Good Shepherd John 10:1-10

Homily  - When Jesus calls himself the "Good Shepherd" he is adding further to the full picture of himself.       

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Raymond ...
Sent: Mon, 16 May, 2011 10:27:38
Subject: Good Shepherd
We have many titles and names for Jesus given us in the scriptures, from the 
"Seed of the Woman" in Genesis to the "Son of God" at the Annunciation, and many others in between,  Each Title tells us something more about the person and 
mission of Jesus.  When Jesus calls himself the "Good Shepherd" he is adding
further to the full picture of himself.

He tells us, in this image, that he is not just one whom we adore and worship 
and thank and praise, but he is also one who cares for our every need, as a 
shepherd does for his flock.  He cares for us and protects us from the many 
dangers that surround us. 

Life is like a busy city street with traffic whizzing in all directions and we 
are like children standing at the kerb, unable to cross safely on our own.  St 
Paul gives us an even more dramatic image where he compares it to a battle in 
which our adversaries are not mere flesh and blood, but the powers of darkness 
themselves.  Jesus is even more explicit when he says that Satan claims power to 
sift us as wheat.  But he also reminds us that our Heavenly Father, who cares 
for the flowers of the field and the birds of the air cares even more for us his 
children. 

God, however doesn't care for us in the same way as we care for each other.  The 
best we can do for each other is to try to do each other good and ward of harm. 
But God can, and does, use even the harmful things that come our way and turns 
them to our benefit. "All things work together unto good for those who love the 
Lord."