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Four
clergymen, taking a short break from their heavy
schedules, were on a park bench, chatting and enjoying
an early spring day. “You know, since all of us are such
good friends,” said one, “this might be a good time to
discuss personal problems.” They all agreed. “Well, I
would like to share with you the fact that I drink to
excess,” said one. There was a gasp from the other
three. Then another spoke up. “Since you were so honest,
I’d like to say that my big problem is gambling. It’s
terrible, I know, but I can’t quit. I’ve even been
tempted to take money from the collection plate.”
Another gasp was heard, and the third clergyman spoke.
“I’m really troubled, brothers, because I’m growing fond
of a woman in my church — a married woman.” More gasps.
But the fourth remained silent. After a few minutes the
others coaxed him to open up. “The fact is,” he said, “I
just don’t know how to tell you about my problem.” “It’s
all right, brother. Your secret is safe with us,” said
the others. “Well, it’s this way,” he said. “You see,
I’m an incurable gossip.”
Jokes
like this have shaped our views of priests as if there
is no difference between the life and work of a priest
and that of other Christians. That is true only up to a
point. We see another dimension to the life and work of
priests when we consider it from the aspect of vocation
or the call of God. This is the aspect that the church
wants us to dwell on today as we observe the World Day
of Prayer for Vocations. Today the church invites us to
reflect on the meaning of God’s call and to pray for an
increase in vocations.
In the
gospel reading Jesus identifies himself as the shepherd:
“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow
me” (John 10:27). His Jewish listeners must have
gasped in shock to hear him say that. This is because,
for Jews, the shepherd of the flock of Israel is none
other than the Lord God himself (Psalm 23:1). Jesus went
on to make explicit what is implied in his claim to be
the shepherd of the God’s flock when he said, “The
Father and I are one” (John 10:30). That the Father
sent Jesus and delegated him with full authority to act
in His name is only half of the story. The other half of
the story is that Jesus in turn delegated his chosen
disciples to act with full authority in his name. We see
this in the first farewell ceremony with his disciples
as recorded by John. He commissions and delegates his
disciples in these words:
“Peace
be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to
them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins
of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins
of any, they are retained” (John 20:21-23).
Some
people today would gasp at the thought of an ordinary
human being forgiving the sins of other human beings.
The Jews of Jesus’ time also gasped at the thought of
their countryman Jesus forgiving the sins of his
contemporaries. This does not make much sense when one
considers only the human factors involved. But when one
looks at it with the eyes of faith, one begins to see
that it is God Himself who has taken the initiative to
send Jesus and equip him with “all authority in
heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Similarly, it
is Jesus who takes the initiative to call those he
chooses: “You did not choose me but I chose you”
(John 15:16). And he equips them with the same power of
attorney which the Father delegated to him. That is why
he could say, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and
whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me”
(Matthew 10:40). This is the mystery of the call of God.
As we pray today for an increase in
vocations let us also pray for a better understanding
and appreciation of the life and work of ordained
ministers so that more and more people avail themselves
of the grace which God makes available through them. Let
us also pray that more young people will be drawn to
follow in their footsteps and generously answer the call
of God. |
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1. Until now the Gospel readings for the Sundays
after Easter have all been taken from those parts of the
Gospels where we find the accounts of what happened
after the resurrection; how Jesus appeared on several
occasions to his friends, disciples and followers. We
saw how, by and large, they were bewildered and
sometimes frightened by what was happening. And some of
them, like Thomas, found it hard to believe that Jesus
had really risen from the dead. But little by little
their fears and their doubts gave way to a firm belief
that Jesus was truly with them once again.
And as their faith became more settled and
secure, as their conviction grew that Jesus was still
with them even though in a mysterious and hidden way,
you can imagine how anxious they would have been to
recall and reflect on the things which Jesus had said
and did, not only after he rose from the dead, but also
throughout the years of his ministry which led up to his
death. It is one such recollection that we have read
about in today's Gospel. There, John the Evangelist
recalls for us something which Jesus had said one day as
he went about preaching and teaching. And if John
thought it worth while recording it as something
important for the early Church to remember, then it must
be just as important for us too.
2. It’s not difficult to see why John might wish
to recall these particular words of Jesus for the early
Christians. Let us read it again - it’s quite short.
