4th Sunday of Easter (Jn. 10:1-10)
“God’s flock is in your midst: give it a shepherd’s care. Watch over it willingly as God would have you do, not under constraint and not for shameful profit either, but generously. Be examples to the flock, not lording over those assigned to you.” Words from 1st Peter.
St. Peter was very aware of his role as a shepherd in God’s church. He paints a picture of what elders (what the first pastors of the church were called) should be like. Elders were to pattern themselves after Jesus Christ. Peter speaks further of the example of Jesus in the second lesson today. He points to the self-emptying of Jesus.
Peter says that if we find suffering in our Christian life because we are doing what is good, we should be patient with such suffering. Jesus suffered willingly for the good of others, Peter says. He gave us an example of what Christian life is supposed to be like. When we start the Christian life it doesn’t mean that we will find tranquility. No, if we live like Jesus, we will probably have struggles. Someone once said, that if we find no trials in our Christian life, we probably aren’t living out our baptismal call conscientiously.
Peter knew what it was like to struggle as a Christian. He had to deal with his own failure as a follower of Christ. He denied Jesus when the Lord needed him the most. Obviously, Peter had to face his failure. He had to express remorse. He then had to start all over again. Peter left everything he was familiar with; family, job, home, normalcy behind to take up his ministry. He followed Jesus to the cross. Tradition has it that he was crucified upside down because he wanted to be an example of complete dedication to Christ.
Jesus points to two types of leaders in his parable of the Good Shepherd. A leader can exploit those under their care. On the other hand, we have the shepherd who seeks to care for the sheep. Jesus describes a shepherd that is protective of the sheep. The Good Shepherd leads his sheep to food and water. But more importantly the Good Shepherd is one who knows each lamb by name. He has an intimacy with the flock. Because the Shepherd has faced uncertainty, the Shepherd has empathy for the lambs wanting to keep each one safe.
He contrasts that with the selfish leader who he described as a thief. The robber wants only to take advantage of the sheep for his own personal gain. The thief doesn’t lead the flock out through the gate. No, they jump over the fence to take the sheep by force. The one who steals the sheep only cares about himself. The Good Shepherd discourse can be a useful measure for us as we contemplate leadership in any organization.
In the history of the world, there have been leaders who seek the good of all the people under their care. And there have been leaders who “use” the individuals under their care. We can easily see what the values of a leader are. We can watch the leaders who seek to grow their own wealth, who have no personal sense of ethics, and who try to hold on to power at all costs. We can turn a blind eye to such people if they don’t disturb our daily life. And then again, if we are good citizens of the world, we take note and resolve to do what we can.
Pope Leo recently toured Africa. He went to countries where leaders have exploited people. He could have avoided certain countries and leaders, but he asked the question if visiting could make a difference for those who are suffering. He faced leaders who have grown rich while their citizens have languished in poverty. Pope Leo went into these unjust situations. He called for change. He tried to use his influence to bring about justice.
At one point in his trip Pope Leo said, “The name of God must not be profaned by the will to dominate, by arrogance, by discrimination; above all, it must never be invoked to justify choices and actions that lead to the death of the innocent.”
When we hear leaders speak, it is easy to recognize the voice of Jesus. Jesus values each person. His voice proclaims the truth. Jesus called us by name at baptism. And he calls us by name today.