When I visited Bethlehem I waited near the fields, not too far away from the Church of the Nativity, where I heard sometimes the shepherds would bring their sheep for grazing. The guide explained that the shepherds, even today, would use similar techniques to those described in the scriptures. We waited for quite a long time, but did not have the pleasure of meeting a traditional shepherd.
In today’s scripture, Jesus uses a common imagery of the Israelites – mundane life. Predominantly, Israelites were viticulturists and/or shepherds. Jesus refers to Himself as a Good Shepherd. The guide in Bethlehem explained to us what it meant to be a shepherd in biblical times. The shepherds had a reputation of being dishonest and not trustworthy. They were seen as strong, violent, weather-beaten, uncultured people who were rough and tough. Because they were regarded as impure, dishonest and deceitful, the courts refused to accept their evidence. In this context, when Jesus used ‘GOOD’ to qualify His role as a shepherd, already the idea of his role as a leader is presented. The remainder of the parable explains why Jesus is a GOOD Shepherd.
Also, in today’s scripture, Jesus tells us that He is the gate or door to the sheepfold. No one can enter in or move out from the sheep without His approval. For Jesus, His sheep are very precious to Him. There is a relationship between Jesus and His sheep. They all belong to Him. He knows every one of them by name. His sheep recognize His voice and follow Him alone.
How do we belong to the sheepfold of Jesus? It is quite simple: we must familiarize ourselves with the voice of Jesus and allow Him to be our true shepherd by modeling our entire life – our thoughts, words and deeds – to the teachings of Jesus. We see Peter’s profession of faith in the first reading. Peter explains how Jesus laid down His life for the sake of His sheep. For Peter, our response to Jesus’ call consists of three steps – turning away from our past errors, totally committing our lives to Jesus (receiving baptism) and allowing ourselves to be guided by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
This week we pray for vocations in the church. We need to remember that there is only one Shepherd – Jesus. We all are his flock, but Jesus chooses some individuals to shepherd His flock. We pray that God may grant us leaders with the heart of Jesus who are willing to lay their lives for the sake of Christ’s flock.
Fr. Ranjan D’Sa, OCD