"Jesus said to the Jews, ' My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall
snatch them out of my hand.' "The image of Jesus as
shepherd appealed to them and they were happy to see
themselves as the sheep of his flock. If the words of
Jesus, which John recalled for them, were correct then
they would have been of great comfort and assurance to
the first Christians. If Jesus really knew and cared
for them as a shepherd knows and cares for his flock,
then they had every reason to be happy. If he assured
them that he would give them eternal life, that they
should never perish, and that no one could snatch them
from his hand, then why should they be worried or
fearful. No wonder Psalm 99 (Responsorial Psalm)
appealed to them. They could really recite and sing it
knowing that every word was true - "Cry out with joy to
the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him singing for joy. / Know that he, the
Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him, we are his
people, the sheep of his flock." And there is no reason
why we too should not say or sing it with the same
fervour and conviction.
3. There is no doubt that those words of Jesus
about the Shepherd and his flock were the source of much
joy and consolation for the followers of Jesus from the
very beginning. Why then were they not so for the Jews
to whom they were first spoken. And indeed they
weren't, for the very next sentence in John's Gospel
after the piece which we have read is - "The Jews again
picked up rocks to stone him." Why would what he had
said annoy and anger them so much that they wanted to
kill him? How on earth can those same words, which for
us are meant to bring only joy and happiness, could for
them be the cause of repugnance and hatred.
To get to the bottom of that puzzle we have
to go back to the beginning of chapter 10 (the chapter
where the piece recalled in today's Gospel is found).
And there we find that the parables about the shepherd
and the sheep were not told to the people at large but
rather to the Pharisees, the leaders of the people.
Jesus is arguing with them, as he often had occasion to
do, and he uses the example of the shepherd caring for
his flock to bring home to them that he himself is the
only true shepherd, while they on the other hand were
false shepherds who no longer had the welfare of their
people at heart. At one stage he says to them
explicitly and clearly - "Amen, amen I say to you, I am
the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are
thieves and robbers ..." The Pharisees were, needless
to say, shocked and outraged to be put down,
discredited, in this way; they who considered
themselves to be God's representatives and his chosen
leaders. Now they are being told that they are no
better than thieves and robbers. Jesus is affirming, in
no uncertain way, that he is the one now sent by the
Father to take care of his flock and that from now on
they will be properly looked after. No longer will the
people be the prey of their present leaders who are
really thieves and bandits with no true interest in the
well-being of the people entrusted to their care; they
have proved by their conduct that they are really only
concerned about themselves. They were so shocked at
what he was saying that, at one stage, they try to
discredit him by saying - "He is possessed and out of
his mind; why listen to him"
It is to underline and to substantiate his
claim that he is now the only true shepherd of God's
people, the only valid gateway to God's kingdom, that
Jesus proclaims that he and the Father are one; and that
was the conclusion of today's Gospel - "My Father, who
has given them to me, is greater than them all, and no
one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I
and the Father are one." That is the last straw as far
as the Pharisees are concerned; that is pure blasphemy,
and moreover it cuts them out of the picture altogether,
and that is why they wanted to stone him to death there
and then.
4. So, while the way Jesus describes himself as
the true Shepherd must be a source of comfort and
consolation for those who believe in him, what John was
really insisting on when he recalled what Jesus had said
about himself as the Shepherd was the claim made by him
to be the one true Shepherd whom no one could replace.
And for John that is just as valid for the early
Christian community for whom he wrote. It would be
foolish for them if they were to appoint leaders among
themselves in whom they would place more trust than in
the person of Jesus. There is no authority among the
followers of Jesus which can take the place of Jesus
himself – his place is unique and cannot be substituted
for in any way. It is not as if he were dead and needed
to be replaced. He is alive and is still the only
Shepherd of their souls. And his relationship with the
sheep is a personal one and his place cannot be taken by
anyone else - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me." What John is pointing out is if
ever anyone or anything among the followers of Christ
should distract their attention from the person of
Jesus, then there is something wrong. All within the
Church, no matter how exalted the authority might be, or
how sacred the thing might seem, is there only to serve
the purpose of revealing the presence of Jesus to his
people. Nothing should come between the Shepherd and
his flock. |
