David

John’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth speaks of a time when sorrow, death and suffering will be no more. Some two thousand years later we might think that John’s utopian vision is little more than wishful thinking. Moreover, if we take the words of Jesus in this week’s Gospel – “You must love one another as I have loved you” – we can also recognise that Christians honour this commandment more in the breach than in reality.

The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd tenderly carrying a sheep on his shoulders was one of the earliest images of Jesus in Christian art. It was found in the Roman catacombs, the ancient cemeteries outside the city of Rome where the early Christian martyrs were buried. It has remained a much-loved image of Jesus throughout the centuries.

This week’s gospel presents a scene so familiar that we can almost picture it happening on an Aussie beach. After all, what’s more Australian than a feed of fish and chips by the water after a long day?