The Gospel of John, chapter 10:27

Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd and those who follow Him He calls, the flock. A good shepherd knows each of his sheep, individually, and he treasures them all, equally. If one of the sheep strays from the flock, a good shepherd will go to extremes to find that stray and unite it with his flock.

This image of the Good Shepherd represents the intimate relationship Christ has with each of us, who are His flock. He will never abandon us; never let us down; and will always be there to raise us up whenever we falter or fail. He is our guide in all that is good, just, and wholesome.

In the gospel of John, chapter 10, Jesus says that His sheep (His followers) “hear His voice” and “follow” Him. How do we hear His voice? We “hear His voice” when we listen to the scriptures; the word of God, the voice of the Good Shepherd. And, we “follow” Him when we put His word into practice; when we allow Him to influence our life-style.

St. Francis of Assisi is reputed to have been the most Christ-like of men. He was not always like that. In his early life, he was a playboy, a lover of fine clothes and loose living. Then one day he heard the call of Christ and he followed Him. He abandoned his old ways; and embraced a life of simplicity so that he would no longer be a prisoner to wealth and fleeting attractions. He discovered the pure joy of living a life unencumbered by worldly possessions; the joy of following the Good Shepherd.

What is true of the call of St. Francis is also true of everyone who wishes to follow Christ, the Good Shepherd. You don’t have to give up your profession, or your car, or your house, or your savings account. But, you have to be detached from all these material things if you want to follow the Good Shepherd. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but looses his soul?” says Christ, the Good Shepherd

What is the most important thing in your life? Your job? Or, your soul? To the degree that we listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and put His words into practice, we are nourishing the needs of the soul. To the degree that we do not listen to the Good Shepherd, and put more emphasis on material possessions than spiritual riches, we fail to respond to His call because we are worshiping mammon; that is, money or possessions.

The earliest sculpture of Christ, discovered in Rome, depicts Him as a loving shepherd with a lamb wrapped around His shoulders. This image of Christ rescuing the stray sheep speaks to the essence of Christ’s ministry. He came to redeem sinners not the righteous. He turned a prostitute into a saint; a greedy tax collector into a generous follower; a self righteous Pharisee into a humble image of Himself. There is no end to the compassion of the Good Shepherd; and there is no human life that cannot be turned around by His healing power.

Fr. Hugh Duffy