No One Will Ever Steal Them From Me

(By Fr. Dexter Brereton)

“…no one will ever steal them from me. The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone, and no one can steal from the Father.”

[simpleazon-image align=”left” asin=”0399588639″ locale=”us” height=”375″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IWchP4K2L.jpg” width=”254″]On this Sunday called traditionally Good Shepherd Sunday the Church Universal usually chooses for her meditation, a section of John chapter 10. In striking language, Jesus speaks of himself as the ideal shepherd. His words were spoken in a context of a community that was under pressure, since it was disapproved of by the wider Jewish community and had to face its own set of defections. Indeed, these words placed by St John on the lips of Jesus were John’s way of helping his community to come to terms with people leaving the community and abandoning the way of Jesus. John replies only those who are truly given to Jesus ‘by the Father’ are true disciples.

My mind was thrown back several years to the various parishes which I have administered. One of the marvels of ministry, is that no matter how unfriendly, how de-motivated the community there is always someone within that very community with whom I can speak . These are the “sheep” who listen to my voice”. Of them, these pastoral collaborators of mine I could say “…no one will ever steal them from me.” These are comforting words to those of us who may find ourselves living or working in a hostile environment. Having friends is a great thing; some of us unfortunately may find ourselves in situations where we have relatively few friends. God’s word in scripture today however, leads me to believe that those few friends that we do have, are just enough. Especially if they are genuine friends…’sent by the Father.’ Of them we may say “no one will ever steal them from me.” We may work in a terrible environment, but some people, very often may remain close and loyal to us, in spite of what goes on around us.

Father we thank you for the loyal persons in our lives :someone who stands up with us when we are being attacked, a good friend who patiently walks with us through illness and misery. These are like the sheep to which Jesus refers and “no one will ever steal them from us.” These persons are a gift from God the Father to us and “no one can steal from the Father.”