Am I A Good Shepherd?

July 21, 2024

The first reading speaks of shepherds who have failed the community, which has resulted in the scattering of the flock.  And in the Gospel reading we have Jesus bemoaning the lack of shepherds. This metaphor of the sheep for those who follow, and of the shepherd for those who lead, is a common one used in the Bible and in the Christian tradition. And generally people mistake this metaphor to understand only the clergy as shepherds and the rest of us as sheep. However, as I have mentioned before (Who are the Sheep, who are the Shepherds - April 21, 2024),  each of us is called to be a shepherd either in some aspect of our own lives, and/or in the church/world community, and therefore we must all learn to be good shepherds.  After all, anyone who is called to fulfil a nurturing role (e.g. parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, etc), is called to exhibit the qualities of a good shepherd

So what does it mean to be  a Good Shepherd?  Since Jesus offers himself as the model of a good shepherd, and this was further stressed in the early Church when he is referred to as the “great shepherd” (Hebrews 13:20) and the chief shepherd (1Pet 5:4),we could explore some of the requirements Jesus puts forth in defining a good shepherd.  In Chapter 10 of John’s Gospel Jesus articulates some of these qualities.  One of the first qualities of a good shepherd is that s/he develops a deep and intimate relationship with those s/he guides, and can understand the differences and uniqueness of each of them, rather than lumping them all together (“He calls his own sheep by name …”). Even more importantly, the good shepherd leads from the front, showing by example what s/he is calling them to do (“he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him”). This is an extremely important aspect, as very often, as parents or mentors, we talk to those we nurture about honesty, respect and discipline, while we ourselves lie and break rules that we expect our children/mentees to follow. And as we know, like children, we all learn much more from examples, than we would from a hundred verbal lessons. So, a good shepherd, needs to lead by example.

A good shepherd also understands that his or her role is not to make sure the sheep become replicas of themselves or of anybody else, but rather that they are able to live their own lives, fully, realising their own potential  (“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”).  And in doing this a good shepherd may have to make many sacrifices (“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”). However, when the sheep are in trouble, the good shepherd stays with them, and doesn’t give up on them, unlike the ‘hired hand’ who looks after the sheep only because he is paid to do it (“The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”).  Finally, the good shepherd knows that there are sheep who are lost (“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also”) but never gives up on any of the sheep, so that s/he is willing to leave the 99 who are safe, to go look for the one who is lost (Mathew 18:12-14).  Thus, s/he never condemns or throws aside those sheep who may have wandered afar, but goes searching for them to bring them home, rejoicing over their return, however long it takes.

We also have Peter (1 Peter 5:2-3) giving some guidelines when he reminds us that the role of being a shepherd has to be willingly accepted and not as a burden to be carried out (“not because you must, but because you are willing”), nor because one wishes to gain something from it (“not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve”). Finally the shepherd does not lord it over the sheep, but rather leads by example (“not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock”). This last guideline of not lording over our flock can be especially difficult, for when a person is used to the position of teacher or leader, it is easy to forget that we do not know everything, that even though we are the ones guiding our flock, we can sometimes be wrong. In my own life this was strongly brought to my attention, when long ago, my 5-year old son turned to me and told me: “Just because you are big, doesn’t mean you are right!”. This was a huge learning for me. And I think that every shepherd needs to remember that they too are sheep and if they are willing they can learn as much from their ‘sheep’ as the ‘sheep’ do from them.

This type of shepherding is a struggle because we have to find a balance between student and teacher, sheep and shepherd, servant and master. When Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope, many conservatives considered him an answer to their prayers. But Benedict the Pope seemed to disappoint those same conservatives. In a very real sense it was not the man that changed, but his role. As Cardinal Ratzinger, his duty was to safeguard the faith from any distortions or well-meaning alterations that could change the core beliefs Catholics hold as divinely given when the Church was founded. This was a challenging and often contentious task, but it was mostly a 'theological' job. Upon becoming pope, his role shifted dramatically; he became a shepherd who needed to learn, seek out the lost, and connect with the people. This new role was vastly different, and that was why he did not give in to all those conservatives who expected him to ‘kill’ all left-leaning movements in the Church.  Eventually perhaps Pope Benedict may have resigned, because he found it too difficult, for he is famously known to have made this statement: “We were looking for a good shepherd, and instead we got a German shepherd”

Similarly, Pope Francis faced his own challenges as a Jesuit Provincial in Argentina. At that time, he aimed to protect the Church’s position, which led him (mistakenly, in my opinion) to oppose those Jesuits  under him who wanted to resist the oppressive military regime. Maybe that struggle about what the shepherd should give importance to, was one from which he learnt,  because today, as the shepherd of the faithful, his struggle has led him to prioritize “everything that concerns the pastoral line of forgiveness and understanding people, and giving everyone a place in the Church” (as shared with Argentinian journalist, Elisabetta Piqué). This stance often puts him at odds with canonical rules and staunch conservatives that seem to exclude certain groups from the Church (e.g. LGBTQ individuals and divorced persons).

So maybe it is good to struggle. Because struggle is a sign that things are changing within us and maybe one sign of a good leader is that s/he is not complacent but is always changing, always evolving, always learning. And maybe in our lives, if we have such a ministry assigned to us, or even in our own more personal lives where we are called to nurture others, we must continue to struggle to become good shepherds.

1st Reading – Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply. I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD. Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: “The LORD our justice.”

2nd Reading – Ephesians 2:13-18

Brothers and sisters: In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Gospel – Mark 6:30-34

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.  When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.