April 9, 2022
God makes the wonderful promise again today in the Book of Ezekiel that he will be our God and we will be his people. Another promise is made that a single shepherd will lead God’s people, keeping them safe from temptation by other gods. In today’s canticle, we are not presented with a psalm; instead, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims that God will gather his scattered people together just like a shepherd gathers his flock. In a very dark passage taken from John’s Gospel, the members of the Sanhedrin conclude that it is better to kill Jesus than to risk a revolution under this “Messiah”, resulting in the destruction of Israel by Rome … and the loss of their power. Jesus has told us in an earlier portion of John’s Gospel that a good shepherd lays down his life for his flock. Those who are plotting to destroy Jesus are going to make that prediction come true. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He did lay down his life for us that we may be the people of God. We are about to enter Holy Week. Tomorrow is Palm (Passion) Sunday. In this holiest week of our calendar, we have the opportunity to follow our Good Shepherd on his last journey. Please make every effort to attend all the Holy Week Liturgies. You won’t regret it.