Psalm Reflection: The Fourth Sunday of Easter - Cycle A

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” - Psalm 23

Sheep are not very smart animals.

God is often compared to a shepherd caring for His sheep, because we are often not very smart either.

Sheep are dumb and so are we.

Sheep cannot see very well. Their wide-set eyes give them good peripheral vision, so they flock together and stay close to one another, but usually without any clue where they are going since they have terrible depth perception. In fact, in 2005, USA Today reported a story from Istanbul, Turkey that demonstrated this fact:

‘First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff.’

That is why sheep need a shepherd. Each shepherd has a unique call that only their sheep respond to. Sheep are kept from running off and lead one another into danger by keeping their ears fixed on the voice of their shepherd. 

The same is true for us. 

We cannot see where we are going and we have no idea what the future holds. The more we try to predict and control what will happen, the more anxious we become. 

So what do we often do instead? 

We look around us at the other “sheep” to our right and our left and we try to follow them. We compare ourselves to others and think that if we do what everyone else is doing it will somehow fulfill us or get us where we need to go. However, we are more likely to fall into a trap or find ourselves falling off a cliff if we follow the crowd without any real direction or guidance.

God is our shepherd. 

God is your shepherd.

He saved you from the snares of evil, sin and death.

He is literally keeping you alive right now as you read this because He still has a plan for you.

Even though you may feel like you are lost in the flock, He sees you, He knows your name, and He is calling you to follow Him.

How often do you listen for God’s voice and direction? 

Is He your first choice or your last resort?

What holds more weight in your life: a friend’s advice, or the guidance of the Holy Spirit?

We spend so much time trying to keep up with people, to be the best, or worrying about what other people think, and for what? It only makes us run forward out of fear, like a flock of sheep avoiding a sheep dog. But when we listen for the loving voice of our shepherd, He leads us and guides us to safe pastures where we can rest and be filled by His abundance. 

We do not need our peripheral vision in order to find what will fulfill us, instead it often gets in the way and makes us think we want things that will not ultimately satisfy us.

This week, listen for the shepherd’s voice. Spend time with God in silence. Quiet the noise and the voices of the world by limiting your time on social media, watching the news, or listening to the radio. 

When we surround ourselves with a cacophony of voices it becomes impossible to hear anything but the loudest one, and the loudest one is rarely the best one. 

God is speaking to us every day, but He speaks in a still, small voice so we are not overwhelmed by fear. He gives us the control and speaks in such a way that we can only hear Him when we consciously choose to quiet our hearts and invite Him to speak to us.

Quiet your world this week.

Listen for His voice.

Invite Him to speak to you, and, if you keep listening, I guarantee He will.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, April 30th, 2023, which is the Fourth Sunday of Easter - Cycle A: Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6