Sunday 21 April 2024

Today is Sunday 21 April, beginning the 4th week of Eastertide.

Paul Zach sings, ‘The Lord Is My Shepherd’.

The Lord is my shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not want
He leads my soul by the still waters
In the green pastures I am restored
Though I may walk through the dark valley
Of the shadow of death
I will not fear for your rod and staff comfort me
Goodness and mercy they will follow me
All of the days all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever and ever




Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John.

John 10:11-18

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

‘I am the good shepherd.’

These are familiar words perhaps. Jesus wants us to see him as the Good Shepherd. Jesus is saying his care for people is like a shepherd’s care for his flock.

Reflect on your experience of being cared for by the shepherd of your soul.

The shepherd knows his own and his own know him.

How does being known and loved help you navigate your life in a beautiful but at times hostile world?

As you listen to the passage again, reflect on the welcome of the shepherd.

End your prayer now by receiving the shepherd’s love, remembering how He laid down his life for you.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.