FEED MY SHEEP IS THE DEMAND John 21:15-17
This is fundamental question “do you love me?”
Just before Jesus left this earth, He instructed Simon Peter to care for the dearest object of His love “His sheep”. How could anyone care for them as Jesus cares? Only out of love for him. There is no other way. Three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” Peter answered, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Each time, Jesus answered, “Feed My sheep.” Was Jesus unaware of Peter’s love? Of course not. His threefold question was not for Himself, but for Peter. He asked His questions to underscore the essential truth that only love for Christ would sustain Peter in the work that lay ahead, that arduous, demanding work of caring for people’s souls; perhaps the hardest work of all.
Jesus did not ask Peter if he loved His sheep, but if he loved Him. Affection for God’s people in itself will not sustain us. His sheep can be unresponsive, unappreciative, and harshly critical of our efforts to love and to serve them. (You are aware of the good formator who was murdered in cold blood by his former students in Langata?) In the end, we will find ourselves defeated and discouraged. The love of Christ is the only sufficient motivation that will enable us to stay the course.
What is love?
The Greek word Jesus uses for “love” in John 21:15 is “agapás.” The word agapás embraces the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety. It is a different type of love than the common expression for affection and friendship, phileo. Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me more than these others do--with reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion?” The question posed was directed at Peter’s commitment, and his lifelong, wholehearted decision to continue walking in the Master’s path after he ascended. Peter responded to Jesus’ question, ‘Do you love me more than these others do?’ by saying, “Yes Lord, you know I love you.” The Greek word for “love” Peter uses for his reply in John 21:17 is different than agapás. He cannot honestly say he has a committed love that goes beyond friendship; he remembers how he denied the Lord three times before Jesus was crucified. So Peter answers with, “Lord, you know I ‘fileís’ you.” The Greek word ‘fileís’ is transliterated to English as ‘phileo’ (pronounced as ‘fil-eh'-o’); it means, “to be a friend to someone, or to be fond of an individual or an object.” The word was used quite frequently for having affection for, or denoting a personal attachment to someone, or something.
Phileo is the Greek word used for friendship, and it is a cognate of another Greek word ‘philos’ that means, “Dear, like a friend that is ‘dear’; it also means actively, fond, or friendly still as a noun, an associate and neighbor. The Greek word phileo was a word form to express sentiment or one’s feelings. Peter was saying, “Lord, I have a very strong affection for you; the sentiment I feel is very close, very endearing.” There is nothing, in and of this word, that implies anything negative, or inferior. Several Bible scholars have used the contrast between phileo and agape to demean phileo as being lesser and inferior to agape.
That Peter replied with phileo instead of agape is an admission that he had been humbled, and unlike his previous vow to stand and die with Jesus, which failed in an abysmal way, he was going to be more forthright and honest regarding his level of conscious commitment. So you see, Peter was actually being more up front with the Lord Jesus than he was prior to Jesus’ crucifixion. This word phileo has been translated as “love” in most versions of the Bible, and stands in contrast to the other Greek word for love…agape. Agape has a wider use and especially embraces the exercise of mental judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, sense of duty and respectability.
Agape also implies affection, and this fact is often overlooked. Strong’s define agape as love, meaning, affection or benevolence; specially (plural) a love-feast: Agape is not the only word in Greek associated with God’s love, although it is the primary one. Phileo and agape are related, but each presents love from differing perspectives. Phileo is that, which being more “feeling” oriented, is an expression of one’s affection. On the other hand, agape is affection expressed in deliberate choice; it is the expression of the human commitment, and will, and intellect.
Agape is not better than phileo, or visa versa; they are merely different. Both are used in the New Testament for love, but agape is used in 1 Corinthians chapter thirteen as descriptive of the characteristics of love that has its origin in God, His word, and one’s obedience to the same. In the context of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is a listing of Christ-like characteristics that are developed when a believer when he or she exercises mental judgment and the deliberate assent of the will with respect to God, His love, and expressing love for Him and to Him through obedience. The qualities or fruit of this kind of resolution are:
- Agape is patient, love is kind, and never is envious nor boils over with jealousy;
- Agape does not brag and is not arrogant
- Agape is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride)
- Agape is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly
- Agape does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking
- Agape is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it; it pays no attention to a suffered wrong
- Agape does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
- Agape bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything without weakening
- Agape never fails and never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end
To feed the sheep means to love
We love Jesus because He first loved us 1 John 4:19. When we love someone, we desire to serve him. For example, parents love their children, and they express their love by feeding and caring for them. When we love Jesus we are in a dilemma because He is the all-sufficient God who dwells in heaven and we have difficulty expressing our love to Him. Therefore, many Christians think that praising God is all that they need to do. Apostle Peter had earlier expressed his love for Jesus by loudly declaring that he would not forsake the Lord. Mathew 26:33. Jesus tells Peter that if he loved Him, then he should feed His sheep (Christians) instead of merely boasting of his love for Him. In this recommendation, we see the two main duties of a Christian, namely, that of evangelizing (symbolized by fishing) and that of edifying (symbolized by shepherding). Edifying Christians is far harder to do than evangelizing because unlike evangelism, it is a never-ending work. Furthermore, edifying involves the use of far more difficult means (eg. bible-studies, Small Christian Community Prayer Groups) than evangelism. Therefore, Jesus had to tell Peter to feed His sheep three times, but He did not have to tell His disciples to “go and preach the Gospel” three times. Though Jesus speaks to Peter in this passage, the principles taught are applicable to all Christians.
