3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

— Psalm 23:3- 4

1 “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

7 So He said to them again, “Truly, truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

9 I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.

— John 10:1, 7, 9

15 I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

16a I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak

— Ezekiel 34:15-16a

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace and mercy of Christ be with you!

In the shepherding metaphor, the wolf represents our spiritual enemy. But the devil and his demons are terrified of Jesus, and so it’s being in the presence of Jesus our Shepherd that protects us from evil. There is something else that shepherds use to protect their sheep and wolves. Nighttime is when sheep are the most vulnerable to wolf attack. So before sunset a shepherd gets his flock into one of these sheep pens. Sheep pens protect sheep throughout the night from wolves. In the Bible metaphor, a sheep pen represents heavenly kingdom and eternal life. So we can see how souls be saved into God’s kingdom by understanding how the true and caring shepherds use sheep pens.

A sheep pen is made up of the stone walls that come together and form a narrow opening. Before evening sets in, the shepherd gets his flock into the protection of a sheep pen and then he himself serves as the gate to a sheep by sitting or laying in the narrow opening so nothing can get in and nothing can get out without going through the shepherd. Only the sheep that enters through the good shepherd will be securely kept and saved from all predators. And only the sheep go in and out the pen through the shepherd-gate, following the shepherd, will find pasture, water and protection.