What does the Lord mean when he compares us with sheep and when he describes Himself as the “Good Shepherd”? (Jn 10, 1-10)
A sheep is a fragile animal. It looks so chubby! But when its woolen coat is removed, it is left so thin its fragility is exposed.
It cannot fend for itself: it depends totally on its shepherd. By the way, not just any shepherd, but “its own” shepherd.
It is so incapable, that with its weak and quite inflexible legs, it cannot even crawl unto the shepherd and needs to be picked up by him.
A sheep walks in flock. It cannot walk by itself. If it gets lost and is tangled up in a fence or a bush, it cannot free itself: the shepherd needs to rescue it.
We are the Lord’s sheep. We are also fragile, although most of the time we think we are very strong. We are dependent on the Lord and neither can we fend for ourselves.
Nevertheless, deceived, we can spend a greater part of our lives trying to be independent from God, trying to fend for ourselves.
And we also get tangled up in our spiritual life. And who can free us from the fence or the bush where we are caught? We need our Shepherd. And He searches for us, He rescues us, He cures us and He carries us in His shoulder to return us to the flock, just like the lost sheep. (Lk 15, 4-10)
The Lord is the Shepherd who is concerned with one little sheep that is part of a flock of a hundred. And the Shepherd does not rest until he searches for it, and wounded he finds it, cures it, then puts it on his shoulders and returns home.
This is the attitude of the Lord with each sinner that wanders away –as the lost sheep. He searches for him/her, he cures him/her –that is, He pardons him/her- and He returns him/her to the fold. That is what the Lord does when each one of us walk away in sin. Moreover, He rejoices and there is great celebration in Heaven for each sinner who repents and returns to the flock.
Song in Spanish “Eran Cien Ovejas”:
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