Christ has risen brothers and sisters! As we are still in the Easter Season, so we still celebrate the rising of the crucified Christ. Let us therefore make every effort to adore him, love him, praise him, and worship him. For he has risen to bring us freedom from the bondage of sin, the bondage of fear and death, and the yoke of Satan, and all this because he loves us, he cares for us, and he nurtures us. So therefore, let us always keep this intimate knowledge with us, live by this, and let us faithfully and boldly follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the great promises that our risen Lord has told us and has said throughout his ministry is that he reveals himself to be the Good Shepherd. As you have read from the famous passage in John today brothers and sisters, we have come to know that Jesus Christ reveals himself to be the Good Shepherd. This same Good Shepherd is always with us, is always leading us, and whenever we go astray, he always comes looking for us, seeking to bring us back to the flock of the Kingdom of God. And how wonderful that is my brothers and sisters! How wonderful must be God's Love if the Son of God is like this towards us who love and follow him. 

It brings to mind the Parable of the Hundred Sheep. One of the hundred goes astray, and the Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to save the one that has gone astray. In very similar manner my brothers and sisters, Christ our Lord, the Good Shepherd, whenever one of us sins, doubts, holds to fear, cooperated with Satan even, those of us who have really messed up but are yet still part of his flock, Christ still comes to seek and save us, and when we willingly jump into his arms as the lost Sheep, he has truly saved us. For Christ is truly the Good Shepherd, who came to seek and save the lost, the astray, and the hopeless. And he is willing to go to any length to find his lost Sheep, and bring the Lost Sheep back into the flock, where there is God's Love, Grace, Mercy, and Peace, all of which truly has the power to transform us to loving God forever.

Yes indeed, even in the passage where Christ reveals himself to be the Good Shepherd, he reveals many things about himself: The Father in Heaven intimately knows Jesus, for he is His Son, the Only Begotten Son of the Heavenly Father in Heaven. So therefore, if we want to be in the intimate love of the Father, Christ is the only way to that wonderful reality. To go through Christ is to enter by the Door, which Jesus Christ also reveals himself to be, the Door being the Holy Scriptures, The Church which Christ established, and the Holy Sacraments in which Christ reveals himself, and freely gives us his most wonderful Grace. As Jesus reveals himself to be the Good Shepherd, he also reveals that he has intimate knowledge of all his followers, all of his sheep, so this gives us confidence to go into prayer, and ask with persistence and good grace the things we desire, and be intimate with the Holy Trinity in prayer. And one of the most wonderful things in this life indeed is intimate prayer with the Holy Trinity, a gift that God freely gives us through the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

Finally, as Jesus Christ reveals himself to be the Good Shepherd, he also tells us that he will give his life for the salvation of the human race. This ultimate act of love, God's Love, clearly shows to us that Jesus is truly the Good Shepherd, for greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends. And so, as Jesus the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sake of his flock, he shows us that he truly does love us, and is willing to go to any length to ensure the salvation and protection of his flock from all evil, for he truly is The Good Shepherd.

So, knowing the wonderful things that Jesus our Lord has revealed to us by revealing himself to be the Good Shepherd, let us therefore fully trust him. He tells us to not worry, so let us not worry, for he is leading us as the Good Shepherd. He tells us to forgive when people repent, even our enemies, so then let us forgive all those who have repented and be reconciled quickly, for Christ as the Good Shepherd desires for us to be like the Father in Heaven. The Good Shepherd tells us to repent of our sins and receive God's Grace and Gifts, so then let us repent and turn to Christ to receive in God's mercy his Love and Grace. The Good Shepherd tells us to have courage and bear witness to himself, so then let us obey him with love, for he cares for us, and he cares that we should imitate him, and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As the Good Shepherd led Moses and the Israelites out of Bondage in Egypt, so we need to trust in the Good Shepherd, Lord Jesus Christ, and let him, in our own humility, lead us, for when we do, we shall have the most wonderful reality in this life, COMMUNION WITH GOD.

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My brothers and sisters in Christ, have a blessed Sunday, and keep going, for the Good Shepherd is with us always, to the very end of time. Amen.