Feed my lambs: “Lambs” refer to weak or immature Christians. When we love Jesus, we must express our love to Him by feeding all weak and immature Christians. We “feed” them by teaching them God’s Word. Feeding them with the pure “milk of Gods Word” 1Peter 2:2 is the most important thing we must do for spiritual “lambs.” They must be strengthened by the simple but vital truths of Christian doctrine such as assurance of salvation, the importance of prayer and bible-study. They are not yet ready for the more difficult (“strong meat” Hebrews 6:12-14) doctrines of the Christian faith, sovereignty of God, biblical separation. Therefore, even young Christians should be able to feed “lambs’ with the simple milk of God’s Word. Besides feeding with God’s Word, we must also feed them by extending a warm welcome to the newcomer, befriending the lonely, encouraging the shy, loving the unloved, being role-models for the young, feeding the hungry, providing resources for the needy, offering, praying for all and hospitality. We must not only feed the “lambs” in our midst but Jesus’ really needy “lambs’ in other places through an active church missions program. In another part of the bible Matthew tells of the occasion when the disciples, under the direction of Jesus, miraculously fed more than five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish.
Are we the sheep?
Thinking of ourselves as sheep is good when we consider that the Good Shepherd is watching over us and taking care of us. But when we examine closely what sheep are really like, we may not feel too complimented to think of ourselves as sheep. I once actually worked as a shepherd. This is what I have to say about the comparison of us to sheep. The sheep are fearful; sheep are timid. They are stupid. Sheep are stubborn. They will blindly follow other sheep astray. They have filthy personal habits. This is not too complimentary, is it? Fortunately, we have a Good Shepherd who will watch over us. Jesus gives us important instruction in the gospel of John on how the sheep are supposed to act.
Let’s take a look at what a good shepherd does.
A good shepherd cares for the sheep. Do you realize you are a priority in God’s busy schedule? He has the whole universe to run, but he makes the time to care for you. Even our smallest needs will get his attention. He loves us so much that he gave his life for us.
A good shepherd makes sure the sheep are well-fed. Jesus cares about our everyday needs. He makes sure we are taken care of. Most of us probably think that we take care of ourselves, but the truth of the matter is: everything we have we owe to God and his kind provision for us.
A good shepherd leads the sheep to good pasture. Not only does Jesus take care of our basic needs, but he does a good job of it.
A good shepherd protects the sheep from danger. He keeps away the predators and moves the sheep to safety when stormy weather is on the horizon. Jesus will keep away those who would try to devour us spiritually, and no matter what storm may be raging around us, we can always rest secure in his protecting arms.
A good shepherd would keep his sheep healthy and free from parasites. Jesus will help us when we are sick, and heals our diseases.
A good shepherd will calm his flock when they are agitated. Jesus has promised to give us his peace.
Back to reality of Feed my sheep
I confess I have often wondered why St Peter, fishing naked, should have put some clothes on before jumping into the sea. I usually swim just with bathers on. It is but one of a number of curiosities in this passage. I want to make five points on this issue, all focusing on the words “Feed my sheep” to challenge your status quo.
1. Why were the disciples fishing at all?
2. Why should Jesus call the disciples “children” for the first time?
3. Why did Jesus get the disciples to catch more fish, when he already had some cooking on the shore?
4. Why were the fish they caught counted, but not added to those cooking?
5. Why did not the disciples immediately recognize the risen Jesus? He had come to them twice before.
Even the Apostles were still sheep
Here is some African Guide to Sheep Rearing.
The Advantages
1. Herding Instinct. They tend to stay together.
2. Reproduction. They are quick growing and multiply easily.
3. Can be trained to obey.
The Disadvantages
1. Not adapted to heat and dryness.
2. Can’t survive without adequate food.
3. Fragile. Their rough appearance is deceptive.
4. Naturally defenseless.
5. Susceptible to parasites
6. Must be watched continually.
7. Need protection at night.
8. Short sighted. They can only see 6 feet ahead.
That is enough on sheep, now a word about shepherds.
The Shepherds
There is very little similarity between Palestinian shepherds and their African counterparts. In Africa (at least where I am born) sheep are reared largely for their meat. The skin is useless. In Palestine they are kept mostly for their wool. That means they tend to live a whole lot longer. It also means a personal relationship develops between shepherd and sheep. The sheep are given names and respond to his call.
If you have watched over sheep you will know how difficult it can be to get sheep to go in the right direction. That is because African shepherds tend to drive their sheep from behind. It’s a bit like pushing a bicycle down the road backwards. It’s hard to keep it in a straight line. In Palestine it’s a lot easier because the shepherd leads the sheep from the front.
Characteristics of a good shepherd I would desire to hire
1. Must place the sheep as the highest priority.
2. Make sure no sheep lack in good food or clean water.
3. All forms of illness of the sheep must be treated immediately.
4. The sheep must not be harmed in any way.
5. The sheep recognizes his voice
Must place the sheep as the highest priority
The flock of sheep is my asset. The shepherd is the person I hire to take care of them. So, I expect the shepherd to treat my sheep as his boss. The priority of the flock must always be above the priority of the shepherd. If I ever find out that the shepherd places his own interest above the interest of the flock, I will sack him immediately.
