When someone learns that I’m a priest, often their reaction is: “Oh, Father, so nice to meet you. There is such a shortage of priests in the Church today! You should be allowed to marry – then there be more of you.”
But I’m not sure that’s the answer…
What the Church suffers from today is not fundamentally a shortage of priests, but a shortage of disciples– men and women who really believe Jesus and put his teachings into practice…
What the Church needs, then, is YOU.
So what is Jesus trying to teach us today?
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First and foremost, Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd. We are his sheep. But why? Why must we be sheep?
Sheep are defenseless. They have no claws, no paws, no fangs, no venom. When a wolf comes along looking for his next snack, sheep have no way of defending themselves.
So when the wolf attacks, the sheep literally run around in a big circle, hoping they are not the one eaten! Can you imagine these poor animals thinking, “Catch him! Catch her! Just don’t catch me!” That furry frenzy reminds me a bit of musical chairs. Cowardice at its best.
The bottom line is sheep need a shepherd, because only he can defend them.
In the very same way, Jesus is telling us that we need him. HE is our shepherd. He is our protection. He knows that there are plenty of wolves lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack us and feed on our fear.
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What threatens me? What makes me run around circles like a sheep without a shepherd???
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For some of us, it may be that heavy weight of college loans or bills that pile up. Maybe it’s the pestering presence of a bully at school or at work, a negative turn in our health, a death in the family, a pink slip at work, dryness in prayer, or an addiction that never lessens its grip.
Whatever our burdens may be, we all know that feeling of being overwhelmed. Flustered. Afraid.
But Jesus says to us today, “Don’t run around in circles. Run to me!” As he says elsewhere in the Gospels, “Come to me, all you who are burdened and I will give you rest.” I will give you peace. I will give you security. I will give you hope.
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Lesson number one: Run to Jesus, our shepherd.
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And lesson number two: stay with the flock.
Sheep have a herding mentality. If a sheep gets separated from the flock, it instantly starts to panic. It literally stands in place and shakes because it doesn’t know how to find its way back home.
What it does know is that there are plenty of wolves hiding in the bushes, waiting for their next snack. The sheep’s only chance of survival is being found by its shepherd.
This is why Jesus says that he will leave the 99 for the 1 lost sheep. We would die without him.
But when Jesus finds us, he brings us back to the flock where we belong. He brings us back to the Church.
This is where we encounter Jesus. We encounter his mercy in the sacrament of confession. We receive his Risen Body and Blood in the Eucharist. And we interact with other members of his body when we care for one another.
Just as no sheep can survive alone, so no Christian should try to journey through life without the love and support of the Church.
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This image of a shepherd, his sheep, and those nasty wolves really is an image of our lives.
Though there will always be people or experiences that threaten us, we do not have to be afraid because we have one another – and, above all, we have Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who has loved us and given himself for us.