A few months ago there was a hot discussion on one of my favourite radio shows about the words used by farmers to call up their sheep. It turned out that they were distinctively different in different regions of Scotland, though working well for those using them. My personal experience is that, everywhere I come across sheep while walking, they invariably run away from me despite my usual silence, but happily gather round a farmer entering the pasture. To a certain extent this seems to comply with today’s gospel.
Obviously Jesus didn’t talk about rearing sheep, although he probably knew much more about it than I do. This image of him as the Good Shepherd was a summary of his mission, his reasons and motivations for it, and his attitude towards people. That image was a comforting message, particularly to those marginalised, despised and unworthy in the eyes of the powerful and influential. That message might be much fainter to us, firstly because we are pretty unfamiliar with shepherding, and secondly because we’ve heard this message millions of times.
Another aspect of this Sunday is that traditionally it begins Vocations Awareness Week, a time when we are supposed to pray more for priests, and in particular to pray for new vocations to this ministry. We can raise a slightly controversial but legitimate question as to whether we need more, and newly ordained, priests. In the model established by Jesus, as we believe, the only answer must be: Yes. On an organisational level, this is simply to guarantee the continuity of pastoral care when priests get older and retire. But far more important is the spiritual level – despite the exceptional development of relative material comforts and convenience, people still look for the fulfilment beyond the simple possessing of things. So the right question is not whether we need priests, but what kind of priests do we need?
Over the years, particularly since the 1960s and 70s, there has been ongoing discussion regarding that matter. Some aspects, like mandatory celibacy, are completely irrelevant. The Church of Scotland struggles with a shortage of ministers despite their ability to marry, and even their unofficial expectations of being married. Outward, institutional arrangements make sense only when they serve the spiritual model of ministry, deeply rooted in and springing from a personal relationship with the very Good Shepherd himself, Jesus Christ. I can safely say that Pope Francis has presented a new model of priesthood for our times: less authoritative, less rigid, less judgmental; more compassionate, more understanding, more supportive. There are ordained people in the Church unhappy with his approach; people who would like to see priestly ministry delivered in the ‘good old way’. But the revival stirred by the Pope shows clearly who is right and who is wrong.
New times require a new model of priesthood; modern people have different expectations from those of a generation or two ago. We need priests who can read the signs of the times, interpret them in the light of the gospel, and adapt their ways of ministry to the ever-changing social and spiritual environment. In such a way their voice can be heard and listened to, and they can do what generations of priests have been doing since the resurrection of Christ – lead people to meet him. Because it’s still true that Jesus has come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’