A shepherd may appear as the leader or a king to his flock of sheep but in reality he is their servant. His priority is always to serve their needs. When he brings them out, he must choose the best place for his sheep, not for himself. This is his responsibility.
How does Jesus fit in this role? Jesus may be the Almighty Son of the Living God. He may be above all creation. However, if he really wants to be our good shepherd as he promised in the Bible, he must do what all good shepherds do, serve us and put us at a higher priority than his own. No wonder, Jesus is also known as the servant king.
As our good shepherd, Jesus thinks of us as his highest priority. As long as he is in this role, we are his bosses. Jesus must care for us more than he cared for himself. He has proven that at the Cross. Our role as his sheep is to follow him and trust that he will do his job. So, no matter what problems you are facing right now, do not be shy to go to the shepherd. Let him do his job as your shepherd to help you. He has the solution for all our problems. The question here is, are you willing to trust in him?
Make sure no sheep lack in good food or clean water
Food and water are the basic necessity as well as material prosperity for sheep. When it comes to material riches, sheep only knows grass and water. It is the shepherd’s responsibility to ensure that his flock will never be hungry or thirsty. Otherwise, the flock may become weak and sick. The shepherd will lose his job. In short, the shepherd must ensure the prosperity of his flock at all times.
As our shepherd, it is also Jesus’ responsibility to make sure we his flock will never live in lack. As Jesus’ flock, we have the right to prosper in every area of our lives including politically incorrect areas like having some money. Throughout the Bible, we can read that we believers are supposed to be well. The Bible never said anything about “rich minus wealthy” or “blessing minus health”. Those phrases are not from God but the invention of preachers who are nothing more than messengers of themselves.
Being rich and healthy is our right as the flocks of Jesus. All sheep owners (except the perverted ones) want their sheep to be able to eat and drink as much as they want. It is the responsibility of shepherds to ensure that if they want to keep their jobs.
So, never hesitate to ask Jesus to give you what you essentially need unless you don’t think he is fit for his job. The theologians will surely object to this truth but who cares? Jesus is our shepherd, not they.
All forms of illness of the sheep must be treated immediately.
It is the responsibility of the shepherd to ensure the good health of his flocks. If any sheep falls ill, the shepherd must treat it immediately or he would have failed in his job.
One of the common misjudgments among us is that: God make people sick for some reasons. I have shared before a story on my catechumen being hospitalized. My fellow priest and I visited him. When we reached his bed, I saw a group of people surrounding him to pray for him. I can still remember that after the prayer, a lady in the group said “Maybe God wants you to rest more.” In other words, this lady accused God for creating disease to help people to rest. Do you believe that?
Put yourself in the position of the sheep owner again. One day, when you were inspecting your flocks, you found some sheep looking weak and sick. You asked the shepherd on their condition. The shepherd told you that he intentionally made them sick to give them rest. How will you respond? As for me, I will sack that scum immediately and sue him for intentionally causing illness to my sheep.
What if Jesus made us sick for any reasons? He will be sacked immediately. Ask yourself this question. Is Jesus still your shepherd? If he still is, then you can be sure that he will never make you sick. If you are sick, it is his job to do his best to make you well. Do you believe that? Will you trust in him?
The sheep must not be harmed in any way
It is the shepherd’s responsibility to protect his flock from all harms. It makes no different whether the threat is in the form of predators, thieves or natural disasters. Failure to do that is to fail as a shepherd.
What does this mean to us, as Jesus’ flocks? We are completely protected from all harms. We do not have to worry over the uncertainties in this world. The good shepherd is watching over us. We can live in peace and confidence no matter where we are and what happened in this world.
Just as shepherds are not allowed to make their flock sick, they are also not allowed to create disasters for their sheep as the judgment for their sins. I don’t think you want to hire a shepherd who does that. As I have mentioned earlier, the idea of disasters being the judgment of God is nothing more than a perversion from self seekers with the intention to squeeze rewards from the scientifically challenged public. I believe that Jesus will never sink to such level.
What the Sheep do? Hear His Voice, Trust His Motives, Follow His Lead.
Sheep quickly become accustomed to their masters voice. They know its sound and inflection. They can distinguish his voice from every other person's. This is because over a period of time the sheep come to associate the sound of their shepherd’s voice with special benefits, the luscious grass, the clear running water, the feeling of security. He calls to lead them to fresh pastures or to shelter from an approaching storm. He calls them to carefully examine them for parasites or injuries, to count them and ensure not one is lost. His call then is an expression of his loving care.
Instruments of work in the hands of a good shepherd
The shepherd carried three items which he would use to guard and protect the sheep: the shepherd’s staff, a club (called a rod in the Bible), and a slingshot. The club was a heavy stick with flint embedded at the top. This was used as a weapon against predators. The slingshot could be used as a weapon (as David’s accounts of killing a bear and lion indicate) but more often a stone was flung as a warning to chase a wandering sheep back to the flock. The shepherd’s staff, with the crook on the end, was seldom used as a weapon. The shepherd would use it to guide the sheep back on the path or into the pen, and sometimes he would use the hook at the end to pull back a wandering sheep or bring a wayward lamb to its mother for feeding. A shepherd spends his time with his flocks. He goes before them to seek the best pastures and watering-places, and to defend them from danger.
