Selection of the sermons of Father Ezekiel Oko
The shepherd metaphor and caring for people's needs
Dear sisters and brothers, last Sunday we reflected on Jesus' threefold question to Simon Peter. "Simon Peter, do you love me?" A brief reply from Jesus to Peter, after his answer to this question, is: "Feed my sheep". Jesus says to Peter something like: "You can only feed my sheep if you love me." That is, Jesus wants to give Peter a task for which love is an inevitable prerequisite.
In today's Gospel we hear what connects the question, "Do you love me?" and the task, "Feed my sheep." This gospel seems to be a continuation of the exchange between Jesus and Peter. Jesus wants Peter to be the shepherd of his sheep. But Peter should take Jesus as an example of how to accomplish such a task.
What is the role of a shepherd? The shepherd's job in Jesus' day was to see to the welfare of the sheep. Already in antiquity - for example in the ancient Near East, in ancient Israel, i.e. before Jesus Christ - the shepherd motif was known as a metaphor for the leadership function. Comparing the role of leader with that of shepherd made it possible in these ancient cultures to ethically demand that leaders care for the well-being of their subordinates. With the shepherd metaphor, Jesus identified himself with the ethical demands placed on leaders, which were already widespread in the surrounding cultures of his time.
There may not be a similar image in our society today that can help us understand clearly the pastoral function. But we may have heard of nomads, people who move from place to place with their families and animals. It is said that nomads are not sedentary. They don't live in houses; instead they live in tents, for example. They move from place to place because they want to find pasture for their animals. That means caring for the needs of their animals – sheep, cows, for example – determines their place of residence and their way of life. They are shepherds. (We still have such people in Nigeria to this day. They roam from bush to bush, from state to state, for months and years in search of green grazing land for their flock.) So the needs and demands of the sheep are the basic ingredients the task of the shepherd. He cares for the welfare of the flock.
With this metaphor, Jesus introduces himself to us as the shepherd whose voice we, 'his sheep', can recognize. He is exemplary of the Good Shepherd whom all leaders should emulate. There is no better example of shepherding than Jesus Christ. His incarnation allows him to enter our human world unreservedly. The salvation of man is the only reason why he became man. When he says, "My sheep listen to my voice," he is referring to his love for ministering to man's greatest need. When we look at the cross we see him stretching out his hands. He's telling us, “I'll take care of you. I take care of your needs. Come to me, all of you!”
This language of true love is what defines the shepherd. It makes him responsive to the needs of his sheep. I will definitely recognize a language that not only addresses my needs, but can also satisfy them.
That is, what unites the shepherd and his flock is the language of love. Jesus wants Peter to learn this language so that he can be approachable by his sheep. Every person in the history of mankind who was approachable for the needs of his fellow human beings has learned the language of love. The saints whose memorials we celebrate each year provide countless examples of this through their lives. A few decades ago, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta on her way in a language that the poor and many needy from many nations listened to. The language of charity made them responsive to the needs of the poor.
Each and every one of us is also called to learn this language. When parents speak the language of true love with their children, the language that is oriented towards the children's needs, they make themselves approachable to their children. If the leaders speak the language that is oriented towards the needs of the followers, then the followers feel addressed. The more we as a church speak the language of true love, the more our society will recognize and listen to our voice. Dear sisters and brothers, with the shepherd metaphor, Jesus wants to remind us that he is available for us and for all our concerns. We can come to him. But he also wants us to follow his example and respond to the needs of the people of our time. Now let us take a moment of silence to consider whose needs we should speak out to and ask for Jesus' help and guidance.
Overview