God’s Protective Love!

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 13:14,43-52; Rev 7:9,14b-17; Jn 10:27-30

Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. 

This Sunday invites us to cherish God’s love, protection, and care through Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who intervenes in our lives, impacts them, and changes them for the better. 

The readings of today make it clear that the Divine Plan is the ‘redemption of all regardless of any human-made difference.’ However, human choices can defy God’s saving interventions and thus alter the course it is designed to follow. The readings of the day invite us to reflect on the interplay of God’s agenda and human response. 

The first reading makes it distinct by talking about the disciples’ mission to the gentiles. Although the Jews were the preferred recipients of God’s revelation, they rejected it in hostility. They challenged the integrity of Jesus, who claimed oneness with God, and thus rejected the revelation that took place in Jesus. The fact that God was the only Good Shepherd clouded their vision so that they refused to find in Jesus the manifestation of God as the Good Shepherd. On the contrary, when the Gentiles heard the Gospel, they willingly embraced its liberating message. Here it is clear that God’s revelation reaches only those who want to receive it, though it is meant for all. Hence, human choices can defy Divine Intention, which is to redeem all. Although the Good News has the power to penetrate everyone, our choices decide whether we allow ourselves to be pierced by it or not.

The second reading highlights the gathering of the redeemed. It bears an interesting description that the redeemed have ‘washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’ Usually, a garment is stained when blood is spilled on it. However, when washed with the blood of the Lamb, the garment is made whiter. The purifying nature of the Lamb’s blood is highlighted here. Secondly, the gathering of the redeemed points to the universal redemption, including people of every nation, race, and tongue. Those who generously respond to God’s call come under the protection of the Good Shepherd. With God, there is no room for partiality, and therefore no one is rejected from God’s protective love. 

The Gospel is just a restatement or a summary of what the two readings have already upheld. The sheep that follow the Good Shepherd hear his voice, are known by him, and choose to follow him. However, our choices determine whether we belong to God’s fold or not, though the invitation to belong to it is extended to all indiscriminately. Thus, we find that God’s plan, which is the salvation of all, remains true from the beginning. The God who shepherds us is faithful even toward the straying sheep. It depends on us to be faithful as the loyal sheep of the Good Shepherd.  

The readings of the day invite us to reflect on some key themes. 

1. Filled with Joy: When faced with persecution and rejection, the joyful attitude of the disciples like Paul and Barnabas bewilders others. But their joy is proof of the guiding role of the Good Shepherd, who leads his people into joy and eternal life, often through rejection and opposition. The faithful God stays with them till the end. 

2. Every Tear Wiped Away: As the redeemed behold the Lamb who is also the Shepherd, they are comforted, sustained, and led by him to the springs of living water. The passage also holds that the Good Shepherd will wipe away every tear from their eyes. The Good Shepherd cares for his sheep with intimate and sacrificial love not only in this life but also in the fullness of eternal life. 

3. Loved, Called, Named, and Guided: The powerful imagery of the Good Shepherd helps us understand God’s protective love through the security, intimacy, and permanence of the relationship between the faithful Shepherd and his flock. With Christ as our Shepherd, we need not fear anything. Do we faithfully resonate with God’s love through the Good Shepherd?

Let us pray that our choices may be aligned with the plan that the Good Shepherd has for us.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar