Gospel Reflections for 4th Sunday of Easter

17th April: My sheep hear my voice

What does Jesus give us through the resurrection? The simple yet profound answer is found in today’s gospel: ‘My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life.’ Through the power of the resurrection, Jesus shares with us what the Father shared with him; he gives us what the Father gives him, eternal life. This is a free gift; we can’t do anything to deserve it, warrant it or demand it. Yet, it does require some response on our part, and again we find this in our gospel.

How do we come know Jesus in a personal way with an intimate friendship? We experience Jesus through hearing his voice and then following him. Jesus never stops calling each of us personally; He reaches out to us when he says ‘I call you by your name, you are mine.’ And then having being called out love, we are invited and even challenged to follow him. Each of us follows Jesus in our own unique and sacred way according to our own baptismal call. During this Easter season, we pray that we will appreciate the gift of eternal life that is being made available to us, that we listen to the voice of Jesus calling and that we will follow him.