>>In my office, back at the parish I have a big bookcase –book shelves– and amidst the books I have a couple of items on the shelves.

Ah, one is a picture of Mary Our Lady of Humility, another is a picture of St. Therese of Lisieux, and then another one is a little statue – maybe about this tall – of the good shepherd. Someone gave it to me from my last parish; Mary, seat of wisdom in park ridge when I was named a pastor.

And it’s interesting, I have this statue of the good shepherd. You might seen it. It’s white, ceramic, and it’s got the shepherd with the sheep around his shoulders. It’s on a part of the book shelves where I have a lot of my historical biographies.

So, I love reading. I love history. And I love biographies. So, I buy – I have a bunch of biographies of Abraham Lincoln and presidents of the United States, scientists, Beethoven, and so forth. Ah, a bunch of different figures in history. I’m just, I’m fascinated by them. But I put that statue of the good shepherd amongst them because, yes while there are wonderful heroic women and men who I’ve read about, they don’t come close to the good shepherd – Jesus Christ.

These people did great things with their lives. They made our society or country our government better. But Jesus did something different. Abraham Lincoln and Johann Sebastian Bach – wonderful as they were, they didn’t save my soul. Yes, they gave me beautiful music to enjoy or they gave me beautiful sayings to be inspired by, but Jesus touches my soul and He saves me in a way that no one else in history or currently can do.

Christ is the good shepard. And He tells us, that I go and search of the lost sheep. I was lost. I am lost still in my life! Brothers and sisters, you’re lost as well. But let me say, it’s a good place to be lost. Lost out in the wilderness.

Why? Because Jesus our Lord is coming after you. He wants you. You are precious in His sight. You are the most precious person in the world to our Lord. You are the apple of His eye, as the psalm says.

That’s what Peter is conveying to the man who is crippled, right? In the name of Jesus, you’ve been healed. So Jesus is going to come after you because He wants you to be free. He wants you to be saved. He’s going to pick you up and He’s going to put you around His shoulders and He’s going to carry you to fertile and verdant pastures. Because He wants you – He wants you to be at peace. And we’re most at peace when we’re in relationship to him. To Christ the good shepherd.

So, brothers and sisters perhaps, ah, today and as we continue through this easter season we can bask in that consolation of our Lords words.

You know, Jesus says many times throughout the gospel: John I am this, I am that, so, I’m the way of the truth and the life, I’m the door, and so forth. Well, I’m the good shepherd is something very consoling. Right?

Because we all get lost in our life and Jesus wants us. He’s going to put us around His shoulders. So perhaps, you can pray with Jesus the good shepherd.

Let Him speak to you and just say to you: how beautiful and how important you are and how you belong to Him. Amen.