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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me be like a sheep: figuring out who's good and sticking with them. Amen!

"Anyone who sneaks into a sheep pen is a robber," Jesus said; "but when the gatekeeper walks through the gate and calls his sheep, they know his voice and follow him. You're like sheep, and I'm the gate - only people who come to you through me are safe to follow."

Talking about sheep and shepherds today is like when old people talk about records or cassette tapes: You can't relate. You download your music to your iPod!

A lot of kids reading this week's Gospel (John 10:1-10) have never met a shepherd - but you've probably met some animal-lovers. You might even be one yourself!

Animals know when someone likes them. A dog-lover will automatically put out her hand when a dog comes over and start petting it. A cat-lover will pat his lap when the cat walks by, inviting her to jump up.

Sheep will also follow their shepherd, the guy who takes care of them. He brings them to fields with good grass to eat; he makes sure they have enough water and chases away the wolves and other predators that would attack them.

In the Gospel story, Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd - an animal-lover - and we're the sheep He cares for. If we trust our shepherd, He says, we'll follow Him and believe that, even when we don't see where we're going, He's taking us in the right direction.

Animals also know when a person doesn't like them. Dogs will bark at someone who acts threatening; cats will run away or hiss. Sheep would be scared of someone they didn't know sneaking in among them.

Jesus said that's a good thing: We should be scared of people who don't come from God. If someone pretends to be good, but their actions don't match their words, don't trust them! Run away.

You may never have met a shepherd, but the Gospel story is still easy to figure out![[In-content Ad]]

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