He Is The Good Shepherd
Fourth Sunday of Easter (B)
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
John 10:11 - 18 - Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why 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 on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“…I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
Today’s Gospel is just one of several places where Jesus speaks of His Death and Resurrection before they take place: “I lay down my life in order to take it up again.” And one of the points that He wants us to know about His life is that, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.” Jesus has infinite power at every single point of His Life, even when He is betrayed, arrested, bound, struck, spit upon, scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked, sentenced, crushed by the Cross, nailed, insulted, and dying. Even when Jesus appears powerless, He has ultimate power to do whatever He chooses.
Jesus chooses to let terrible things happen to Him at the hands of others, in part, because they don’t take away His power. Actually, He shows even greater power by not stopping evil before it comes to Him. By letting the full force of evil do its very worst to Him, and then rising from death, He shows ultimate power. In our lives, then, if God allows us to suffer, we must rejoice. Our suffering is not a sign of God’s weakness. It is the prelude to a great display of God’s power that we will soon see. We must continue to look, always look, at the Risen Christ. He proves to us that there is no end to the power of God!
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above.(Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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