Today's Gospel

Will You Choose Life or Destruction?

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where we are exploring today's gospel, the genius of Jesus, the genius of Catholicism, and looking for ways to anchor our day in today's Gospel reading, which is from the Gospel of John 10:1-10. "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, or 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 said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door. If anyone 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 come that you may have life and have it abundantly."

What jumps out at you today? What jumps out at me is the last sentence or two. Particularly, steal, kill, and destroy. What comes into your life to steal, kill, and destroy? And Jesus is drawing the contrast between the thief and himself. He says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy." There are things in our lives that come only to steal and kill and destroy. I saw an advertisement for a new television show The Weekend. And I thought to myself, "What good can come from this show, from this concept of this show?" And now I'm reading this, and I'm thinking, "Okay, that show is only coming into our lives to steal, kill, and destroy." And then the contrast of Jesus, Jesus says, "I came that you may have life and have it abundantly."

Do you have abundant life? Do you feel like you're thriving? Do you feel like you're flourishing in the way Jesus is constantly calling us to in the Gospels? And if we don't, the clue actually is earlier in the gospel where Jesus says, "Those who hear my voice and follow me." It's a hard thing to follow. Our culture is like, "Do whatever you want." Our culture is not, "Follow the Good Shepherd." And it takes humility and it takes persistence. And we do wander off. And maybe you've wandered off. That's okay. Today's a good day to wander back. Have an amazing day. Remember, be bold, be Catholic.