The image of Jesus as the good shepherd is one of the oldest images of Christ in Christanity.

I remember seeing it in the catacombs of Rome…painted on the walls of ancient caverns by a people of faith from long ago. What is it about this image that has capvated the minds and hearts of Christians for centuries?

Surely for the postmodern, mostly urban culture of the West, this image may well seem a bit arcane and less accessible than it was to our ancestors. Jesus is depicted, through the use of this image, as a shepherd, who was, in that me and in that culture, a relatively unimportant, and certainly not powerful, figure.

The disciples and all those who followed Jesus around experienced Jesus as kind and gentle, like the “good” shepherd who watches over the sheep with great care and concern and even risks his/her own safety for the sake of the sheep.

And we as a church have, of course, just received a new “good shepherd,” with the elecon of Pope Leo XIV. He invoked this
image in his first words to the world:

“Peace be with you all!

Dear brothers and sisters, these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for God’s flock. I would like this greetng of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.

Peace be with you! It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A
peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.”

This image of God as a good shepherd, as a kind and gentle god, was somewhat unique in Jesus’ me, but then so was the idea of a god who would be willing to suffer and die for us.

I believe that this image of the Good Shepherd has endured precisely because of its radical departure of a more common
image of a distant and disinterested and sometimes even vengeful god. A reality that was much more common in the
religions of the ancient world.

The gods were deities to whom you made sacrifices to appease their anger and rage for any possible slights or missteps against them you may have made, and thus survive for another day.

This image of “the good shepherd” tells us that our God loves us and cares for us and journeys with us as we travel through the valleys and hills of our lives. Our God holds us in his hands!

But too, it may well speak to us of what we are called to be…in Christ’s image…“good shepherds” of the lost and vulnerable, of the poor and the forsaken. As disciples of Christ we are called to reach out to the poor; to reach out to the marginalized and the ones society and our new administration dismisses or demeans. As disciples we are called to stand up for them and
with them demanding justice and the protection of their rights.

And as we have just recently celebrated Earth Day, we recognize that truly “good shepherds” also recognize the importance of all of creation and the responsibility for our environment, for our sheep depend on a healthy ecosystem. So as “good shepherds” we are also called to care for creation, to be aware of how our lives impact the earth and the lives of all other living creatures.

And so we ask ourselves: how am I being called to be a “good shepherd”…in my family, in my school or place of work, in my
community, in my nation, and in the wider world? What am I willing to risk “as a good shepherd” for the sake of the flock…for the sake of creation…for building up of the Reign of God where all people are respected, valued and loved?

And special Easter blessings to all mothers and to all the women who “mother”, care for, protect, teach and mentor the young and not so young. Thank you! May the peace of the Risen Christ
be with you always!

Easter Blessing,
Fr. Tim

In the readings this Sunday, the spiritual dynamic seems to be multifaceted: God draws near...sensing our own unworthiness, we protest...grace overcomes our weaknesses, failings, and fear resulting in abundance far beyond our imagining…and our nets overflow with God’s love and grace!

In today’s Gospel, I am sure Peter remembers well what he had done before the cock crowed three times, and the other disciples know as well — they had abandoned Jesus in his darkest hours. But, each one eventually opens their heart and responds to Jesus’ call.

What is God calling me to in my life? Jesus’ directive to “launch out into the deep?”  When I hear God’s call how do I move from protest to grace?  Am I willing to follow Jesus’ directive to “launch out into the deep?”

I always smile at Peter’s response to Jesus revealing himself to the disciples, yet another time…“Let’s go fishing.” The truth is, the disciples, dazed and confused, return to that which they knew best…fishing! However, even the one thing that they thought they knew how to do, doesn’t work anymore!

Everything has changed…and then there are these appearances of Jesus, raised from the dead! He appeared to them and breathed on them and gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit, he gave them a mission and sent them out to proclaim the Good News...but instead, they went fishing!

And so, Jesus follows them and tries again to help them understand what their mission is and what it is that he is sending them to do — he makes another attempt to guide them on their way.

Jesus tells Peter explicitly that he is to shepherd his flock…and for each of the three times he denied he knew Jesus, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him.

And Peter eventually accepts this new role but with the knowledge that it will ultimately take him to a similar death as​ Jesus...who is asking Peter to take up “his” cross and follow him.

The disciples are often presented as not fully understanding Jesus’ message and to what it is that Christ is calling them…but he is patient and calls them again and again…just as Christ continually calls us to follow him.

Over and over again, no matter how many times we find our nets empty and think that all the fish are gone, Jesus comes to
us and tells us to try the other side of the boat. Regardless of how many times we deny Jesus or refuse to throw our nets on the other side of the boat, Jesus is patient and will lovingly ask us again…with God there is always another chance! Where is God calling me to cast my nets?

Imagine for a moment how the disciples must have felt. I think that we all know how Peter and the other fishermen must have felt. After a long and fruitless night they’re tired and disappointed…and they are confused about what has happened to Jesus, dawn arrives and the nets are empty. We’ve all invested time and energy into things that simply did not pan out; we’ve known failure in one guise or another.

In the midst of the daybreak of their disappointment, with empty nets in hand, Jesus called Peter to go back out into the
deep and lower their nets one more time. Disciples trust, even when their nets are empty, that there are fish out there to be caught. Jesus calls the disciples to action, to show their faith in him.

Even though Peter three times denied he knew Jesus, he was given the opportunity to three times proclaim his love for
Jesus!

We are called to measure our fruitfulness, not by individual success, but by our faithfulness to our call…our call to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Our trust remains not because of what we can do, but rather, because of what God can do
through us.

And so we continue to stand up and to witness to truth and justice in the face of disinformation and lies and utter disregard for the rule of law in our nation. Knowing that the Holy Spirit will guide us and that we are not abandoned, even
in these dark days, the Risen Christ walks by our side.

​May the peace of the Risen One be with you always,
Fr. Tim