This is what Jesus does for us every day. Every time we leave for work, or for school, or for our other activities, he leads us and keeps us from dangers. He then brings us back safely home. There may have been many dangers and pitfalls that day that we were totally unaware of, but he went before us and led us safely through the day. As our Good Shepherd, Jesus is going on before us scouting out the territory and showing us a path which avoids the dangers ahead. Whether it’s protecting us with his club, warning us with his sling, or guiding us with his staff, we are in his care. We don’t have to worry about what lies ahead because Jesus goes ahead of us.
The vision shepherds
Then the Scripture says, “And when it was evening, the disciples came to Him, saying, “The place is desolate, and the time is already past; so send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves. But Jesus said to them. They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat. Look here! Jesus said in effect “You give them something to eat,” In other words Jesus was using real live drama to teach His disciples how to “feed His sheep.” The lesson here is like a briefing, laid out in simple steps. First, the disciples saw a need of the people and Jesus told them to go ahead and do what was necessary to fulfill that need. But the disciples didn’t know how to carry out what they considered to be a very impractical request of Jesus. They said to Jesus, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” Reading between the lines, we know pretty well what the disciples were thinking: this thing which Jesus has told us to do is impossible. These people are hungry and need to eat now. We can’t feed this entire multitude with these small resources. All we have is what was meant to be a lunch for one boy, five loaves and two fish.
Note carefully what Jesus said next. It is a vital point in the lesson Jesus was teaching His disciples. But He said, “Bring them here to me.” After the disciples had gathered together all the resources which they could, and had determined it was not enough, the next step called for by Jesus was, “Bring them to me!” Remember this was done in answer to the request of Jesus, “You give them something to eat.”
Was this a senseless request that Jesus had placed upon His disciples? Was it some kind of a joke Jesus was playing? No! The Lord’s field of view encompassed many things which were as yet invisible to the disciples. The Lord spoke from the standpoint of the infinite Being who created all things both physical and spiritual. The disciples were as yet limited in their thinking to the physical realm and scarcely aware that they also were part of the vast invisible spiritual realm. The Lord was teaching His disciples step by step who He was, who they were, and the full spiritual meaning of “Feed My sheep.”
Let us reflect deep on the Gospel of Matthew. “And ordering the multitudes to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up towards Heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes, and they all ate, and were satisfied. And they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. And there were about five thousand men who ate, aside from women and children.” (What does this say to you? Who are these men, women and children?)
Note this. It was by the hands of the disciples that the food was distributed. The Lord had commanded the disciples to “feed the people,” and, finally, it was the disciples who gave out the food. But it was at the hands of the Lord that the food was multiplied. It was the Lord who accomplished what, in the sight of the disciples, was a miracle. But Jesus did not give out the food, and in that sense, did not “feed the people.” The disciples, with Jesus' help, “fed the people.”
Could the disciples have done it without Jesus? No! Jesus was there. He obviously intended to make it possible for them to do what He had commanded them to do. After being given the task, the next step for the disciples was for them to gather up all the resources they had for the assigned task. Nothing was to be held back. They gathered all the resources they had that day.
The lesson was taught. The people have a need. Jesus commanded, “You, Vocation Directors, fill that need.” You gather all the resources you can. They appear inadequate. You take them to Jesus. Jesus multiplies the resources and gives them back to you so that you can do what Jesus commanded you to do. Then, as His vessel, you do it.
Do you think that the disciples understood the lesson that day while they were with Jesus on the shore of the lake. Why no! They did not fully comprehend it. Perhaps they thought, as many of you do today, that the Lord desired primarily to impress the people with His love and with a miracle that would assure them that He was the Son of God. Surely, the Lord desired to do that. But did the disciples comprehend that the Lord had performed a drama that day that was to teach them how to carry out the future spiritual task of “feeding His sheep” after He ascended back to Heaven?
Aren’t there enough boys and girls willing to accept the challenge of the Lord's great commission? In New Testament days it took only a relatively few disciples to proclaim the gospel “in all creation under heaven.” (Colossians 1:23). Is it that the available resources are insufficient to reach the multiplied multitudes, the billions of people in the far reaches of today’s world? But even as the population of the spiritually hungry world has multiplied many times since the New Testament days, so have the means of travel and communication been also multiplied. The various types of today’s mass media allow communication into homes in every nation of the world. In many respects today’s world is effectively “smaller” than the world of the first century. And means of communication are generally more available and effective than ever before in the history of the world.
What then are the impediments to carrying out the Lord’s great commission today? The answer we hear coming from many Vocation Directors is not that the possible resources are not available to reach the whole world, but that local funds are not sufficient to afford such world wide outreach. In many cases the meager local funds that might be put forward under the Lord’s plan, as “loaves and fishes” for world wide evangelization, are tied up in more selfish local projects deserving lesser priority. How much do you spend on your shoes, holidays, religious anniversaries, birth day Cards, wines and picnics?
