2nd Sunday after Easter 14.4.13 Good Shepherd
When we see a great crowd of people, it is tempting to see them as an anonymous mass, something like a flock of sheep on the hillside. But in fact, each person is an immortal soul, meant for heaven.
There are billions of people in this world and we cannot know more than a tiny proportion of that number. But God knows them all, and furthermore is greatly concerned for each one.
He knows each person inside out - our name, everything about us, every deed we ever did, every word we every spoke, every thought, fear, desire, hope we ever had within us.
The Shepherd knows His sheep; better than we know ourselves.
We might feel threatened by that. There are certain times we do not want to be known, do not want to come into the light. This is particularly when we have sinned, or when we are aware of some weakness in us.
We are afraid that if certain things were known about us our image would suffer; we would be less popular than at present.
Yet God’s knowledge of us is from an attitude of love not condemnation.
He is ready to forgive any sin on our part; ready to help us correct any fault or deficiency; willing to pour out more graces upon us.
His knowledge is benevolent and will do us good. If we come clean with Him He can help us and we will feel liberated.
So we are not trying to evade him (like Adam hiding in the bushes after consciousness of sin) but joyfully seeking out His will and the grace to put that will into effect.
If the Shepherd seeks the sheep, so should the sheep seek the Shepherd.
We ‘know His voice’ as Our Lord puts it. We are happy to be near Him.
We go to Him when we are asking Him for favours; when we see Him as provider; as powerful and good; when we need something.
The crowds would flock to Jesus when He was healing their sickness. But they were not so keen to be near Him when He would tell them how to live their lives, or what commandments they had to keep.
We must want to be near Him at all times, when we seek blessings and when we need our sins forgiven.
We must not let pride keep us distant from Him.
What He is asking for is complete surrender, complete abandonment to His will, and a higher level of trust.
Even when we do approach Him we can be lacking faith. We can resent prayers not answered; doubt He will hear us this time.
We fear that He will tax us with too much suffering, or otherwise differ in His plans from our own plans.
Yes, we have our own plans, and we can be very attached to them. And the Good Shepherd might overrule us and say, Come, follow Me! Then we are not so happy, but we will be happy if we do follow Him.
Sometimes we want to be our own God. If I am a sheep I am also my own shepherd. I follow myself; I set my own agenda, determine my own course. I will call on Him when I need Him but otherwise I will do it myself.
No, we need complete allegiance, abandonment to His mercy. Till we see ourselves as He sees us. Remember He knows us so much better than we know ourselves.
We live in a world where generally God is squeezed out of the discussion. It would seem that politics and economics is all that matters. When leaders of nations decide what to do next, do they ask: what does God want?
And many people will be like that with their own lives. Who needs God?
But this is the tower of Babel all over again. Trying to build our own civilisation. The tower will not stand.
Unless the Lord build the house in vain do the builders labour (Ps 126,1). Unless we let the Shepherd rule us we will never progress.
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