Holy Land shepherds lived and slept with their sheep; they knew their names and habits, much like our relationship with our pets. It is a difficult image to convey in a country of 80 million sheep gathered in mobs of thousands rather than flocks of fives. My image is found in the relationship I have with Kinyu, the Presbytery dog. I am his human and he is my dog.
Early in morning, if I have not stirred, quiet noises begin to come from out the back. They remind me to take Kinyu on our walk. He runs ahead and sometimes I have to call him lest he get wiped out by a vehicle. When I warn him of cheeky dogs or people, he comes close to me. If something wonderful or terrible happens, he wants to know I am near enough to help or celebrate with him. He knows he needs me, so even if he becomes side-tracked exploring or wanders away, he is back at home before too long. He does things that he knows make me happy, like protecting the house at night and staying outside the Church, and even the things that he does not want to do, like taking a bath. I want Kinyu to be healthy, happy and contented. I know that without me or a similarly kind human patron, he will die. I know that I know what is good for Kinyu better than he does. The analogy cannot be stretched too far, but it probably is closer to our reality than sheep.
Our Good Shepherd looks out for us, protects and guides us, is interested in our future and wants us to be happy. Our God is greater than us and can see more clearly than we can and sometimes leads us in ways that we do to want to go, with the result that we kick, resist, whinge, or run away. In the end we trust, are led and are sometimes even carried. If we manage to evade the goodness of God we are gently called home and are greeted without retribution.
Many say that they don’t need anyone to lead them as they will find their own way. The reality is that we all follow someone or something, whether we care to admit it or not. As Christians we admit that we follow Christ as our leader, guide, support and strength. However, Christ cannot protect or guide us if we do not trust that he is our shepherd. Sometimes people say to me that God is not present to them, or they hardly any relationship with God. Often what they say is true, even though they are Catholic, because they do not put their faith and trust in Christ, and so are always confused.
As the flock of the Good Shepherd, we are called to trust and follow. Kinyu trusts me and follows, sometimes with trepidation, because he knows that I will protect him and know what is good for him. Christ calls us to follow him completely in the Church, not just to follow the Church teachings I like or are not too hard. If I pick and choose what to believe or not, or if I decide to make up my own religion based on a mixture of religious themes, I do it at my peril, for I walk away from the protection of the Good Shepherd.
In our world, we need Christ to provide Good Shepherds for us in the form of holy priests. Today we remember the role that each baptised person has in the encouragement of priestly vocations in our parish. In his message for today, Pope Benedict has said that: “proposing vocations in the local church means having the courage, through an attentive and suitable concern for vocations, to point out this challenging way of following Christ….”.[i]
If we wish to follow Christ we need to develop our faith through a personal commitment to Christ. The Good Shepherd will ensure that this trust is guarded through the leadership of holy priests and bishops.
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