Is the Lord’s first century plan, which He taught to His first century disciples, believed to be unworkable today? Is the Lord unable to multiply meager resources as He did in the first century? Or is it that we who have been given the reasonability just haven’t tried the plan lately?
If we are to succeed in the Vocation Promotion mandate to perfect the Saints, we must also succeed in our efforts to strengthen those who have grown cold in their faith. To begin this endeavor, it would be well for us to know the feelings and reasons why the boys and girls once fiery with zeal now do not attend meetings and participate in the come and see?
Most those who have appointed you to this job believe that our candidates are the wrong choice to the extent that even their Christian faith is questionable! A study by Day Star University on Christian attitudes does not support this assumption. It shows that almost all those bad sheep and the bad shepherds interviewed believe that God exists, that Jesus is the Christ, that the bible is correct, and that the Church is true.
What makes bad sheep and bad shepherds? The most common reasons you need to scrutinize are:
- Having Vocation Promoters who are “Privates in a Captain’s Uniform”
- Feelings of unworthiness.
- Personal or family problems.
- Parents who were less active in the faith.
- Teenage rebelliousness or laziness.
- Conflicts with life schedules.
- Models of attractive vocation too far away
- Lack of feelings to the unknown.
When you ask what had influenced them to return to apply to be sheep among your flock. The most common answers from the sheep are:
- Faced with crisis in life.
- To overcame personal problems.
- The example of girlfriend/boyfriend.
- Influence of family members.
- Wanted the gospel influence for family.
- Identify with dignified and respected members of society, moving to a new place/ home/ convent/ country where people care about them.
I believe that every active Vocation Director/Directress in the Catholic Church knows a lost sheep that needs the attention and love of a caring shepherd.
Every new aspirant (sheep) needs the following to remain active in your Charism: a friend, a responsibility, and continued nourishment by the good word of God. The lost sheep need the exact same care and concern to help them back to the fold.
There was a family in Kariobangi who lost a son to kidnappers. When initial efforts failed to find him, the call for help went out, and hundreds responded to the call until the boy was safely back in the arms of his mother and father. I plead this morning that we will all have that same kind of genuine care and love to do all we can to bring back those precious sons and daughters who are lost in the clouds even if physically you see them. The challenge before us as Good Shepherds who feed the sheep is great. It will require us to exercise increased faith, energy, and commitment if we are to reach these brothers and sisters. But we must do it. The Lord is counting on us to do it.
We must remember that change occurs slowly. We all need to have patience, offer companionship and friendship, learn to listen and love, and be careful not to judge.
In every Community and Church Congregation/ Diocese/ Institute there are good, honest men and women. Many don’t know how to apply to your way of life. There are good fathers and mothers who have brought them up. Many have one thing in common: they are not the spiritual leaders in their homes. When men and women of faith visit these individuals and become their friends and love them and teach them the gospel and the Charism, I believe they will come and stay.
For the next few minutes I would like to talk to those who have wandered away from the fold. I am hopeful this morning that perhaps a few of you who are not fully active in your job as Vocation Promoters may be listening to this session of conference. You have in many instances formed new associations and no longer keep Church standards. Many of your Candidates tread in your paths and follow your example. Youth are not only largely dependent on their models for physical and emotional support but for spiritual support as well.
The dilemma of shepherding today
The Priest of a suburban parish was speaking to the Sunday school children. He told them that as the Priest he was like a shepherd and the members of his congregation were the sheep. He then put this question to them: “What does the shepherd do for the sheep?” A little fellow in the front row raised his hands and answered, “He cheats them.” True enough, shepherds go into the business for the purpose of swindling, milking and feeding on the sheep. But when the Bible speaks of the leaders of God’s people as shepherds, it envisions leaders who feed, protect and feel with the people as a good shepherd does for his flock.
The title “shepherd” in the Hebrew Bible refers primarily to God who shepherds His people. This is brought out in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd” (responsorial psalm). Here God is portrayed as a faithful and good shepherd who leads the flock into well-being and abundance (“green pastures”) and keeps them safe from every danger (“valley of darkness”) such that they want for nothing and fear no evil even as they are surrounded by their foes (wolves and lions). Kings, as God’s anointed deputies, were also referred to as shepherds. But some of them only got the title and not the qualities of a shepherd. Instead of feeding the sheep entrusted to their care they fed on them. God raised up prophets like Ezekiel to denounce such shepherds:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them. (Ezekiel 34:2-6)
Who says the Bible is out of touch with modern reality? Does this not sound like a description of Christ’s flock today? Don’t we still have career pastors and evangelists who are more interested in their own comfort than in the spiritual advancement of their congregations? Don’t we have white-collar ministers who would pontificate in their offices or churches and never take a step to reach out to the weak, the sick, the strayed? Don’t we still have Church authorities who “rule” with force and harshness? Are the people of God not scattered over the mountains and hills in search of spiritual nourishment?
On account of the infidelity of the shepherds to their divine calling, God made this promise to his people that He Himself was going to be their shepherd, their good shepherd (Ezekiel 34:15-16). This promise was fulfilled in Jesus who declared himself to be the Good Shepherd who has come “that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). He is the Good Shepherd who lays down his own life to protect his flock. In those days, shepherds guarding their flock by night would gather their flocks into an enclosure and sleep literally by lying across the entrance so that before a wild beast would attack the sheep it would have to attack them first.
