Dear Christ the King family,
This weekend, we celebrate the fourth Sunday in Easter, and it is commonly known as Good Shepherd Sunday. For the next few weeks, our Gospel readings depart from relating the disciples’ post-resurrection encounters with the Lord. That fact, along with the simple passage of time putting us at a greater distance from Easter Sunday, can almost make us forget that we are still in Easter at all. Yet this season of joy, celebration, and feasting continues—all the way up to Pentecost, 50 days after Easter! It’s telling that our season of feasting and rejoicing is, in fact, longer than our Lenten season of fasting and penitence. Our overall orientation as Catholic Christians is meant to be one of rich delight in the newness of life that has been bestowed upon us in Christ who triumphed over sin and death.
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
Jesus’ declaration of His mission at the conclusion of our Gospel this Sunday reinforces this Easter joy. It is probably my favorite verse in all of scripture. These words remind us that at the heart of our faith and our Christian discipleship is the promise of rich happiness and abundant life. Even when remaining faithful to Christ is challenging, even when it brings on the sufferings of the cross, and even when our material circumstances are marked by poverty and strain, this abundance of life remains our treasured possession, deeply embedded within our hearts when we stay close to Jesus Christ our shepherd. Another translation reads: I came that they might have life, and have it to the full.
The image of Jesus as shepherd and us as the sheep is a humbling one for us, even while it also evokes God’s tender care for us. Sheep are not the cleverest of animals, and they can at times be quite stubborn and prone to wandering off, even though it is in their best interest to stay with their flock. St. Peter plays off this image in describing how Jesus has freed us all from sin and shown to us the path of righteousness: you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
Embracing Jesus as our Good Shepherd means owning the truth that we are like sheep—prone to go astray; often stubborn; and no matter how mature and adult we may be, always in need of a wise and loving guardian of our souls. We cannot construct or invent the fullness of life that Jesus speaks about on our own. It is only in his care, only with his grace, through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit that this is possible. And as social animals – like sheep!—this is only possible when we are also united with the rest of the flock, the Church.
Brothers and sisters, as we continue through this season of Easter joy, let us take care not to be led astray by the thieves and robbers of this world—by false illusions of happiness and success rooted in pleasure, wealth, power and reputation and presented by political demagogues, popular media, and internet ‘influencers.’ But let us hold fast to the one true Shepherd, Jesus Christ, active and moving in His Church. He knows us, and He loves us, and if we entrust ourselves to Him, he will continue to lead us to fullness of life. For He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly.
Happy Easter,
Fr. Cameron Cortens, C.S.C.
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