good shepherd sunday

JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Once a sunday school teacher asked her students to memorize the famous Psalm 23rd. One of the boys tried to memorize the Psalm but he could not remember the whole psalm at all. As the children were reciting the Psalm on day in front of the congregation, Sam out up nervously and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd and that is all I need to know". Yes, the Lord is our Shepherd and that is all we need to know and everything will be fine.
Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. This day, we celebrate our special call to follow Him and to be with Him. The Shepherd knows His sheep and leads them to everlasting life.
1. Once two people were asked to recite the Psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want..." The first man who was a powerful orator got up and recited the whole Psalm, and everyone stood up and clapped their hands and cheered for him. Then the other man got up and repeated the same word and this time, no mone cheered for him. They were all sitting quietly in a devotional and prayerful mood. Then the orator got up and said, "I have a confession to make". You should know the difference between this old man and I, "I only know the psalm and this man knows the shepherd". today, we are called to know the shepherd persnally by means of every day prayer and self-giving.
2. One day a sheep saw a hole in the fence and he escaped through the hole. He wandered far and forgot his way back. Then he realized that he was being chased by a wolf. He ran and ran but the wolf was kept following him until the shepherd came and rescued him. Then he carried the sheep to the fold. After that so many people told the shepherd to nail up the fence but he never did. That is our Good Shepherd who gives us freedom and free will to choose between good and bad and between right and wrong. When we go away from Him and fall into sin, He recognizes our failures and weaknesses saying, "I came for the one sheep that was lost". For the Good Shepherd, the lost sheep is also a good sheep. And He saves us from peril and danger. He gives us freedom not to go away from Him but to know our humanness fully and thus to love God with all our heart, mind and body and love others as ourselves.
3. In today's gospel, Jesus says that His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. And no one can snatch them out of His hand. People may go away from God and His Church but because of His love and forgiveness, they will certainly come back to Him. Nothing can stop them from experiencing His love.
4. Once there happened a dialogue between a recent convert and his friend, "So you have been converted to Catholicism?' Yes. Then you should know about Jesus and His life. Tell me about His birth place. The convert said, "to be honest with you, I don't know.  what was His age when He died? I don't know. How many sermons did He preach? I don't know. Then the friend looked at him and said, "you don't know much and you claimed to be converted to Catholicism". Yes, I am ashamed at how little I know about Jesus but  this much I do know. Three years ago, I was a drunkard and was in debt. My family was falling to pieces. My wife and children hated me and they did not even want to see me. But now I have given up drinking, we are out of debt; ours is a happy family. All this Christ has done for me. This much I know.
what is our call? Do we follow Christ and His teaching and do we love Him? let us ask ourselves again and again.
Conclusion: The love of the Good Shepherd transforms our very nature. The lost sheep is also a good sheep, le us go to Him and He who is our way, truth and life and He who is our Good Shepherd will transform our lives. Amen.