Fourth Sunday of Easter
What is a sheep? What is a shepherd? What does it mean to follow Christ?
Being called a sheep might mean that I am a follower, I stay with the herd, and I do not go out on my own. It might mean that I need others in my life, I must trust someone to guide me, and I admit that I will never have all the answers.
Jesus tells his apostles that sheep must know the shepherd in order to be safe and live. So Peter, James, John, and the rest started out as sheep. They needed to know Jesus in order to follow Him (the Shepherd) to God. And what example did Christ give his sheep? If we must suffer in order to do good, so be it (amen).
Some sheep become shepherds, by the grace of God, and Peter was such a one. He called the people of Jerusalem, who crucified Jesus, to repentance and baptism. However, he did so with humility, since he knew he was still a sheep needing to follow the Shepherd, and who had also repented and received forgiveness.
Reflection by Br. Jacob Kubajak, OSB
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections