4th Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:8-12 1 John 3:1-2 John 10:11-18
When Moses asked God for some identification, God replied ‘I am who I am’. And that is how we regard God to this day.
During the past week we read from the Acts of the Apostles how Paul asked Jesus ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting!’ Another time when Jesus is asked for identification is by Pilate: ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Other occasions when Jesus identifies himself are opportunities for Him to explain to those listening what his mission is and to give them images of himself which will be helpful and reassuring, images that are in themselves salvific.
But when Jesus appears to the disciples after the Resurrection, nobody asked him ‘who are you? They knew very well that it was the Lord’. These were the ones who had heard him describe himself while he was with them – in language that they understood.
In the Gospel of St John Jesus identifies Himself seven times with titles which we now know very well. Each one of these titles help us to see and understand different aspects of His life and His ministry to us.
‘I am the Light of the World’ – lifts our spirits and lights our way.
‘I am the way, the truth and the Life’ – is what gives us confidence on our journey of Faith.
‘I am the Bread of life’ – nourishes us and makes us strong for the journey.
‘I am the Vine and you are the branches’ – connects us and our growth to the person of Jesus.
‘I am the Resurrection’ – Jesus has overcome death and sin and promises the same for his disciples.
‘I am the gate of the sheepfold’ - the sheepfold is the place to which all disciples aspire.
In today’s Gospel we have ‘I am the Good Shepherd’. This is one of the best loved images of Jesus. But it is not just a romantic image. Shepherds were not usually held in high esteem in the time of Jesus. Often they were regarded as robbers, as dirty and antisocial. They spent their lives, not in lush grasslands but on the rocky barren out-backs of Galilee where sheep were usually kept. The aspects of a shepherd’s life with which Jesus identifies are; the dedication which living with the sheepfold entails: the one-to-one relationship of the shepherd living with the sheep: the risk to life in protection of the sheep: leading the sheep to green pastures: genuine concern and care for the sheep.
This is the sort of relationship that Jesus wishes to have with us and to which he invites us. But the emphasis of the Gospel today is really on us! Those who are members of the sheepfold are specifically the ones who listen to His voice, His word. It is through our response to his word that He knows us. His word today; ‘Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send labourers to his harvest’. This is one of only two times that Jesus asks us to pray for a specific intention. (The other; ‘Pray that you not be led into temptation’).
And while we listen to Lord referring to himself as the Good Shepherd perhaps we might also hear him ask each of us individually “Who do you say that I am?”