Hello,

This is the last College Connection of the year.  Most of you are done with exams, if not already at home.  I hope that you survived your semester and are finding ways to relax.

Next year the College Connection will take a different form.  We will be turning it into a reflection for all young adults.  It will be posted to a different website and open for comments and reflections.

If you are in Ann Arbor this summer, I hope we see you here.

Blessings,
Jen Delvaux

Director of High School,
Young Adult and Single Ministries
 

Gospel
Jn 10:11-18
 

Jesus said:
"I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father."

Reflection

At some point or another, we have all had that job.  The one where we are truly only working for a paycheck and have absolutely no care whether or not we do the job well.  Whether it is at a grocery store, sales clerk, waitress, or mowing lawns, we are only doing it for the money or until something better comes along.  For me it was the drycleaners I worked at in high school.  Two torturous weeks and the discovery that I was allergic to one of the chemicals made it a horrible work experience.  Thankfully I was able to get the job I really wanted and worked there for two years until I graduated.

That lackadaisical perspective is exactly what Jesus is talking about here.  The hired hand doesn’t ultimately care about the sheep he is shepherding.  He is there for the paycheck.  However, Jesus speaks of how he knows his sheep and that his love for them is so much that he will lay down his life for them.

With the coming of summer and everyone scattering to the winds or finding new homes after graduation, it is a time that we search for a sense of belonging all over again.  This reading was read the weekend before I graduated.  I was struck with the great comfort offered of knowing that Jesus is a shepherd for all no matter where.  So as my friends and I literally scattered around the world, our friendship and our God would bind us together.

Remember this summer as you travel, work, play, or just relax that no matter where you are, God is with you and he loves you.  He will be with you in far off places and in your own hometown.
 
 
 
 

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