April 13, Fourth Sunday of Easter

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.-- Psalm 23:1

Mass readings: Acts 2:14,36-41 / 1 Peter 2:20-25 / John 10:1-10

The Good Shepherd

Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, an image that we've treasured for nearly 2,000 years. But if He is the shepherd, then we are the sheep. It's not a compliment. Sheep are, to put it kindly, really dumb. There are many sheep farms where I live and sometimes, for amusement, I go stand at the fence and ''baa'' at them. They never do anything. They are too dumb to be scared and too dumb to check me out. They just stand there, staring. It's little wonder they need a shepherd. Without one, they would never make it through the winter.

Come to think of it, maybe being called sheep isn't that far off the mark after all. Without Our Lord to lead us, we'd probably just stand around, too.

Prayer: Lord, be kind to me, Your little sheep.