Christ the Cornerstone

Jesus calls us to serve, lead and follow him

“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep” (Jn 10:1-2).

In the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Jn 10:1-10), St. John the Evangelist presents Jesus in a dual role. He is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep, dying willingly for his flock. But he is also the gate by which the sheep may enter or leave in safety.

St. John tells us that the Pharisees didn’t understand our Lord’s imagery. Do we? Why does Jesus say that he is both the shepherd and the sheep gate?

If we listen carefully to what Jesus is saying to us, always with the help of the Holy Spirit who interprets God’s word for us, we will “hear his voice” and know that we are called to follow Jesus:

Whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers. (Jn 10:2-5)

In other words, whoever enters through the gate that Christ himself is, whether clergy or lay, becomes a good shepherd (pastor bonus) who is authorized to speak in God’s name. People will follow this servant-leader if he or she is authentic. They will not follow hypocrites who pretend to be chosen ones or who fail to speak the truth in love.

Pope Francis frequently says that pastors who are good shepherds must know when to walk alongside their sheep, when to lead them, and when to follow behind. Jesus wants us to be so close to the people we serve, the pope says, that we take on “the smell of the sheep.” This vivid image is meant to capture our attention and help us to see how much Jesus wants us to follow his example as authentic servant-leaders who “call their sheep by name” and who “lead them out” into verdant pastures.

The second reading (1 Pt 2:20-25) describes the lengths to which our Savior went to identify with us, the flock he shepherds:

He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. (1 Pt 2:24-25).

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, “the guardian of our souls” (1 Pt 2:25), who opens the sheep gate of our hearts and who leads us to become men and women for others. He is the one who “when he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly”

(1 Pt 2:23). Jesus was so closely aligned with us, his people, that he refused to abandon us to our sins. Instead, he handed himself over to his Father in reparation for our sins. So closely did Jesus identify with us that he, who never sinned, took on the smell of sinners (the smell of death) and handed himself over to death for our sake.

As St. Peter tells us, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps” (1 Pt 2:21). To follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we must deny ourselves and serve others. We must be shepherds who open the gate for others and show them the way to life in Christ.

In the responsorial psalm for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Ps 23), we pray:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. (Ps 23:1-3)

These words of consolation and hope remind us that the Lord’s resurrection has redeemed us from the deadly consequence of sin and evil. Yes, sin remains—in each one of us and in the world we inhabit. But sin no longer has the last word, and death has lost its sting.

As we continue our observance of this Easter season, let’s pray for the courage to follow Jesus and to lead by example all our sisters and brothers. May we enter through the gate that is Jesus Christ—the Way, the Truth, and the Life. †