Gate and shepherd

Monday in the Fourth Week of Easter

Acts 11:1-18; Jn 10:1-10

Jesus compares himself with two very eloquent symbols or images to help us understand who he really is. The images are very simple yet at the same time they are very rich in meaning. We all know why this is important: in understanding better who Christ is, we understand better who we are and whom we are called to become.

The Shepherd

The first image Jesus offers is that of the shepherd. He says that the shepherd enters through the gate, unlike thief or the hired man. The shepherd, Jesus says, knows the sheep by name and they hear his voice, they recognise it and they follow him.

Jesus' listeners would have understood well what Jesus meant: it must have reminded them of the bride in the Song of Songs, who listens for the voice of her beloved in the garden; it must have reminded them of the man born blind whom we meet in the same Gospel who is unable to see Jesus yet recognises him from his voice, while the Pharisees are unable to recognise him since they do not hear his voice; it must have reminded them of Mary of Magdala who recognises Jesus only when she hears his voice in the Garden next to the tomb.

And therefore we cannot fail to ask ourselves, Do I listen out for the voice of the Shepherd? Am I in tune with the voice of Jesus and am I able to recognise it in the first place?

Jean Vanier once said that Jesus could not be the Good shepherd were he not first the Lamb of God. It is this life-giving quality that makes him The Good - The Beautiful Shepherd.

During a 6-month stint at L'Arche in France, a couple of years ago, I had only just arrived and after a few days I was called into the director's office. I was wondering what I had done wrong but they told me that since the person in charge of the Foyer was going on a training course for a couple of weeks, they told me to take over. At first I declined, bringing all sorts of excuses, that I did not know the language well, that I was still unfamiliar with their practices and that there were others who were more experienced than I was. Then Meo told me something that I will never forget: "The world has a lot of leaders already. What the world needs are shepherds."

In recognising the voice of Jesus the shepherd, whatever our calling in life may be, may we too exercise our ministry with the same attitude of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

The gate.

At the Seminary where I received my formation there was a big gate of wrought iron with beautiful vine motifs. When I used to visit the seminary as a child I always used to be impressed by this gate. When I entered the seminary, I realised that the gate was never really closed. For me it was symbolic of the fact that all seminarians are free to stay or to leave. Nobody is forced. If you stay there it is because your heart is there.

In some way I think that this what Jesus means when he says that he is the gate. Nobody is forced to follow him or to stay in his love. We are free to stay and we are free to leave. That freedom makes us ponder where our heart really is. That freedom also brings with it a certain sense of responsibility and of spiritual maturity.