Acts 2: 42–47; Psalm 23; I Peter 2: 19–25; John 10: 1–10
A homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at Trinity
Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, May 11, 2014.
“OF MOTHERS AND SHEPHERDS”
(Homily texts: Psalm 23 & John 10: 1 – 10)
It isn’t
often that Mother’s Day and Good Shepherd Sunday are celebrated on the same
day. But when Easter occurs late in the
season, as it did this year, the chances are good that the second Sunday in May
(Mother’s Day) will happen at the same time as Good Shepherd Sunday, which is
observed on the Fourth Sunday of Easter.
We are
blessed, this morning, to be able to reflect on motherhood, and on shepherding,
for – it occurs to me – both occupations have a lot in common.
One of the
commonalities between the two has to do with the interdependent relationship
between the caregivers (mothers and shepherds) and those being cared for
(children and sheep). One cannot be
either a mother or a shepherd without having someone to care for.
When we
think of mothers and of motherhood, perhaps the best images that come to mind
are those that remind us of the love, the care, and the support that mothers
offer to their children. What I’ve said
here applies not only to birth mothers, but to grandmothers, to stepmothers,
and to those wonderful women who have exercised some sort of a motherly role
and influence on our lives.
At its
heart, being a mother is all about caring and supporting. Mothers of all varieties maintain an
overriding focus on the wellbeing of the children who are in their care.
Those same
qualities apply to the business of being a shepherd: Shepherds are all about caring for the sheep
in their care, and about supporting them so as to ensure their wellbeing. Shepherds, like mothers, maintain a focus on
the flock entrusted to them.
So it is
that Jesus uses the familiar image of shepherds and sheep to describe His
relationship to those who have come into His care. The image He uses is an ancient one, as
ancient as the words of Psalm 23: “The
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
In our
gospel reading for this morning, Jesus begins His discourse on shepherds and
shepherding by using relational language:
He says that He is the one who has come and has taken his position as
the Good Shepherd by proper means…He is the one who has come and has entered
the sheepfold by the gate. He continues
by saying that this Good Shepherd and the sheep entrusted to him know one
another. He says, “He calls his own
sheep by name and leads them out.”
Jesus
continues by contrasting good shepherding from bad shepherding. As chapter ten of John’s gospel account
unfolds, He will have more to say about this contrast. In our passage this morning, He says that the
sheep, who know the shepherd, will not follow another, false shepherd, the one
who is a stranger.
Surely the
Lord must have had in mind the false shepherds of God’s Chosen People, the
ruling class of High Priests, the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and the
scribes. For this class of false
shepherds, who were strangers to the people they were leading, had only their
own self-interest in mind. Here, the
prophet Jeremiah’s words[1]
come to mind, as perhaps they did to those who heard the Lord describe the
false shepherds of His own day….Jeremiah describes the false shepherds of the
nation in these words: “Woe to the
shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, declares the
Lord.” Jeremiah will go on to say that
the Lord will, in time, provide shepherds for His people who will properly care
for them.
Perhaps the
best test of true motherhood and true shepherding can be found in the wellbeing
of children and the flock. The results
of good, loving and supportive care are seen in both, for children and sheep
are a reflection of the leadership qualities of mothers and shepherds.
As God’s
people in the world today, may we hear the Lord’s voice, calling us into an
intimate, abiding relationship with Him.
For when we do, the nature of the Lord’s leading will show forth in our
lives, reflecting – as children reflect the attitudes and love of their mothers,
and as sheep take on the characteristics of their shepherds – the nature of the
Lord who leads us.
AMEN.