Before Jesus left the world, he commissioned Peter to feed his lambs and tend his sheep (John 21:15-17). The work of shepherding God’s flocks is an ongoing task that is entrusted to the whole church with Peter as head. As today we start this retreat entitles “Feed my Sheep”, we need to ask ourselves two important questions. (1) Am I a faithful member of God’s flock? Only those sheep who follow the guidance of the shepherd could ever hope to arrive at the green pastures or be safe from the ravenous wolves. (2) How could I participate more closely in the work of shepherding God’s flock? Truly we all participate in various forms of shepherding God’s flock. How can I be a better shepherd in my own state, reaching out with understanding and compassion to the weak and misguided dropouts of church and society, so that through me they may hear the loving voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd?
The call is meant for you
With such a theme we all focus on the tenderness of the Lord and smoothing quality of his voice gently calling us to deeper and fuller communion with him. The idea is to draw our attention to vocations in the Church (priest, brother, sister, nun, deacon, perhaps consecrated lay person) for one’s salvation but also for the glory of God in the proclamation of the Gospel and in the iconic life of a Catholic in the sacraments.
As Blessed John Paul said in Pastor Bonus, “the task of its [the Church’s] shepherd of pastors was indeed to be that service which is called very expressly in Sacred Scripture a diaconia or ministry. Pope Benedict’s message for the 48th World Day of Prayer for Vocations can says: The pivotal point of the Good Shepherd narrative we read in the Gospel is that the Lord --the true and only Shepherd-- knows us personally, knows for who are and not what we pretend to be. The icon proposed here by the Lord himself is the image of a Shepherd who knows his sheep, who goes after his sheep, and lays down his life for his sheep. No strings are attached, no mixed motives acknowledged. The shepherd knows our voice, and we recognize his. Jesus of Nazareth, the Shepherd, wants to give us life abundantly. But in order to accept this gift of the abundant life we need to realize that absolutely nothing can drown out the voice of the Good Shepherd. Our job is keep the ears of our heart clean, that is, we need to remain pure of heart.
In this self-giving of the priest and religious the flock is tended to by the exercise of teaching, sanctify and leading the people to Christ. This ministry entails the clear communication of doctrine, prayer and Divine Worship, and solid guidance. This is how our Church lives effectively in Christ --in the ordained ministry-- though, we have to acknowledge this threefold ministry is also given to all people through the sacrament of Baptism and therefore all people share in some manner in teaching the faith, prayer and guiding others. This notion might be best exemplified in “normal circumstances” in the family spirit where there is power to love.
That power of love, to draw, that is what we need in the church today. It's a charism in the church that is to be exercised by all of us adult members of the church, a charism of leadership based on love in a family.
It’s the love and the nurturing that allows anything good to grow and to develop. Those who carry on any role of leadership in the church, teachers, administrators, pastors, vocation directors and all of us who have any role of leadership in the church should exercise that role the way Jesus says to His disciples in that appearance and conversation with Peter after the resurrection. “Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep”
THE CHALLENGE POSED BY THE SHEEP OF TODAY
1 Secularization and Religious fanaticism
The sector of secularization occupies the first place and is given ample room. It concerns principally the educated elite, but now it is as well spreading to both Religious and Christian Communities.
Although it uses anti-Christian and anti-religious tones at times, secularization is generally assuming a dowdy character which is invading people’s daily life, fostering a mentality in which God is optional. This is the culture of relativism, which has serious anthropological, religious and political implications that also influence the life of the Church. In Kenya we can sight the making of the New Constitution and the Church’s Stand on Life in Article 26 and the choice persons to occupy the Judicial Offices. Besides secularization, there is also a religious confusion. Unfortunately, many positive aspects of the search for God and the rediscovery of the sacred in various religions are “overshadowed by the phenomenon of fundamentalism and lack spiritual appetite which oftentimes manipulates the community to justify fanaticism and even terrorism. Some Priests, Religious and Seminarians voted for the New Constitution even is it prescribed open challenge to Catholic Teaching
2. Migration
The second sector mentioned is the phenomenon of migration which is changing “the ethnic make-up of our cities and our nation. It has various causes and is associated with the phenomenon of globalization, which has positive but also problematic aspects and therefore requires the demanding process of discernment. The people from other Ancient Continents and civilization like Europe and Asia (especially Chinese) have found their way and are settling in the remotest parts of Kenya. On the other hand the hand the Kenyans are killing themselves to migrate to Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe. What a challenge!
3. Social communications and computer revolution
The means of social communications and the computer revolution represent one of the nation a great challenges. The media and the digital culture in themselves bring many benefits but also the inherent risks, which might ultimately result in “the formation of a culture centered on passing novelties, the present moment and outward appearances, indeed a society which is incapable of remembering the past and with no sense of the future. There is lapse of memory.
4. Economic tragedy
National growth is also marked by the economic sector that is announcing every day an economic crisis. There is clear growing disproportion between the rich and poor in access to resources and their distribution as well as the damage to creation. A lot of raw materials for production found in the rural areas are carried away, possessed and consumed by the elite.
