Fourth Sunday of Easter
Dear Friends,
Has the enemy ever tried to convince you that following Jesus is making your life worse?
The Christian life is uncompromising and demanding. Jesus asks that whoever follows him take up his cross, not live a life of comfort and ease. It is an extremely counter-cultural way of living- we don’t blend in, our way of love and sacrifice does match the way the world would have us operate. And in the midst of the struggle, it can be easy to forget the sweet voice that we were first captivated by. It can be easy some days for this lie to seep in- “Does He even want me to be happy?” Jesus in today’s Gospel reminds us that he has come to offer us life in abundance, and he is the Good Shepherd forever guiding us to Eternity. His message to us today is that if we have Him, we have all. He is the gate to Heaven, the shepherd of our souls, the One who will never abandon us. And oh, do we need a love like this.
What is life in abundance? The world might say that it means having everything we want, or being very wealthy, or having once-in-a-lifetime experiences from time to time, and the list goes on and on. But the saints would tell us that Jesus speaks of a deep, abiding, joy and hope that the world cannot give, and persists in the bleakest of life circumstances. As children of the Father, we can rest in the hope and the joy that we are never alone, and never left to our own devices. He has given us in his Son a shepherd that walks before us, only asking for us to remain close so as to know his voice. The enemy will forever be trying to convince us of what he convinced our first parents- that the Father wishes for us to lack, and that His will for our lives cannot be trusted. Jesus’ tender voice in the Gospel speaks to that very place in our hearts that is afraid to give Him all of our trust- “Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” He has spoken it, and in Him there is no lie. In Him, we will be given life in abundance, and life eternal if we follow His voice.
Andrea Garcia
Young Adult Creator