Why do is Jesus the good shepherd?

First, because Jesus laid down his life in order to save us, his sheep, from the devil.  After original sin, the human race was under a curse. Jesus came to break that domination, to reclaim us for himself, and through his grace, to lead us gradually out of our inherited, sinful self-centeredness to the everlasting happiness of self-forgetful love.  Jesus didn't have to do this; he chose to, because he cares - he is the good shepherd.

Second, Jesus is the good shepherd because he is faithful to the mission he received from the Father.  This mission of carrying out the Father's plan, of obeying the Father's will, consumes Jesus and constitutes in his mind the entire meaning of his life.  Jesus Christ was perfect man; he lived his human life perfectly, and that perfection consisted in focusing wholly on the Father's will, in being passionately faithful to his sonship.

To discover and fulfill our own identity as children of God, and  so experience life as he created us to live it, both now and in eternity, Jesus invites us to imitate him: "The sheep follow, because they know his voice" (John 10:4).  The voice of Christ, our good shepherd, is his example of fulfilling his life-mission, no matter the cost. We follow him by doing the same.

But what is our life-mission?

For Jesus, it was clear: save the world by fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies and obeying his Father's will up to death on a cross.  However Jesus, because he was true God and true man, had two advantages that we don't have.

First, in every situation, he knew with perfect clarity what the Father wanted him to do.

He never really had to ask, as we often do, "What is God's will for me right now?" And second, he had more strength than we do to fulfill that will.

Because of original sin, we have leaks in our spiritual batteries.  We are attracted by evil, selfishness, laziness, lust, greed, self-indulgence….  Our fallen nature has a strong tendency to disobey what God wants us to do, or to rebel against what God sends our way.

Because Jesus is our good shepherd, he has given us two supernatural resources to help us overcome our disadvantages.  To the extent that we make good use of these resources, we will be able to experience the meaning and fulfillment that comes from living our life-mission to the full.  To the extent that we don't, we won't.

The first supernatural resource our good shepherd gives us is the teaching authority of his Church, the Catholic Church.  This authority is a light showing the Father's will for our lives, making up for the ignorance we inherited from original sin.  

This teaching authority is often called the "magisterium.”  It belongs to the pope and the bishops who are in communion with him.  It is the reason why Catholics today believe the same doctrines that Catholics believed five hundred years and a thousand years ago.  Our faith has not been corrupted or lost, even though the Church and the world have suffered so much turmoil through the ups and downs of history.

Of course, we need to remember that this teaching authority doesn't apply to everything.  The teaching authority of the Church is guaranteed to be trustworthy only when dealing with the doctrines of our faith:  the truths we profess in the Creed, the Ten Commandments, and implications these have for our lives in today's world.

And that's the point.  When we keep in touch with Church teaching, through personal study, web sites, or our parish activities it gives us a clear idea of what we're here for, what God expects of us, and how to live our lives deeply and meaningfully.  But if the only input we allow ourselves is the Sunday homily and articles about the pope that appear in the secular press, then we will be walking in shadows and darkness - we won't be able to discover God's plan for our lives. We won't have a clear vision of what God's will for us really is.

The second supernatural resource gives us the strength we need to follow that path, even when it's hard.  This resource is the sacraments. Every one of the sacraments is meant to increase God's grace in our souls.  This is especially true of those sacraments that we are encouraged to receive frequently - the Eucharist and confession.  Christ's body and blood in the Eucharist is nourishment for our souls, just as bread and wine, the sacramental signs of Christ's body and blood, are nourishment for our bodies.  Confession strengthens us by healing the wounds of sin and reinforcing our efforts to follow Christ. They are not just pretty symbols; real power flows through them into our minds and spirits.  We need this power in order to plug those leaks in our spiritual batteries. We need this boost of supernatural energy in order to counteract the self-centered tendencies that we inherited from original sin.

Christianity is not self-help; it's Christ-help.  And Christ gives us his help through his sacraments - that's why he invented them!  But if we don't make use of them, or if we live them only superficially (which happens when we don't try to develop a personal prayer life), then we don't receive the power he wants to give us through them.

Our good shepherd wants us to experience the meaning and joy that comes from discovering and striving to fulfill our life-mission.  That's why he came to earth! He leads us to the cool waters of Church teaching, a clear, refreshing stream that never stops flowing and is never polluted.  He leads us to the rich, grassy meadows of the sacraments, where we can feed on his grace for free, without ever having to worry about famines or droughts. He truly is our good shepherd.

But are we good sheep?  Most of us want to be; that's why we are here today.  But even if we already are good sheep, without a doubt we can become better sheep, if we make a more responsible and active use of these two supernatural resources that Christ came all the way down from heaven to give us.

Today, as he renews his commitment to us, let's renew our commitment to him, and promise him that this week, we will be better sheep than ever.