When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice.
A stranger they will not follow, but rather they will run away from him, because they don’t recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Jesus used this comparison, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, I am the gate of the sheep. All who came were thieves and robbers,
and the sheep did not hear them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved; he will go in and out freely and find food.
The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life, life in all its fullness.
LECTIO DIVINA:
Read: Jesus calls himself the “gate” in today’s Gospel, and the second reading calls him our “Shepherd and Guardian” of our souls.
There’s a reason shepherds at that time were sometimes referred to as the “sheep gate”,
and it was because they would often lie down where the opening to the pen would be,
in order that none of the sheep may go out and stray, and no wolf or wild animal could go in and harm the sheep.
Good shepherds literally “laid down” their lives in order to protect their sheep.
Reflect: Too often, when we face difficulties and hardships and approach Jesus for help,
we think of him as someone who is able, because of his power, to somehow “swoop down”
and change the situation for us, to solve the problem or to just make it go away. He is of course, more than able to do that.
But how often do we think of Jesus as someone who is “present” with us, walking with us, accompanying us,
comforting and consoling us, when the storms of life come our way? The readings for Mass today remind us that Jesus,
the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep, is also the ever-present friend who never leaves us to face our perils alone,
but is always there to assure us that no matter what, our life is in God’s hands, and nothing can ever truly harm us.
Pray: Lord, let me trust in your presence. Let me be reminded that I never face the difficulties and perils of life alone,
for you are always by my side, laying down your life so that I may live the kind of life God wants for me.
Act: Make it a habit to call to mind the presence of God from time to time during the day.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020
