Gospel
John 10:27-30
Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
Homily
Those who receive this weekly meditation will be aware that national elections have been called in Trinidad and Tobago, and the populace is being asked to elect leaders who will govern the country for the next five years. Since party politics is the order of the day, the population is being asked to give their allegiance to one or other grouping based on factors which tend to generate great emotional energy. I do not know however whether these calls to allegiance allow us really examine the decide the qualities which we must have in our leaders if they are help us in our quest for that Kingdom of Peace harmony, justice and love which we all seek. It is in this context the Gospel reading for this weekend is so important, for it defines for us the qualities of the true leader.
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The Chapter of St. John’s Gospel from which this passage is taken is called the Gospel of the Good Shepherd. On one hand it tells us there is a tremendous loyalty of the sheep towards the shepherd. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” This loyalty is based however on the qualities of the Good Shepherd. These qualities are also those which all who are given authority over others must have, be these parents, teachers, community and parish leaders and yes, political leaders must have.
The passage tells us that the sheep obey not because of any external compulsion, but because they experience the care and concern of the shepherd who knows each one. The Shepherd is willing to give his/her very self in protecting his/her sheep. On the other hand the shepherd is very secure in the loyalty of the sheep. “No one can take them out of my hand.” Good shepherds don’t have to wonder whether or not the sheep are loyal, and that security gives the Good leader a freedom to go about the task of leadership without having to look behind his/her back. Secure in their role, they can be creative, try new things, and pose new challenges. The Good shepherd also knows that the sheep love and respect him/her. The response of the sheep to the loyalty of the shepherd is also loyalty and trust. Good leaders thus create very unified communities characterized by trust. Good leaders generate trust between themselves and those whom they lead and between the sheep themselves.
The gospel passage ends by telling us that Good leaders themselves live a loyalty to something or someone greater than themselves. For the Christian this loyalty is to God and to the values lived by God’s Son, Jesus Christ. “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” The good shepherd knows that it is in God that he finds the strength to be loyal and to spend him/herself for the Sheep. The good shepherd also knows that he/she is only the filling in for the real Shepherd, God the Father and therefore stays united to the Father. The Good Shepherd must be a contemplative person, answering the call to higher values and must seek to lead his sheep to partake in these higher values. The Good Shepherd is never about himself.
Today the Gospel calls us to thank God for the good shepherds that we have known, for the famous ones like Gandhi, Mons. Romero, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa. They have left us an example of selfless service to those in their charge and very close union with God the Father, the chief Shepherd. But let us also thank God for the other shepherds, perhaps not so famous and perhaps still alive, like parents and God parents and teachers, parish priests, Nelson Mandela etc. The Gospel also calls us however to look at our own lives and to ask ourselves whether or not we are Good shepherds.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, your Son Jesus Christ was the true shepherd, leaving us a model of leadership which truly brings growth to those in our care. May our union with You, God our Father help us to be good shepherds, caring for the sheep, spending ourselves selflessly for them, loving them without seeking recompense and well aware that we only represent YOU, the true Shepherd. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, the divine shepherdess and Jesus your Son. Amen
