On Being the Lord's Under-Shepherds

(Reflection on the readings from the 4th Sunday of Easter: Acts 4:8-12; Ps 118:1,8-9,21-23,26,28,29; 1Jn 3:1-2; John 10:11-18)

We are asked: “As BLD disciples, let us commit to and live our CHARISM, to be the Lord’s under-shepherds, to witness to the Word, to bring healing and wholeness to others, to be co-defender in Christ to those who suffer injustice and oppression.” This raises this unavoidable question: how can we when we are so broken?

That question must have come to Peter's mind when he said to the Jewish leaders and elders: “If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved…” (Acts 4:9) Although Peter and John were the instruments used for the crippled beggar’s healing (Acts 3:1-10), he knew they can not withstand an examination of their lives. True, they were amazingly blessed to be disciples of Jesus. But it was also true that they were nonetheless still sinful men.

Note that Peter and John refused to take credit for their good deed. There is no room in them for pride and self-acclaim. To them, their life and work was no longer about self, but about Jesus. It is to Christ that Peter ascribed the power to heal: “all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in His name this man stands before you healed” (Acts 4:10). And it is to Christ alone that he ascribed the power to save: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved" (Acts 4:12).

We too have been similarly blessed to be the Lord’s disciples. Like Peter and John, an honest self-examination will lead us to recognition of our brokenness and unworthiness- even as the Lord uses us as instruments of His grace. It is to Christ that we must direct ourselves and others. When we do, then our life and work will be about Jesus and our relationship with Him.

He proclaimed, “I am the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11a): Jesus is the shepherd, we are the under-shepherds; Jesus is the Word, we are His voices; Jesus is the Healer, we are the laying hands of faith; Jesus is the Defender of the weak, we are His prayer warriors; Jesus is the King, we are His servants.

Our relationship with Jesus grows in intimacy and unity as we persevere to follow His footsteps, to have His own heart, to think with His mind and to act in His Spirit. All of which is possible by grace alone. That grace comes to us through the cross. “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11b). We can be good under-shepherds if we lay down our life for the sheep. This means to love as Jesus loved: selflessly, totally, sacrificially - for the glory of God the Father. Goodness comes with love, and love comes from Jesus Christ.

“See what love the Father has bestowed on us, that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.” (1 Jn 3:1). Our present and future identity is to be children of God. But while “we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” (1 Jn 3:2a) Our adoption into God’s family leads to our ultimate reality - “what we shall be”. This will come at the time of revelation when “we shall see Him as He is”, and in accord with God’s grace, “we shall be like Him” (1 Jn 3:3).

Back to the question, how can we when we are so broken? We can in spite of our brokenness, if we persevere in Christ. We can, when we listen to the Lord’s voice and allow Him to lead us in our journey to the Father. We can, when we love and care for the flock with the love and strength of the Good Shepherd. We can, when our witness to Jesus is in the power of His Spirit- giving thanks, praise and worship to Him who entrusts, enables and equips us to do His work, and who gives us victory over sin, suffering and death