Key To Abundance

𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟐𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐀𝐜 𝟐:𝟏𝟒, 𝟑𝟔-𝟒𝟏

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟐𝟑:𝟏-𝟔 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝; 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐: 𝟏 𝐏𝐞𝐭 𝟐:𝟐𝟎-𝟐𝟓

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏𝟎:𝟏-𝟏𝟎

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞..” (𝐯.𝟏𝟎) 

           For more than a week now I have been dropping about a teaspoon of chia seeds in everything I eat, especially if it’s rice. What are chia seeds and what does it do? These are tiny seeds that are cultivated mostly in South American countries especially Mexico and Guatemala as early as 3500 BC.

           These seeds are essential to the Aztec and Mayan civilizations and were used for food, medicine, and religious offerings which are often represented as a symbol of strength.

           In today’s world, there has been an increased awareness of the advantages of using chia seeds to maintain good health. These tiny seeds are used either solely or in combination with other herbs or vegetables that help improve heart health, hypertension, weight management, reducing cholesterol, regulating blood sugar and many other benefits.

           An average person is allowed to consume even up to two tablespoons of chia seeds daily or even three times a week. When soaked in a glass of water it forms into a gel and this same reaction is what happens when you take chia seeds and this is what makes you feel full without overeating.

            Why am I telling you this? Because these tiny chia seeds that promote wellness and good health is like the Word of God that is like a seed planted into our hearts and minds whenever we open, read, reflect and meditate on God’s Word which is like manna from heaven that we can feast on that provides us a healthy and an abundant life.

And in today’s Gospel reading in 𝐉𝐍 𝟏𝟎:𝟏-𝟏𝟎 we read of the Israelites who could not grasp the meaning of the parable Jesus used even if they were already familiar with the role shepherds play in tending the herd of sheep that dot the Judean landscape in ancient times which was also analogous to the character of God whom the Jews acknowledged as the shepherd of Israel.

          Scriptures tell us of the Old Testament that speaks of God as the shepherd of his people, Israel and we see this in the following Scripture passages: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝, 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭” (𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟐𝟑:𝟏). “𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐎 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤” (𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟖𝟎:𝟏). “𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞” (𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟎𝟎:𝟑).        

The New Testament also speaks of Jesus as the shepherd of God's people who’s coming was prophesied in the Old Covenant: “𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬” (𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟒𝟎:𝟏𝟏). “𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐩” (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏𝟖:𝟏𝟐, 𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟓:𝟒). “𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬” (𝟏 𝐏𝐞𝐭 𝟐:𝟐𝟓).

          Notwithstanding the existence of these words in the Scriptures, the Jews could not understand what Jesus meant when he told of the story of the Good Shepherd and this was probably the reason Jesus had to draw the attention of the Jews to himself as the door through which life could be found when he said: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫; 𝐢𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐞, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟗)

          But even among us there are those who have a difficult time grasping the true meaning of what this Gospel conveys if we are to only read it as it is. We will have to go back in time and understand what a shepherd goes through when tending the herd of sheep under his care.

          Shepherding in the time of Jesus requires a high degree of knowledge, skill and dedication such that a shepherd at that time even could communicate with the sheep in a most unique way.

When Jesus talked of himself as the door, he was referring to what was then known as the “sheepfolds” or the place where the herd of sheep are brought in for the night to secure them from wolves and wild beasts.

          In those days there were two types of “sheep-folds.” One is the so-called communal sheep-fold where all the herd are brought to shelter them for the night. These types of sheep-folds have only one door that and only the guardian holds the key.

The other kind of sheep-fold is found in the hills where the sheep are pastured and is nothing more than an open space that is enclosed by a high wall of rocks and boulders. There is normally only one opening to this hillside sheep-fold where the sheep comes in and goes out and it is in this opening where the shepherd sleeps and no sheep can get out unless it goes over his body. In others words, the shepherd literally acts as the door through which the sheep pass.

          This was what Jesus was trying to illustrate to the Jews in this parable, and this is what Our Lord is also telling us now. As the sheep then were familiar with the voice of the shepherd who commands the sheep where to go, we too need to be familiar with the voice of Jesus so we can understand where he wants us to go.

          The Scriptures describe God as the shepherd who brings security and peace to his people, and we should look at Jesus as the door who will keep our going out and our coming in to the Kingdom of God from this time forth and for evermore (𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟐𝟎:𝟖).

          As with the leaders of Israel are also referred to as shepherds: “𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧; 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝” (𝐍𝐮𝐦 𝟐𝟕:𝟏𝟕) we too who have been called to become God’s under-shepherds must now keep watch over his sheep and protect them from danger, as “𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬” (𝟏 𝐏𝐞𝐭 𝟐:𝟐𝟓).

          St. Augustine once wrote: “𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘴: 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?”

          What probably is the most meaningful and significant statement in today’s Gospel was when Jesus said: “𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲” (𝐯.𝟏𝟎) because what Jesus is saying here is not just our needs being made available to us but that there is a superabundance of the things we need to make our lives worthwhile.

It simply means that we can still live an abundant life without the materialism that has become the standard of the world when we are attached to Jesus who is the door through which we can pass through and be assured of eternal life.

This was what Jesus meant when he said: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫” (𝐯.𝟗) because through him we now have access to God the Father and when he added: “𝐢𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐞, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟗) Jesus simply meant that it is only through him that we can be saved and this was accomplished by his death on the cross and his resurrection.

          To enter into the door that is Jesus also assures us of a new vitality, a new passion to live life and, a new purpose because in walking with Him and obeying His Word we will find that life not only becomes abundant but the security, peace and joy that can be found in Jesus translates into a superabundant life that is rooted in love.

          Next month, we will be celebrating Mother’s Day and if we are to take a second look at the role our mothers played, we could equate them with the character of a shepherd.

They are in fact the first shepherd whom we laid our eyes on when we began to see. And just like shepherds, our mothers reared, nurtured, fed, guarded, and protected us. They also made sure we were healthy and, most importantly, they took great pains to make sure that we will not be lost as we go through life.

          Today is an opportune time to look back and remember not only the joys and happiness we shared with them but above all let us recall the sacrifices, suffering, the pains that our mothers went through from the time they carried us in their wombs to the time when we can stand on our own two feet.

          If your mothers are still around, hug them, kiss them, hold their hands and pray over them and tell them how much you love them. If they have passed on to the next life, offer them a prayer just to remind them that you have not forgotten everything they did for you.

They are, after all, the first shepherds who carried us in their wombs, reared us, cared for us, loved us and guided us that we may partake of the abundant life that Jesus promised. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 26, 2026)