Psalm Reflection: Fourth Sunday of Easter (Cycle C)

“We are his people, the sheep of his flock.” - Psalm 100

We live in a very contradictory culture. We live in a world where nobody wants to conform to the norm, or go with the crowd, and so everyone becomes the person in charge of their path in life in an effort to be an individual. The problem is that no one really knows how to do that for themselves, and so instead of being unique, we look at what everyone else is doing and everyone ends up doing the exact same thing. 

Jesus revealed Himself as the good shepherd, the one who will guide us and even leave the ninety-nine sheep to chase after the one who has gone astray. Shepherds are not docile or gentle; they often had to fight off predators in order to protect their flock. They often carried weapons and had many scars from previous encounters. Jesus took on the ultimate scarring on the cross for us to protect us from the path of evil, death and destruction. Why wouldn’t we follow Him wherever He would lead us? Do not make the mistake of confusing being unique with being rebellious. We do not have to leave the crowd of those pursuing Christ to be the individuals God created us to be. In fact, only in seeking Christ can we come to know who we were truly created to be. This week, spend some time reflecting in prayer on the ways you have resisted what God is asking of you in life. Pray every day a simple prayer of trust, inviting Jesus to guide you in that aspect of your life and know that He will never lead His flock astray, nor will He ever abandon us. We are praying for you this week.

See you in the Eucharist.