Jesus, Good Shepherd, have mercy on us.
Sheep aren’t the world’s brightest creatures and, often, neither are human beings. We stray away from our shepherd, getting ourselves into all kinds of trouble. We take in things we should not, things that make us sick. We become tangled up in the bramble and briers of this world, hurting ourselves in the process.
Yet we have a good Shepherd, the very best Shepherd, to rescue us and protect us. Think about what a shepherd does for his sheep. He feeds and waters them and makes sure they are safe from predators and from their own stupidity. He cleans them up, sheers them, and comforts them. He searches for them when they are lost and leads them home when he finds them. Our Shepherd does all this and more. So may we not be stupid sheep but rather stay close to our good Shepherd, Jesus.
Jesus, true light, have mercy on us.
In the prologue of his Gospel, St. John writes that “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world” (1:9). This true light is the Word of God Who was “with God” and “was God” (1:1). “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (1:4-5).
This Word, this light, this life “became flesh and dwelt among us” (1:14). Yet the world did not know Him or accept Him. Many people wanted to remain in the darkness, for the light shows them the truth, and the truth makes demands. But the light also fills us with the “power to become children of God,” to behold God’s glory, to know God in a wonderful new way, to experience His grace, to be filled with light ourselves.
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