I Know My Sheep - Sunday Gospel Reflection

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A) April 26, 2026

Readings: Acts 2:14a, 36-41 | Psalm 23 | 1 Peter 2:20b-25 | John 10:1-10

Gospel: John 10:1-10

Good Shepherd Sunday. Every year, this fourth Sunday of Easter, we hear Jesus describe Himself as a shepherd - and us as His sheep.

It's a beautiful image. But it's also a dangerous one if we sentimentalize it. Because Jesus isn't describing a gentle stroll through green pastures with fluffy lambs. He's describing something fierce, intimate, and costly.

"I am the gate for the sheep...Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture."

"I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

The shepherd isn't passive. He enters the sheepfold through the gate - not climbing over the wall like a thief. He calls his sheep by name. They recognize his voice. And he leads them out.

Two things about this Gospel matter for where you are right now in your faith journey.

First: The sheep know His voice.

"The sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out...the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice."

You've been listening to Jesus' voice throughout Lent and Easter. In Scripture. In the Eucharist. In prayer. In the quiet moments where something stirred in your heart and you thought, That's Him.

The more time you spend with the Shepherd, the better you recognize His voice. And the better you recognize His voice, the harder it becomes to be led astray by all the other voices competing for your attention - voices of fear, of self-doubt, of the culture, of the enemy.

Your faith has been deepening precisely because you've been learning to hear His voice. Don't stop now.

Second: He calls them by name and leads them out.

Out. Not just in. Not just safe in the fold.

Jesus calls you by name and leads you out - into the world. Into mission. Into the lives of people who haven't yet heard the Shepherd's voice.

The fold is for rest and protection. But you're not meant to stay there forever. The Shepherd leads you out to find pasture - which means there are places He wants to take you that you haven't been yet.

Peter's sermon in Acts shows us what it looks like when someone who's been led by the Shepherd leads others to Him.

Peter - the same man who denied Jesus, who hid behind locked doors - now stands up and proclaims boldly. And the people are "cut to the heart."

"What are we to do, my brothers?"

Peter says: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ."

And about three thousand people are added that day.

Three thousand. Because one shepherd - Peter, following the Good Shepherd - was willing to be led out and speak.

You're not Peter. You probably won't preach to thousands. But there are people in your life who are "cut to the heart" - who are searching, hurting, longing for something they can't name.

And if you've been listening to the Shepherd's voice, you know who they are. He's been putting them on your heart. He's been leading you toward them.

Peter also writes: "You had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls."

You were a lost sheep once. Maybe you wandered far. Maybe you barely strayed. But at some point, you were found. You heard the Shepherd's voice and you came back.

You know what it's like to be lost. And you know what it's like to be found.

That experience - that personal knowledge of the Shepherd's voice calling you home - is the most powerful thing you have to share with someone who's still wandering.

Not theology. Not arguments. The simple truth: I was lost. He called my name. I came home. And He can do the same for you.

Jesus says: "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

Abundant life. Not easy life. Not comfortable life. Not life without suffering.

But life that's full. Deep. Meaningful. Connected to the source.

The world offers a hundred counterfeits. Success. Pleasure. Distraction. Control. And they all leave people emptier than before.

You have the real thing. You know the Shepherd. You hear His voice. You've tasted abundant life.

Now help someone else find the gate.

Reflect

• Can you recognize the Shepherd's voice? When was the last time you heard Him clearly? What was He saying?
• Is Jesus leading you out right now - toward someone, toward a conversation, toward an act of courage? Are you following?
• Who in your life is like a sheep without a shepherd - searching, confused, following voices that lead nowhere?
• How has your own experience of being found changed the way you see people who are still wandering?

Pray

Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd. You know me by name. You've called me, found me, brought me home. Thank You for abundant life - for life that's full and deep and connected to You. Now lead me out. Show me who needs to hear Your voice through mine. Give me the courage to follow where You lead - even when it's uncomfortable, even when I'd rather stay in the fold. You laid down Your life for me. Help me to lay down my comfort for others. Amen.

This Sunday, hear the Shepherd's voice:

"I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

You've received that abundant life. You know the gate.

Now help someone else walk through it.