EASTER FOURTH SUNDAY 23

4th EASTER SUNDAY, GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY, 30 APRIL 2023 (Reflection 3) Pivot: True to our identity! Indicative: God has chosen us to be saved and live abundantly during this life and then live in eternity 1. This 4th Sunday of Easter is celebrated as Good SHEPHERD Sunday. Thereby we are called to focus our entire attention on what God is to us, and what He does in and to our life. 2. This focus is very important because very many times, many are so much caught up with the worldly concerns and mundane interests and neglect God. For many, God does not matter much in their lives. He is kept as a stranger outside the demarcation of their life. 3. In such a prevailing context of indifference toward God and estrangement from Him, we need to rediscover that our God is a living and loving God. He lives and in His love, shares His very life with us in abundance. In the same love, He forgives our sins through the cross and death of His own Son Jesus Christ. He cleanses us. He sanctifies us through the gift of the light and power of the Holy Spirit. 4. Therefore, we need to deepen our awareness of this identity and intimacy of God. God is not an abstract concept but a living reality. He is not a stranger but an inseparable Lover, Saviour, Sanctifier and Fulfiller of our lives. 5. He is not a heartless judge and punisher but a merciful Forgiver. He is not an evasive escaper who abandons us to the fate of our sin but a deeply sensitive empathiser who suffers on our behalf and remote the weight and penalty of our sin. 6. All this realisation, rediscovery should lead us to a rejuvenation of our dull and tepid spirits. We should be led to recommit ourselves to a passionate relationship with God, the good Shepherd. 7. It is here we must realise that this calls us to focus on our own identity as sheep to the Shepherd. If God is our Good Shepherd, then what should be our response and duty? Realise that we are the sheep and live this identity in the full measures. 8. Numerous ingredients of being good sheep are outlined. Listen attentively to the voice of God. Reflection deeply on His merciful love. Be cut to the heart. Repent with genuine anguish for having strayed from God. 9. Be sensitive to be touched and arouse the self-critical question, "What shall we do?". Hear the voice of the Shepherd. Know him. Listen to his voice. Identity our Good Shepherd different from the false shepherds and thieves. 10. Make conscious efforts to insulate ourselves against all the pressures and deviations of the evil generation. Grow in intimate relationship with the only Shepherd. Be loyal to him. 11. Always look upon our Good Shepherd and follow his good example in his steps. Like him, never cease to do good. Be ready and happy to suffer for the sake of God and good. Endure in time of suffering just like Him. He did not revile when he was reviled. He did not curse or retaliate when he was blamed and persecuted. Imperative: Let us be deeply conscious of God as our Good Shepherd. Let us love him and live as Good Sheep. Let us live our life in full measures