"We are his people, the sheep of his flock."
The major theme for this coming Sunday's readings revolves around the imagery of sheep. The Psalm this week tells us: "Know that the LORD is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends." And using similar imagery, the reading from the Book of Revelation uses symbolic language to speak of Christ as the the Lamb who "will shepherd [the people] and lead them to springs of life-giving water."
The imagery here is significant and points to two important things. First, Jesus as the Lamb makes reference to the Incarnation, our belief that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. While being one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the Trinity, Jesus also became one of us, who are the sheep (and lambs) of God's flock. The faith of the Church teaches that, through his becoming like us, Jesus is the fullness of God's revelation and teaches us all we need to know in order to know the Father.
Second, as mentioned earlier, the Psalm for Sunday speaks of God shepherding his flock, which is us. And so Jesus, in becoming one of us as the Lamb who was slain and yet rose from the dead, now has become the divine shepherd, leading us to the Father. Speaking of this specifically, Jesus says “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish" and ends the Gospel by saying, "The Father and I are one.”
As shepherd, it is Jesus who reveals and gives to the Church the sacraments. Through them he shepherds us to "springs of live-giving water" and offers to us eternal life. So let us pray today that we may recognize the great gift that the sacraments are to us and all the grace they offer us. Through them, and especially through the Eucharist, our shepherd gives us access to the eternal life of God in very real and tangible ways! May we truly hear his voice calling out to us through them, and may we follow with ready and willing hearts!
Want to prepare your heart and mind for Mass this weekend? Click here to find the readings this Sunday's Mass.