Gospel Reflection on John 10:1-10
- Apr 23
- 3 min read
April 26, 2026
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
-----
Sometimes the church tries to reach people by using different programs or plans. Sadly, too often we've appealed to rules imposed from beyond, or even worse, made people feel guilty.
We think that the flock must be driven and forced from behind, but instead our relationship with God is something very refined. God walks ahead of us, and we follow because we're attracted to the sound of His voice.
We lose sight of the fact that authentic formation of conscience comes by touching the heart. We tend to think it can be formed by discipline and constriction rules, whereas what is always needed is a personal encounter.
God never approaches us using tortures or forced means. The human heart is something very delicate and can't be forced. Nothing should be subject to coercion in the spiritual life, neither the conscience or anything else.
The image that Jesus uses is an open door, not a triumphal arch. Rome has many triumphal arches which emperors pass through after big military conquests on their way to glory.
This is not how God reaches us. Our relationship to God is a relationship that always involves a growth in freedom. And we know this from our own journey. Long periods in our life go by and we continue on our path, and then we hear something and it strikes us personally as if it's meant for us. You see, we have an inner guardian of our hearts that opens only what it is spoken to in the right way and is ready to receive the truth. When this door
opens, we're ready to leave our old ways and try something new.
Jesus uses the image of the flock going in and out through this open door. This might sound
like a movement of going back and forth to the same place, but it's not.
To exit from one place is always to enter somewhere else. The goal of the sheep and
the shepherd is always to find fresh pasture. And this can only happen because the shepherd is called us by name. How often we forget that our spiritual life must be based on this personal relationship where Christ calls each of us by name, making us feel known and recognized.
---
Comments