MONDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE
Acts 11: 1-18 Ps 42: 2-3; 43: 3-4 Jn 10: 11-18
GATHERED BY THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Life with God is a journey of slow understanding. Even when we believe in Him, we do not always grasp His ways immediately. He teaches us patiently, through events, through prayer, and through His Son. In the early Christian community, there was a moment of confusion. Peter had entered the house of Gentiles and shared a meal with them. This disturbed many believers. For generations they had thought that God’s promises were meant only for their own people. Now God did something new. Peter explained quietly how he had received a vision and how the Holy Spirit had come upon the Gentiles just as upon them. It was clear that this was not a human decision but God’s action. When they understood this, their hearts opened. They praised God because they saw that His was for everyone.
The psalmist’s prayer, “My soul is thirsting for the living God” encompasses the universal thirst of humanity. It is the cry of a heart that feels empty and desires the living God. There is sorrow and trust in these words. The person asks God to send light and truth, believing that He will guide the way back to joy. The thirst itself becomes a prayer. Then Jesus speaks with tenderness about who He is. He calls Himself the Good Shepherd. A true shepherd knows his sheep and remains with them. He does not run away in danger. Instead, He offers His life for them. His love is not oriented to any identity, but he desires that all may become one flock under His care. Here we see how God answers human longing and confusion. When the community struggles to understand, Jesus reveals a love that gathers all. When the heart thirsts for God, the Shepherd comes near and offers His life.
We are invited to trust the broadness of God’s love. He is the true shepherd who cares and is willing always to go the extra mile to save the lost and the needy sheep of his flock. As his flock, if our hearts feel narrow, He can open them. If our souls feel thirsty, He can fill them. Let us listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him with a simple yet profound faith.
Response: My soul is thirsting for you, the living God.
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