SHEPHERD OR THIEF?
April 30, 2023.
Fourth Sunday of Easter – A.
“A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I
came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” Jn 10:10
A Romanian proverb says: “A good shepherd must fleece his
sheep, not flay them.” And a German proverb adds: “Straying shepherd, straying
sheep.”
"There was once a young Shepherd Boy who tended his
sheep at the foot of a mountain near a dark forest. It was rather lonely for
him all day, so he thought of a plan by which he could get a little company and
some excitement. He rushed down towards the village, calling out “Wolf, Wolf,”
and the villagers came out to meet him, and some of them stopped with him for a
considerable time.
This pleased the boy so much that a few days afterward, he
tried the same trick, and again, the villagers came to his help. But shortly
after this, a Wolf actually did come out from the forest and began to worry the
sheep, and the boy, of course, cried out “Wolf, Wolf,” still louder than
before.
But this time, the villagers, who had been fooled twice
before, thought the boy was again deceiving them, and nobody stirred to come to
his help. So the Wolf made a good meal of the boy’s flock, and when the boy
complained, the wise man of the village said: “A liar will not be believed,
even when he speaks the truth.”
With this story, let's open our today's meditation on the
Word of God, the 4th Sunday of Easter, known also as the Good Shepherd Sunday,
or Vocation Sunday. The title of our meditation is itself a question: shepherd
or thief?
We, as a Christian community, are a flock led by Christ our
good and divine Shepherd. As such, he has also entrusted responsibilities to
people he chose to work, walk with, and watch over his sheep. The pastors of
the Church are given responsibilities to lead the flock on behalf of its
Shepherd and to him. Are they good as the Shepherd is, or are they just some
thieves, that is, people with personal purposes, and working for their
interests?
Shepherds or thieves? We will like our today's meditation to
be a satire of us, your pastors. Are we Shepherds to you or thieves? But from
the fact that all Christians share in the common and universal priesthood of
Christ, this satire applies also to each one of you, fathers, mothers,
children, members of families, educators, social and political servants, and
leaders... are you, shepherds or thieves?
“The Church is, accordingly, a sheepfold, the sole and
necessary gateway to which is Christ. It is also the flock of which God himself
foretold that he would be the shepherd, and whose sheep, even though governed
by human shepherds, are unfailingly nourished and led by Christ himself, the
Good Shepherd and Prince of Shepherds, who gave his life for his sheep.” CCC
754.
In today's extract of the Gospel according to Jean, the Lord
Jesus makes a clear distinction between being a shepherd and being a thief. He
says, “Whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere
is a thief and a robber.”
Carrying on his comparison and diatribe between the thief
and the shepherd, the Lord adds: “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and
destroy...” And because of what he does and who he is, the thief has no
notoriety with the sheep. They don't recognize his voice. They don't follow
him. And rather, they run away from him. On the contrary, about the shepherd,
the Lord says: “The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out... he walks
ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” The
difference becomes clearer because, contrary to the thief who destroys and
kills, the shepherd gives life. Not only does he give his own life to the
sheep, but he also gives them an abundance of life.
Where then do we stand? Are we shepherds or thieves?
I heard a companion priest complaining once about his
parishioners, that they do not listen to him nor obey him, that everyone in the
Parish does what he wants or is pleased to, without consulting him. Deep
inside, I answered without a word that, if the parishioners are behaving that
way, it is because they do not see in him a shepherd, and they do not recognize
themselves in him. For, people, mostly our parishioners behave with us the way
we show ourselves to them. If all for us is limited to material, personal
interests, and money, and we care not about their spiritual growth and
relationships with the Lord, they will only see us as businessmen and managers,
not as pastors. Sadly, many of us, priests and leaders of the Church have
become managers. We consecrate more time in our Sunday gathering to talking
about money than the Word of God. Some churches are renowned for the number of
collections: first, second, third, extraordinary, exceptional, voluntary
collection... The priests live as barons and lords, surrounded by servants and
slaves, while the people starve.
If we want the people to see and treat us like shepherds, we
should also behave that way, not looking for personal interests but their good,
to the point of incarnating Christ for them, being ready to lay down our lives
for them.
In our families as well, we must incarnate the shepherd,
with a great sense of sacrifice for each member, a mutual concern, love, and a
spirit of service. We are urged to banish or kill from within all thirst for
interests and selfishness and put the wellness and the good of others above
all. Like the shepherd, we should promote life and life in its fullness. If you
are public and political servants and leaders, be shepherds, be servant
leaders, and nourish a deep sense of sacrifice and service for others. Remember
that you are not in these positions to be served but to serve. We all have a
unique and common vocation, to become servants. And it is only at that cost
will we fulfill our universal vocation to holiness.
It is not late. Like the people in the first reading asking Peter and his companions, “What are we to do, my brothers” Let us make ours his answer: “Repent…” Let us repent and become shepherds according to the heart of the Lord.
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