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Shepherd and Sheep, sharing the Life of God

This Sunday, the fourth in the Easter season, is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Each year at this time we are invited to contemplate the deep mystery of how a life of faith in Jesus unites us with the eternal life of God. Disconnected from our experience of large-scale sheep farming in modern New Zealand, the pastoral language used to explore this theme in John’s Gospel captures something of the intimacy and trust in the relationship between a small flock of sheep and the peasant tasked with nurturing and protecting them in an ancient middle eastern agrarian economy. It is just such an enduring relationship of mutual knowledge and trust with the risen Jesus that brings us close to the heart of God, John tells us, and it is as true nowadays as it has ever been.
You can listen to my comments on the Gospel text here…

Howard Pilgrim

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