I am the Good Shepherd

We follow the Shepherd

Scripture

“‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

Again the Jews were divided because of these words. Many of them were saying, ‘He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?’ Others were saying, ‘These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’ At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ 

Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’”

(John 10:11-30, but read all of John 10 to include verses 2-5 from last week that also speak of the Good Shepherd)

Reflection

Among my favorite pilgrimages are the hidden ones that no one knew I took. 

The tiny parish in the city where I’d slip inside the quiet dark away from the noise and lights. The memorial garden in a town far from home where my children’s names are carved in stone. The empty church at the end of the woods where I walk alone when the questions swarm. The adoration chapel where I lose track of time while I look at God (and God looks at me).¹

A pilgrimage is a journey made in faith. A search for God that leads to a holy place, whether or not anyone else knows it’s holy. A pilgrimage can be made under extraordinary circumstances or in ordinary time.

What matters is the One we go seeking. 

We all make small pilgrimages, even if we’ve never thought of them as such. To the cemetery where a loved one is buried. To the church where we were married. To the school that shaped our faith. To the font where we were baptized. To the hometown that raised us. To the land where our ancestors lived. To a corner of nature where we find God. To the chapel where we can sit alone and listen again. To whatever place leads us back.

We cannot overlook the power of ordinary places or small-p pilgrimages. 

“God comes to us, disguised as our life.”²