John 10:27-30

Acts 13:14, 43-52

Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5

Revelation 7:9, 14b-17

John 10:27-30

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

No one can take them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,

and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.

The Father and I are one.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I want to grow and mature as your child. You are my loving Father and know the path I should take to spiritual maturity. It is a path that passes through death to the old self and loving self-offering. Guide me today and grant me your sanctifying Spirit.

Encountering the Word of God

1. My Sheep Hear My Voice: Today’s Gospel passage took place during the Feast of Hanukkah, which celebrated the rededication of the Temple during the Maccabean revolt. The feast took place in winter and would be Jesus’ last Hanukkah during his earthly life. Jesus makes a contrast between his opponents, who refuse to heed his voice and have rejected him, and his disciples, who, like sheep, hear his voice and follow him. Jesus’ disciples believe that he is the divine and royal Messiah, sent by God to give them life. They believe that he is the eternal Word of the Father. They believe that he is the Good Shepherd who will guide them, nourish them, and protect them. Jesus leads his sheep not to an earthly Promised Land, but a heavenly one – he gives them eternal life and leads them to eternal life. 

2. I Give Them Eternal Life: Eternal life begins here on earth through grace and will only be consummated – brought to definitive fulfillment and completion – in the glory of heaven. Jesus’ words are in the present tense. He is not merely saying, “In the future, when a good and faithful servant dies, I will give them eternal life.” Nor is Jesus saying, “Anyone who makes an act of faith is saved and can never lose eternal life.” He is talking about the gift of divine life given to a person through faith in Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism. It is important to be sheep, who are docile to the voice and hands of the Good Shepherd, and remain in the Flock of God. We do not want to be like goats, who are stubborn and refuse to listen and go their own way. If we remain with Jesus, we will not perish.

3. The Hands of God: Jesus teaches the Judeans gathered in Jerusalem for the feast that he and the Father are one. This is a great proclamation of the mystery of the Trinity: God the Father and God the Son are distinct persons, yet are one God. In the early Christian tradition, St. Irenaeus reflected on the metaphor of God’s hands and wrote that there is but one God, who created all things. The Father made all things by himself, that is, by his Word and by his Wisdom, by the Son and the Spirit, who, so to speak, are his hands (see Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 2, 30, 9 and CCC, 292). No one, Jesus declares, is powerful enough to take the sheep, the disciples of Jesus who heed his voice, out of God’s hands. We are guided by the Father’s hands who wrote the New Law upon our hearts. We are protected by the hands of Jesus, the Carpenter of Nazareth, who became the Good Shepherd. We are sanctified by the hands of the Spirit, who patiently crafts and molds us to conform to the image of the Son.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I will strive each day to conform my life to yours. I know that suffering with you leads to glory with you. When life is difficult or I fail to love, renew my resolve to set out once again toward you and the Father, guided by your Holy Spirit.

Living the Word of God: In prayer, discern where you are in your spiritual growth. If you see spiritual immaturity, what are the areas you most need to work on with God’s grace? Dedicating more and better time to prayer and meditation? Humbly serving others? Glorifying God in your words and actions? Caring for a family member? Encouraging my children in their faith? If you see spiritual growth, are you thankful to God or in danger of becoming prideful? Where is God leading you to grow in your spiritual life?