-18

"For this sheep I will give My life."

The first three Easter Sundays narrate to us the Resurrection of
Jesus and His appearances to His followers: the first spoke of the
empty tomb; the second spoke of Him appearing to St. Thomas; and
in the third Sunday, we learned of Jesus reappearing to the
disciples whom He walked with on the way to Emmaus. This fourth
Sunday of Easter, we shall hear proclaimed in the Mass, how Jesus
is our Good Shepherd - One who will lay down His very life for us.
And Jesus does not limit His being Shepherd to our families and
our communities only. He knows that there are also other sheep He
must bring into our sheepfold - so that as they hear the voice of
Jesus, there shall then be one flock, and one Shepherd.

Many of us are familiar with the term "black sheep". And we know
that in some families, the members of those families treat one
member as the "black sheep of the family" - one who has followed
a direction of error and sin. But whether there is a "black
sheep" in some families we know, or even in our own families, we
are not to lose hope or give up on this person. Jesus, the Good
Shepherd does not give up on any one - no matter how sinful or
evil he has become (as long as there is a desire to repent from
his ways and turn back to God). If any sheep has strayed from the
sheepfold of God, our Good Shepherd will go out of His way in
search of that "black sheep".

This is how great the love of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has for
each and every one of us: that even while we were still sinners,
He gave the gift of His life, so that we may be saved from our
sins. The Good Shepherd cares for each and every one of His sheep
in the sheepfold, and even goes far and wide, to bring those who
do not belong to the sheepfold, into His own special care, love,
attention, and protection.

As followers of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we too are called to
shepherd our brothers and sisters - to shepherd them to what is
right and lead them to the love of Christ. This we can do in very
simple ways - through creating a space for silence and reflection,
to use words of sincere gratitude, to beam and give a pleasant
smile, or to brighten up the day of others with a friendly and
bright smile.