30 April 2023

30 April 2023

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, but I find it curious that in the Gospel reading itself, we do not hear Jesus refer to himself as the Good Shepherd. Instead, he refers to himself as a door or a gate. He declares, “I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7). Why would Jesus refer to himself as a door (and twice I might add)?

            Jesus states, “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture…I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:9-10). Jesus is the entryway into true life: this “pasture.” Jesus talks about having divine life here and now and for all eternity. Through Jesus, we access a different quality of life with infinite quantity. We believe, too, that we can possess that life now here on earth. As the First Reading (Acts 2:36-41) shows, three thousand people get baptized after hearing Peter proclaim the Gospel. Baptism is the door to paradise: It is through Jesus that this life is granted not just in some distant future alone but right then and there. Jesus brings us this abundant life today.

            But this means there are no shortcuts to the good life, according to Jesus. There is one way, and that is through Him: the Prince of Peace. We can’t climb over the wall to get in, or sneak around through a backdoor. We can read all the self-help books we want and try to accomplish all we set out to do for ourselves, but it will not necessarily lead to the type of life Jesus gives us. All that is needed is to pass through the gate and let Jesus, the Good Shepherd take care of us from there.