Austin Shanley: My Shepherd
The following homily was shared at our Sunday Evening Eucharist service 4/26/26.
Scripture Readings:
I love passages like this one from John 10. I love passages that remind me that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (or in this case, the gate). I love passages like this because they pull me back to the roots of the Gospel. The Gospel isn’t just what we tell non-believers so that they believe in Jesus (although we do so as much as we can). The Gospel is just as important to share with believers, because the Christian life is all about returning to it. I had a pretty recent experience doing this over the last quarter break that I’d like to share with you.
After winter quarter, I was feeling pretty burnt out. It had felt like I had worked pretty hard that quarter, but when I reflected on how it went, it didn’t seem like I got much done. During the quarter break, I decided to go solo camping as kind of a mini-retreat for myself. And funny enough, I decided to do lectio divina on Psalm 23. I didn’t even make it past “the Lord is my shepherd” before it hit me. You see, one of the difficult things about being an intern is that my relationship with God is also my job. At times, even praying and doing lectio can feel like just another one of the many tasks I have to get done each day because I’m required to, and prayer loses its restfulness. What I needed to hear and what God reminded me on that early morning in my tent is that the Lord is my shepherd. I had gotten so used to the Lord being the shepherd of those I’m trying to reach and disciple, that I had forgotten that the Lord is MY shepherd too.
With this reminder also came another realization: that I also have a tendency to try and work my way out of a situation instead of praying my way through it. My tendency is to try and live by works and not by faith. When we struggle in life, when we have a lot more going on than we like, when life throws us a curveball we’re not ready to swing at, we slip back into our old ways. We fall back on old habits, on our old ways of thinking, on sins that used to comfort us, etc. We try to live by a different power and peace than through Jesus. Or to use the metaphor in this passage, we try to enter into the Kingdom of God by jumping over the fence rather than entering through the gate.
If the Gospel is placing your faith in Jesus, then living by the Gospel is living by faith. It’s important then, that we remind ourselves and others continually of the simplicity of living by faith in Jesus Christ. A faith that says that, “the shepherd described in Psalm 23 is my shepherd. A shepherd who satisfies all my wants and needs, who supplies my daily bread and gives me peace, who leads me to walk in the way of justice and righteousness. A shepherd who if you have Him, you have everything.” Amen.
Austin Shanley is an ACF Missionary Intern and LA Tech alum from Bentonville, AR. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems. He enjoys playing and writing music, mountain biking, playing table tennis, and watching sports. He has a deep passion for the Great Commission and a desire to see students' lives changed by the Word of God. We are grateful for his dedication to the Lord and look forward to his continued growth and leadership!