Many of us like to have some pictures in our missal or our Bible; this makes it easy for us to find a special text or a reference we often come back to. The pictures may have been there for months, even years and… we do not pay much attention to them any longer. We may not notice anymore what the picture represents, at least many of the details do not retain our attention. They are printed papers…
The same could be said of the statues in a chapel or a church – we are so used to seeing them there that they do not catch our eyes any more. We know they are there, but… while some of us will stand before one of them, many of us pass by. These are plaster representations, or works of art like sculptures or carvings.
But what about another type of representation? What about a ‘word-picture’ – a live description by someone who introduces himself? This is what today’s gospel (Jn.10:27-30) gives us, a picture in words, a vivid description, an introduction to oneself and… it is given by Jesus himself! In a few words, in short sentences, Jesus gives us a summary of who he is and what he wants to be for us.
“I know my sheep… I give them eternal life; They will never be lost. No one will ever steal them from me.”
It is all there, in what I call the 4 Cs: Care, Concern, Comfort, Close Communion – there for each one of us, there for today and every day, there… if only we accept to be… his sheep.