In this Gospel reflection for the 4th Sunday of Easter and Our Lady of Good Counsel, Rev. Fr. Lounal E. Jarumay, OAR, offers an Augustinian reading of John’s Gospel, focusing on Christ as both the Gate and the Good Shepherd. Drawing from Saint Augustine’s Totus Christus, this meditation invites us to rediscover our identity as members of Christ’s Body and to live our faith as a dynamic participation in His life and mission.
Christ the Gate: Entering into the Mystery of the Whole Christ
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep,” Jesus proclaims. I would like to offer an Augustinian reading of this Johannine text to guide our reflection.
Augustine speaks of Totus Christus, that is, the whole Christ composed of Christ the Head and the Church as the body. The Head and the body can never be separated. To be exact, the body can never be separated from the Head. In fact, for Augustine, while the Head expresses himself in and through the body, the body, for it to be the body, can only express itself in accordance with the Head. The Head secures this ineffable relationship by assuming the nature of the body. This assumption greatly benefits the body.
In his Tractate 45 on the Gospel of John, Augustine reiterates that the “gate” is Christ as He himself confessed: I am the way, the truth, and the life. The same Christ is also the shepherd for He has declared: I am the Good Shepherd. The “sheep” he identifies as those who listen to the voice of the shepherd. Thus, for Augustine, it is clear that, for one to enter the gate, one must enter Christ the gate and be led by Christ the shepherd.
The Sheep as the Body of Christ: Living in Communion
I would like to apply, in addition, Augustine’s Totus Christus principle to further reflect on the identity of the sheep. In Tractate 45, the sheep are those who listened to the voice of the Shepherd, and they are known to Him. I must add that the “sheep” comprise the body of Christ. They are not simply gathered around the Shepherd, but they are in the Shepherd through the assumption of human nature. Simply put: the sheep enter the gate because they are in Christ, who is the gate; and they listen not simply to the voice of the Shepherd but because, in the intimate and ineffable union of the Head and the body, the body assumes the will of the Head. In other words, the will of the body actively conforms to the will of the Head.
The challenge now is how to continuously conform ourselves to the Head while being in the Shepherd. We thus pray to the Head to grant us the grace to be constantly aware of our intimate union with Him. Such awareness may serve as our lamppost as we navigate our day-to-day life as sheep of Christ. Under grace and with grace, we rest secure in the bosom of our Shepherd whose humility allows us to pass through the gate to life eternal.
A Call to Mission: Becoming the Voice of the Shepherd
While challenged, we also remember that our incorporation into the whole Christ is not simply for our sake; it is also a call to mission. The Head desires that everyone given to Him by the Father be with Him wherever He will be. If this desire is to be assumed by the body the Church, then we cannot be at ease knowing that we are not all in the Shepherd. We pray thus to the Father to transform us into His voice calling everyone into the body of the one Head. May all of us be one in Him who leads us to the Triune God.
