Good Shepherd and Bad Sheep
“I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture..” John 10:1-10
4th Easter Sunday
Jesus calls Himself the Good shepherd because bad shepherds exist. Those who do not care for the sheep, killing them for their milk, wool, and meat; abandoning the stray and not seeking the lost; not pasturing them and not treating those injured. In truth we find these bad shepherds everywhere in church, government, and even in schools.
But shepherding particularly is the task of the priests. That is why they are called “pastors” in charge of pasturing their flock.
In Tagaytay there is Galilee Center where bad priests are reformed. A principle is followed there that undeniably comes from the Good Shepherd. And it is this:
“Our strength is our gentleness. We must be sturdy enough to bend and firm enough to yield. It is not a matter of being right but of being understanding.”
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who tirelessly looks for the lost through briars and thorns, up high mountains, and down deep valleys. And when He finds it, He does not reprimand but carries it on His broad shoulders to celebrate its return with a feast back home.
That is how the Savior treats the lost. Is this also our way towards the sinners, the fallen, and the weak? The Lord’s way has always been that of kindness because it has saved many a sinner. It is God’s fool-proof manner that through the centuries has converted many a saint.
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