JESUS said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” * * *
The words of Jesus refer to the care of his “own” as the Good Shepherd (cf Jn 10:14). His fold pertains to the disciples, those who believe in him, but Jesus has other “sheep” which he also must lead (cf Jn 10:16).
The Psalmist sings of the Lord God as a shepherd leading his people to green pastures and to still waters, and protecting them with his rod and his staff (cf Ps 23:2, 4). In like manner, Jesus prepares the banquet of the Eucharist for his own and watches over them so that not one of them will perish. At his passion, when he is arrested in the garden (of Gethsemane), Jesus gives himself to those who have come to arrest him, on condition that they let his disciples go. The evangelist sees this as a fulfillment act: “This was to fulfill what he had said, ‘I have not lost any of those you gave me’ (cf Jn 18:9). Indeed, he gives his life for the sheep.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2020,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 8957328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
