Today is the Good Shepherd Sunday. We celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, who takes care of His flock, leading them through life’s rough and dreary roads to good pasture and the Father’s house.
In today’s first reading, Peter urges the crowd in his Pentecost message to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins so that they may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He proclaims that Jesus, who was crucified, is both Lord and Christ. Peter’s preaching led to the conversion of about three thousand people that day.
In the 2nd reading, we hear Peter again, as the vicar of Christ, encouraging Christians to endure suffering patiently, even when it is undeserved like Christ did when he suffered unjustly for our sake. He did not retaliate or speak harshly but trusted God to judge justly. They should be like sheep under Christ, the Chief shepherd of souls.
In the gospel, Jesus uses the analogy of a shepherd and his sheep to illustrate his relationship with his followers. He describes himself as the Gate for the sheep; only those who enter through him will be saved. The sheep recognize their Shepherd’s voice and follow him, not strangers. Jesus promises that whoever enters through him will have abundant life.
The word of God presenting Jesus to us as the Shepherd of our souls and the Gate to the Sheepfold emphasizes that Jesus is the only way to salvation. We miss the path to God if we neglect Him. The crowd who listened to Peter’s Pentecost message and was deeply moved represent a picture of a flock that heard the voice of their souls’ Shepherd calling on them. God is still calling on many souls through His ministers.
Let us offer prayers for the successors of the Apostles and for all the clergy, that they may lead the flock of God in the right place and through the right door – Jesus Himself.