Weekly thoughts on the Sunday Gospel, readings or a topic...

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seeing your life through the lens of the gospels – John 10:1-10
1. In the Middle East, it was the task of the shepherd to find water and pasture and to ensure safety. In your life, who have been the people who nourished you and gave you security? For whom have you done this? How has Jesus been a good shepherd for you?
2. Important to the shepherd’s ability to give security to the sheep is the fact that he was known and familiar to them. They recognised his voice. Does this resonate in any way with your experience?
3. We are familiar with the image of Jesus as the shepherd. The image of Jesus as the door (or gate) is not so familiar but is one that merits attention. Jesus presents himself as the door through which we pass and find life. What are the doors through which you have passed and found life: a situation, a place, a book, an experience, a person? For whom have you been a door to a richer life?  – John Byrne, OSA

The Deep End
On this fourth Sunday of Easter we hear the beginning of the Good Shepherd discourse from John’s Gospel. Jesus portrays himself as a shepherd. And what is the duty of this shepherd? To protect his flock, to lead the flock, to know the flock. Jesus tells us that sheep recognise the voice of their shepherd, and that is why they follow him. This kind of trust could only be gained by a shepherd who handles his sheep, feeds them and protects them – to the extent that he smells like them. That’s how well Jesus knows us, and it is because of how intimately he knows us, how much he has sacrificed for us, and how well he cares for us, that we are able to love and follow him in return.
A beautiful line in this passage reads: ‘the sheep follow him because they know his voice.’ What does it mean, to know the voice of Jesus? It is to be in deep relationship with Him, to know His voice above the ‘noise’ of the world around us. In order to know someone, we have to spend time with them, being aware of their presence, talking to them, listening, considering them friend and beloved. So, in today’s Gospel we are invited into a deep relationship with the Shepherd; invited to listen out for his voice, a voice that brings peace, not discomfort.  – Jane Mellett

(from Intercom)