DAILY HOMILIES #shepherd

Jesus wants us to understand that He is not simply a shepherd who answers our questions, He is the very answer to all that bothers us. Jesus is teaching us today that He is not just a shepherd who protects us from danger, He is also the very life that sustains our existence.

From the vision of Peter, we learn to avoid judging people simply based on where they come from. Whereas the bad shepherd, the thief thrives by creating division and sowing seeds of hatred and ethnic rivalry among the sheep, the good shepherd unites all, mends conflicts, and teaches love above anything else.

In our Gospel acclamation today, we hear Jesus say: “I know my own and my own know me.” (John 10:14) Jesus goes further to describe Himself as the Door of the Sheep meaning that it is only through Him that we can find our hearts’ desires and needs. “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out of pasture.”

If your conscience is clear, you have no reason whatsoever to be living in fear. If it is not your time, nothing, nothing in heaven or on earth can kill you. You will walk on water and you will not sink. You will pass through fire and it will be cold. Your enemies will set different traps for you and you will scale through like breeze. Fear Not.

Mankind’s problems are too many but then, by failing to do the little we can, we contribute to the problem. Jesus did not solve all the problems in the world but He did His best. He touched lives. He made good use of His power and authority. Matthew tells us Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching, proclaiming the good news, and curing every disease and sickness. You too can do something. However, know that if you decide to work for God, people will hate you, they will try to discourage you by spreading false tales about you. Imagine the Pharisees claiming that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of demons!

The heart of Jesus is first sacred because it is the heart of God. It is also a typical shepherd’s heart, a heart so full of love and concern for the good of humanity who are His Sheep.

Leading others is indeed the most difficult assignment on earth. Without cultivating the habit of personal prayer, no one can ever succeed at it. This is the lesson we learn in today’s first reading. In his prayer, Peter was given a vision wherein he was told not to call anything unclean that God has made clean. He would later understand the meaning of this vision when some men came from Caesarea to fetch him. In the end, a Roman official of high standing, Cornelius along with his entire family was baptized and received the Holy Spirit. This paved the way for the spread of the faith to Rome.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus did not say “all those who come to gather around me are my sheep.” Instead, He says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.” These three qualities distinguish the sheep of Christ; First, the sheep must hear the voice of Christ. How often do you read the Bible and meditate on it? Secondly, when Christ says “I know them” it means no one can pretend to be his sheep; you are either with Christ or with another shepherd. Thirdly, Jesus says: “they follow me,” which means, they behave like me. The sheep of Christ incarnate Christ in the world.

The reason you feel paralysed with fear now is that you find it hard to imagine a better tomorrow, you still cannot see any light at the end of your tunnel but know this, that if Jesus rose from the dead, your trials will end one day.

If we are truly the sheep of Christ, we would be excited whenever we are called to join in prayers or whenever we open our Bibles to read because these are opportunities to hear the voice of our shepherd. Just as we long to hear the voice of one with whom we are in love so we shall long to hear the voice of Christ. If we are truly the sheep of Christ, our role models would not be rich and famous celebrities whose moral lives are nothing to write home about.

What kind of leader am I? Do I know my sheep by name? Am I concerned about their welfare or is leadership just a job for me (an opportunity for self-aggrandizement)? Do I show favouritism to a section of my sheep?

It is not the case that there are no good shepherds among our pastors. The truth is that the good ones are most persecuted and if you dare to be good, you are not going to have many friends. Our world does not like good people but never stop being good. Wherever you notice darkness, just shine your light. Go to Church to worship God, not the man of God.