5. Scientific and technological research
This is another sector that challenges the National Cohesion. Science and technology, in fact, are in danger of becoming today’s new idols, a new power source, a new religion, fostering “new forms of ‘gnosis’... where technology itself becomes a kind of philosophy in which knowledge and meaning are derived from an unreal structuring of life. Furthermore, we are witnessing the birth of new cults that turn truth and ethics into a therapeutic form promising prosperity and instant gratification. This is in fact the danger of New Age Movement.
6. Political revolution
It is also necessary to consider the political sector, the epochal changes which have taken place in recent months: the fall of Mauma Ghadafi and his Libyan cronies and the end of the Arab God Fathers like Mubarak, which has fostered people’s power and the reorganization of the governments. In addition this is creating a global situation with new political, economic and religious forces, similar to Asia and the Islamic world. The fall of Northern Africa and Arab untouchable Governments by popular revolt in city squares calls for our attention. How about if this comes into the Catholic Church? Are we ready to face it?
In the face of these new sectors as well as engaging in discernment; Christians are called to bring the question of God to them and to illuminate them with light of the Gospel, contributing their own witness.
WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE VOCATION DIRECTOR? HOW IS THE VOCATIONS DIRECTOR RELATED TO A GOOD SHEPHERD?
From scientific definitions, a vocation director manages the vocation education school, or the vocation education department in a school. He/she is responsible for all the vocation education activities and programs undertaken by the school or department. A vocation director/ directress should display a combination of skills including effective leadership, decision-making and innovative thinking to handle his/her various crucial responsibilities. In addition, the individual should be knowledgeable of all state and local laws as well as the school’s policies to ensure compliance. In brief we may say that this person is a chief technical officer. Kindly check your cvs and see if you fit accordingly.
1. Managing Vocation Education Curriculum
The vocation director/directress is responsible for developing vocation education curriculum and programs in accordance with state laws, the institution’s policies for curriculum development and the existing trends in vocation education. Implementing study curriculum, monitoring curriculum performance and making necessary changes for improvement are essential job responsibilities. This person decides the type of instruction method to be followed in classrooms, and ensures availability of all equipment and resources required for every vocation education program. The job role also includes training staff in instruction methods for improved teaching. If the institution has an advisory committee or board for vocation education, the vocation director prepares policies and standards for such bodies. The director/directress is answerable for all queries related to the vocation education programs of the institution.
2. Staff Accountability
The vocation director/directress is responsible for his/her team of personnel. As part of the role, he/she recruits qualified personnel for the vocation education program, monitors employee performance and takes steps to improve productivity. Since he/she is in charge of the team, the director ensures that personnel have all required resources at their disposal for effective teaching. Ensuring staff's professional development is a lead’s responsibility; as such the vocational director/directress offers rewards and recognition programs to keep staff motivated and implements appropriate training and skill development programs.
3. Supervisory Role
A vocation director’s job role includes overseeing proper implementation of vocation education curriculum and activities. This individual assumes responsibility for student and employee welfare and safety of the school or department facilities. Monitoring student performance, ensuring proper behavior, discipline of students on the campus and other responsibilities falling within the purview of a vocation director’s role
4. Budget Preparation
As part of his/her responsibilities, the vocation director develops budget plans for the vocation school or department. He/she conducts extensive research of workforce, equipment and other supplies essential for the vocation education program before preparing budget plans. This job role requires preparing all essential paperwork related to budget for presentation to the management.
5. Other Functions
Establishing and maintaining strong relationships with the community is a major responsibility the person in this role undertakes. In realization of this responsibility, the vocation director implements programs and activities that promote involvement of parents and community with the institution. Maintaining good working relationships within the institution are important as well; as such, he promotes and participates in interdepartmental activities.
WHAT IS VOCATION?
Many people use the word vocation (from the Latin vocare, meaning (“to call”) in reference to the call to be a priest, sister, or brother. However, the Catholic understanding of vocation is much broader: every baptized person has a vocation--a call--to love and serve God. How you choose to live out that vocation is what each person must discern. Some feel called to live as single or married laypeople; others choose consecrated life and join a secular institute or religious community (as sisters, priests, or brothers); still others choose ordination as deacons or diocesan priests.
What is a sister or a nun?
A sister or nun is a woman who belongs to a religious order, or community. Many people use the word nun interchangeably with sister, but technically nuns are those who live a cloistered (or enclosed) monastic life; whereas sisters serve in an active ministry. After a period of preparation (called formation) sisters and nuns take lifelong vows. Usually they take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; that is, they promise to live simply, to live celibately, and to follow the will of God through their community.
What is a brother?
A brother belongs to a religious community of men. A brother takes religious vows, usually poverty, chastity, and obedience. A brother’s life revolves around prayer, communal living in a religious community or monastery, and a ministry within the Church and society. A brother is not ordained to the priesthood, and thus does not perform the sacramental duties of a priest. Some men’s communities include both brothers and priests, and both have equal respect and status in the community.
What is a monk?
A monk is the male member of a monastic or contemplative order. Some monks make solemn vows. Monasticism is a particular form of religious life built around a rule, such as the Rule of Benedict, and the Divine Office, a set of prayers and psalms chanted or sung at various points in the day. Women who choose monastic life are called sisters or nuns.
