Did you miss me last Tuesday or Wednesday? I suppose the most common answer to this naff question is “why would I?” Busy with a family life, working and being involved in many important activities, most of you wouldn’t have noticed that virtually all the priests were missing. The reason for our absence was a regular meeting where we gathered with our bishop to learn, discuss and share various aspects of our ministry. In my case, it was the first one after a long pause, caused firstly by the pandemic and then by other everyday life complications and challenges. Of course, I’d been in touch with my colleagues over modern means of communication but now we all know that these are no substitute for meeting in person. To be honest, after such a long gap I travelled to the meeting with some apprehension, but the gathering turned out to be quite interesting and certainly very uplifting. One of the main aspects I rediscovered was that although we priests are all different, and have different experiences, we all share the same desire: to work and to serve the people of God to the best of our abilities. That was a very timely reminder, considering that this is Good Shepherd Sunday.
The 4th Sunday of Easter is a kind of turning point in the liturgical season of Easter. Unlike over the last three weeks, the gospel readings don’t tell stories of Jesus’ resurrection anymore but turn our attention to the life of the Body of Christ, the community of the Church. Over the next three Sundays, the gospel readings present various ways in which Jesus is actively present in the life of the faithful, in and through the Church. Chronologically, the first aspect is leadership.
In today’s gospel reading, part of a much longer speech, Jesus presented himself as the Good Shepherd. Although this actual phrase wasn’t used in the passage we heard, that’s the main image used in the entirety of the speech. It’s obvious that most of us here in the granite desert of Aberdeen don’t have any direct or indirect experience or knowledge of shepherding; the youngest among us might even struggle to know who or what a shepherd is. Moreover, as techniques of shepherding vary significantly in different animal farming cultures and traditions, looking too closely at particular ones might not be too helpful. It’s sufficient to know that in the biblical context, a shepherd looked after his animals, and their wellbeing was at the heart of his efforts. It’s reflected in the closing sentence of today’s gospel: “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.” Of course, Jesus wasn’t talking about actual animals but about his disciples. It’s a metaphor widely used in the Old Testament, a sample of what we had in today’s responsorial psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.”
Jesus’ mission to provide us with “life to the full” has continued from the very start of his public ministry, when he called two brothers, Andrew and Simon, fishermen by trade, to become fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). More candidates would soon join the group and Jesus made a lot of effort to form and prepare them for their role of leaders of the future community of the faithful. None of those personally called and then appointed and commissioned by Jesus was perfect. They had their personalities that often clashed and their shortcomings that often came to the fore. They successfully carried out Jesus’ mission, not because they were perfect in any sense, but because they let the Holy Spirit work in and through them despite their imperfections, as we heard in today’s first reading. Over two millennia the same process has been repeated when new crops of leaders were gradually replacing those who had died. The forms of such calls have naturally evolved, adapting to an ever-changing world but at the heart of priestly vocations remains the desire to work and to serve the people of God to the best of their abilities.
Like the first disciples, the clergymen of today have their own personalities and shortcomings. They can be beneficial or disadvantageous; it’s what we do with them that makes them one way or the other. In March 1992 Pope John Paul II published an official document on the formation of priests in the modern world. The document’s title “Pastores dabo vobis” evoked a passage from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart” (3:15). The document showed the renewed commitment of the Church authorities to training and forming priests to the highest standards. Among many aspects, the role of the family and the community were highlighted as responsible for discovering and nurturing the priestly vocation. Such responsibilities don’t stop when the priest is ordained; on the contrary, his further formation as well as his ministry must be supported and shaped by the community he serves.
This Sunday is our reminder to pray for those priests we still have so that they can be effective ministers and co-workers of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. This Sunday is our call to pray for new priestly vocations, so that I can be replaced in due course by someone much better. Last but not least, we tend to take priests for granted, as if they were produced in a factory. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us: “every […] priest is chosen from among men” (5:1) So we also need to pray for those called from among us to have courage and respond: “Here am I, Lord; send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)
Image by Adina Voicu from Pixabay