Good Shepherd Sunday - April 25, 2010

Thoughts for Today

On this Sunday, the readings focus on Jesus as the Good Shepherd.   We have Psalm 100 about us being His people, the sheep of His flock.  Then we have the second reading from the Book of Revelations in Chapter 7 when John describes a vision he has of people standing "before the throne, and before the Lamb."  The Gospel was about the sheep hearing Jesus' voice from Chapter 10 of John.

In Summary, the readings today are about Sheep - dumb, and Shepherd - smart.  We need a good shepherd, otherwise we are like the people in the First Reading from the Book of Acts, Chapter 13, where the Jews rejected the Gospel, and Paul and Barnabas moved on to the Gentiles.

Thinking on this, I was reminded of a paragraph from Jennifer Hartline's Sunday Praise piece from last evening:

The unfailing Love of Jesus! I wish I had a microphone to the whole world so I could say, "Everybody shut up and listen to me!  Jesus LOVES you even though you're a miserable, sinful, sometimes rotten human being and you're doing stupid things with your life!  Knock it off already and live like you're LOVED, CAUSE YOU ARE!!"

Sheep need a Good Shepherd to guide them, because sheep are by their nature dumb as posts.  How often do we turn away each day from the paths that the Lord has set us on.  Fortunately, He comes after us each time, whether we know it or not.  While we wander in the dark, or in unhealthy directions, the Good Shepherd seeks us and calls to us.

Why don't we hear Him calling to us?  There is too much noise in our society for us to hear, unless we consciously block it out.

So, "Knock it off already and live like you're LOVED, CAUSE YOU ARE!!"  To act like your loved, listen for the voice of your lover, Jesus.