My sheep hear my voice, for I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. The Fourth Sunday of Easter has traditionally been Christened the Good Shepherd Sunday. It is a Sunday in which the Church recognizes the loving, shepherding role that her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ exercises over her. Jesus as the good shepherd loves and cares for the Church. There are no holds barred when it comes to the extent to which Jesus would go in order to demonstrate his love for the Church. Not even Jesus’ own life is too much a price a pay for the wellbeing of the Church. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd who puts his life on the line in order to give life to the Church. Accordingly, the Gospel reading(s) for this Sunday (all the cycles) are taken from the Good Shepherd discourse from the gospel according to John (cf. John 10:1-30). 
A shepherd plays a critical role in the life of a flock. While mostly seen to be wielding a "supervisory" role, a shepherd is not merely a “supervisor” of the flock/herd (wielding the shepherd’s staff, as it were). As a matter of fact, a shepherd can even be said to be the very heartbeat of his flock because the welfare of the flock rests with him. It is the responsibility of the shepherd to nurture the flock by providing pasture, water, shelter, and most importantly, security. A flock ceases to be if there is no shepherd (the sheep will scatter). On his part, a shepherd never sees himself as being apart from the sheep he tends. On the contrary, he sees himself as part and parcel of the flock and understands that his life and that of the flock are so much intertwined that one can not be thought of in the absence of the other. Only by becoming one with the flock can a shepherd know what ails the sheep and attend to them accordingly. And most importantly, a shepherd must be ready to put his life on the line when it comes to the flock’s safety. In the Good Shepherd discourse, Jesus declares himself the good shepherd. He claims the good shepherd title because he sees himself as having met all the requisite qualities: in the incarnation, he has assumed the life of his brothers and sisters and has thus become one with them; in his ministry as he fed the hungry, healed the sick, and raised the dead, his motivation was the wellbeing of his brothers and sisters; and in his passion, death and resurrection, he put his life on the line in order to give life to his brothers and sisters. 
The Gospel passage for this Sunday (cycle C) is the finale and high point of the Good Shepherd discourse (vv. 27-30). Serving a climactic role in the discourse, we see in this passage Jesus revealing the dynamic relationship that exists between himself and the sheep that he shepherds. It is a relationship that is characterized by mutual knowing: Jesus the shepherd knows his sheep and they in turn know him. This mutual knowledge goes beyond intellectual comprehension. It includes understanding and profound intimacy, and must also be demonstrable. Both the shepherd and the sheep recognize that their lives are intertwined and that they exist for each other. Jesus understands that his shepherding responsibility has been given him by the Father and as such he must ensure that he carries it out faithfully. Consequently, he must see to it that the sheep under his fold are led to eternal life. On their part, the sheep that belong to Jesus’ fold demonstrate their understanding of the special relationship they share with their shepherd by recognizing Jesus’ voice as he seeks them out in order to lead them to eternal life. The sheep must be ready to follow their shepherd because it is only by doing so that they can be led away from danger and into the Father’s abode where they will find eternal life. 
Jesus is the good shepherd because he knows his responsibility. He knows what he has to do (he knows his own), and he remains faithful to it. As the members of Jesus’ flock, we in turn must be good sheep. In the same manner that Jesus our shepherd knows us by name and attends to us on an individual basis, we too must be able to know Jesus our shepherd, recognize his voice, and be ready to follow him. Being able to recognize the voice of our shepherd becomes important especially in a world where there are many voices that call out to us in order to seek our attention. Jesus’ sole mission is to give life to the sheep of his fold. But he can only achieve this if the sheep obey his commands and follow them without hesitation. To do this, the sheep must ensure that they remain in a relationship with the shepherd. Just like Jesus the shepherd remains in a relationship with the Father who gave him the responsibility and by so doing is able to faithfully carry out his duties, so must the sheep remain one with the shepherd if they are to be led to the fullness of life.