John 10,11-18 – Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
How can you tell a good shepherd from a bad shepherd? Jesus explains it on today’s Gospel page by indicating a very concrete criterion: the presence of wolves, that is, the moment of difficulty. It is precisely in the trials, in the tribulations, in the moments when things get complicated, that the truth emerges. It is no coincidence that when we go through something painful, that is where we recognize true friends from fake ones, true love from superficial ones. Jesus says that the good shepherd does not flee from the wolf. He does not abandon the flock when the situation becomes risky. On the contrary, it stays. AND not only does he stay, but “he gives his life for the sheep”.
This tells us something crucial about God. God is someone who chooses to be with us precisely when it is not convenient. He doesn’t move away when we are fragile, when we are in difficulty, when everything seems to be going wrong. That’s where it gets closest. Jesus presents himself as a defense, as a wall, as a presence that never fails. It doesn’t necessarily eliminate the wolves, but it doesn’t leave us alone in front of them.
The good news of the Gospel is precisely this: God does not love us because we deserve it or because things are going well. He loves us especially when we don’t deserve it, when we are more exposed, when everything seems against us. And this faithful love also becomes the criterion for our life. He invites us to verify whether our way of loving is capable of remaining even in difficulties, or whether it depends only on favorable conditions. Why it is in the test that the truth of love is manifested. This is why trials are not only misfortunes, but they are also gods very strong moments of truth.
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