What is a friar?
A friar is a male member of a mendicant order, such as the Dominicans or Franciscans, although the term is sometimes extended to others in the monastic tradition.
What is the difference between a diocesan priest and a priest from a religious order?
All priests are ordained to the priesthood through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. However, a man may choose to be a diocesan priest (sometimes called a secular priest) or a religious priest (or order priest). If he chooses to be a diocesan priest, then he enters the diocesan seminary system, and once ordained typically serves within his own diocese (a geographic territory designated by the Catholic Church). He is appointed to his ministry-most often parish work-by the bishop of that diocese. A diocesan priest is accountable to his bishop and the people he serves. If a man chooses religious priesthood, he joins a men's religious community. While he may perform parish ministry, he generally serves in other ways, typically doing work related to the mission and ministries of his religious congregation. A religious priest is accountable to his major superior and the other men in his community for his religious life and his local bishop and the people he serves for his priestly duties.
Are religious communities dying out?
Religious communities continue to exist even though some individual communities, because of age and fewer members may merge with others or die out altogether. Religious communities have always had an ebb and flow since the days of the early church. The needs of the time and the movement of the Holy Spirit are the impetus for new communities to form and others to fade away. Today in the Africa, while many religious communities are merging or consolidating, others are being founded or are attracting new members. In addition, there is a rising interest in religious life among us.
Are young people still choosing to become priests, sisters and brothers?
Yes, but in fewer numbers. Historically, religious have always been fewer in number. Following an unusual surge in the mid-20th century, the number of men and women religious today more closely reflects a number consistent with the beginning of the last century. According to the 2009 Vocations response research study, 71 percent of those who have entered religious life and are currently in initial formation are under 40. And of the more than 7,000 people who have filled out the come and see vocation orientation courses this year 67 percent are under 40.
Are young adults pressured to join a religious order if they request information?
Trained vocation ministers adhere to a code of ethics that specifically encourages them to allow inquirers a sense of true freedom to choose or not choose religious life or priesthood without any pressure or expectation from others. In fact, extreme pressure to enter religious life is a canonical impediment to admission to vows. Online websites, discussion boards, and email exchanges allow inquirers to seek information anonymously until they feel prepared to make more personal contact. Most vocation directors acknowledge that their role is to accompany those in discernment, not to recruit them. In addition vocation directors have a duty to their communities and the Catholic Church to properly assess and offer honest feedback about a candidate’s fitness for religious life.
What is a vocation director in church terminology?
A vocation director is a priest, sister or brother designated by a religious institute or a diocese to promote vowed membership, to help others discern their vocation, and to oversee the application process of new members entering the community as a postulant/seminarians/candidates. They assist those who are considering the possibility of religious life by providing support, discernment counseling, and information. The Vocation director for a religious congregation answers to the elected superiors of their congregation. Vocation Directors who work on behalf of a diocese answer to the bishop. All vocation Animators in Kenya should be under one Catholic professional organization called KAVA. I have a feeling however that there are still some lone ranger vocation hunters that are operating under cover of disguise and secrecy for reasons only known to them.
What is the process to enter religious life?
Typically someone interested in religious life goes through a discernment process where they prayerfully consider the call to religious life, explore vocation options, contact religious communities, and eventually begin a more formal process of discernment with a particular religious institute/ diocese. Once a candidate chooses to apply to a community and is accepted, he/she typically begins a formation process starting with postulancy or candidacy, in which the person is introduced to the communal life, ministries, and mission of the community. Following postulancy comes the novitiate, where a person is formally admitted to a religious institute. The novitiate is an extended time of prayer, study and spirituality, which usually lasts between one and two years. After the novitiate, the novice is admitted to temporary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. This period of temporary commitment allows for further discernment before he or she makes perpetual profession of vows within a given religious institute. For Candidates to priesthood there is a moment of scholasticate.
What we need to caution candidates to priestly and religious life about:
Materialism: Is our love for money more important than our love for God?
Ambition: Do we spend all our time pursuing worldly success, and no time pursuing spiritual success?
Luxury: Do we spend all our time searching for things, instead of searching for God’s truth?
Being well-liked: Are we so afraid to offend that no one ever hears anything from us about Jesus?
Having a good time: Are we more interested in spending time with our friends at a party instead of spending time with our Lord in prayer?
Jesus centered: Is He truly the center of all our activities? When Jesus is number one in our life, we may have all these other things: money, success, luxury, friends, and fun, but we will have them placed in the proper perspective. Therefore seek first the kingdom of heaven and the rest will follow in line.
Short Prayer: Jesus Christ, You are my Lord and Savior. As a Good Shepherd You say that You Yourself will pasture Your sheep. You Yourself will show Your sheep where to rest, and shall look for the lost sheep and bring back to the stray. You shall make the weak strong and shall watch over the strong and healthy. Thank You, Lord for choosing this tedious job! Amen.
Conclusion
Jesus is not our shepherd by name only. He intends to do the job of a good shepherd in our lives. However, he will never force us to follow him. We have a choice on whether to follow or ignore him. Whatever choice we make, we will face the consequences that come with it. Courage friends, the Lord is watching. Peace be with you during this get together.
Fr Paulino Mondo
