Life is complex and many of us often find ourselves feeling lost and without direction. Jesus is our shepherd so that we can find direction and meaning in life as a part of God’s one flock.
In the 1st century, at the time of Jesus, the religious institutions of the day were corrupt. They took advantage of people, which left them feeling bitter and lost.
But, Ezekiel predicted a renewal, a remaking of the religious system.
Instead of a temple, an institutional system made up of bricks and mortar, Ezekiel saw a “heavenly temple.”
Jesus is the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision.
He’s the shepherd that leads us to that renewal.
God’s temple is now the community of believers, the one flock gathered around its shepherd.
And, by laying down his life, our good shepherd ensures life for us. No longer do we wander aimlessly in life.
The Reading
I am the gate; if anyone enters in through me he will be saved, and he will go in and will go out and will find pasture. The thief does not come except so that he may steal and slaughter and destroy; I came that they might have life and might have it in abundance. I am the good shepherd. The shepherd, the one who is good, lays down his soul for the sake of the sheep. He who is the hireling and not the shepherd, to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees—and the wolf seizes and scatters them— Because he is a hireling and the sheep are no concern of his. I am the shepherd who is good, and 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 soul for the sake of the sheep. And I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; it is necessary for me to lead those also, and they will hearken to my voice, and there will come to be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10:9-16)
Thanks for your wisdom.
God bless.