There were two wrecked Honda cars in the parking lot when I brought my car to the shop. The smashed cars were parked beside each other and reminded me of the phrase, “Misery loves company.” They looked like two unhappy, damaged people who met up to share their woes. Nothing wrong with that. People tend to relate better with others who experienced similar brokenness. 

These two cars could be repaired in any other shop that’s lower than the Honda dealer. But their owners opted to bring them here because they knew that only the maker of their car could give the best solution.

That applies to us too. The best way for us to be fixed from our brokenness is to go back to our Maker, because no one knows us better than Him. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows us. He will take care of us and restore us back to our form, so we can do what we were designed to do. 

Alvin Fabella (alvinfabella@yahoo.com)

reflect

Are you trying to fix things in your life by yourself? Approach God and allow Him to restore you.

Lord, I trust that You who called me to Your eternal glory through Christ will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish me after I have suffered a little (cf. 1 Peter 5:10).

Saint Zita, pray for us.

Peter needs God to intervene and convince him that the Gospel is meant for both the Gentiles and Jews. This radical idea, present in the ministry of Jesus but never stated clearly, is one we have to be grateful for because we would never have received the Gospel without it. Let us remember that our evangelical activity must include presenting and proclaiming the truths of the Gospel to all men and women. However, it is their choice to accept or reject it. Our responsibility is to proclaim the Gospel to those whom God places before us.

¹ The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcised believers confronted him, ³ saying, “You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.” ⁴ Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying, ⁵ “I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when in a trance I had a vision, something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me. ⁶ Looking intently into it, I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. ⁷ I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir, because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But a second time a voice from heaven answered, ‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into the sky. ¹¹ Just then three men appeared at the house where we were, who had been sent to me from Caesarea. ¹² The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying, ‘Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, ¹⁴ who will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’ ¹⁵ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as it had upon us at the beginning, ¹⁶ and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” ¹⁸ When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, “God has then granted lifegiving repentance to the Gentiles too.”

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4

R: Athirst is my soul for the living God.

² As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God. ³ Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? (R) ^43:3 Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on and bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place. ⁴ Then will I go in to the altar of God, the God of my gladness and joy; then will I give you thanks upon the harp, O God, my God! (R)

Gospel | John 10:11-18

God desires to save all men and women. He has chosen to use us to bring the Gospel to those who have never heard it. All of us have experienced a restlessness within that can only be pacified by the Gospel truth. Let us bring the truth of the Gospel to the people so they may experience the peace that only God can give.

Gospel Acclamation

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.

¹¹ Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² 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. ¹³ This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸ 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.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read NUMBERS 28 - 30 today.

We all are probably aware of the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. However, how often have we paused to reflect on what the image actually means in terms of our own response to the idea of Jesus as our Good Shepherd? It is useless having a Good Shepherd if His sheep are not willing to listen to Him and follow His commands. The very idea of a shepherd is to lead the sheep to good pasture and protect them from any person or animal that might try to harm them.

We want to be protected and be fed with good food, but are we willing to obey God’s Word in order to receive these blessings? What does it mean to be obedient to God’s Word? Let us return to the image of the Good Shepherd. Sheep are animals that rarely think for themselves. They operate under some sort of a “mob rule.” How often, in our relationship with God, do we insist on our own way or ignore the directions coming from the Holy Spirit or the teachings of the Church? If we want to experience Jesus as the Good Shepherd, we must allow Him to take that role—and be willing to follow as dutiful and obedient sheep.

If we do not obey God’s Word, we can’t possibly know and experience Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Too often, I hear people complain that God does not do anything for them, but the real issue is that they do not place themselves in a position where it is possible for Him to do anything for them. Their complaint is invalid as it is unreasonable, even hypocritical, to expect God to do anything for us when we are unwilling to live by His Word and teachings.

Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

reflection questions

What is Jesus’ role in your daily life? Do you experience Him as the Good Shepherd who protects and leads you to everlasting life? 

Holy Spirit, You have been sent to lead me into the Truth and make me a disciple of Jesus. Grant me the grace to surrender to Your will and guidance so that I will truly be a follower of the Good Shepherd. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ___________________________________