Readings: Acts 2:14, 36-41; 1Peter 2:20-25; Jn. 10:1-10
The Beloved Wanderer
1. Today is Vocations Sunday. On this day the Church invites us to pray that young men may hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and give themselves in service, as ordained ministers to Christ, “Who came not be served but to serve and gave his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk. 10:45). We pray also that religious men and women in consecrated life may continue to say ‘Yes’ to God as they bear witness in the world through their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The lay members of the Church are also encouraged to employ their gifts of time, talent and treasure in their service of the Church and humanity.
2. In the Gospel reading of today, Jesus says of Himself: “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep.” (Jn.10:7). Earlier on He said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.” (Jn. 10:1). Jesus is not just the Good Shepherd, He is the gate itself. The sheep must go through Him, He is the one to call them out and lead them to pasture. This reminds me of Yusuf. He had worked for ten years, shepherding his father’s flock with some hired hands. His father felt that he was of age and entrusted him with 75 sheep in his flock. It was now time for Yusuf to be on his own and tend his own flock. Yusuf had firsthand knowledge of how hired shepherds have treated his father’s flock. They had lost many sheep to marauders. Their concern was not the welfare of the sheep but their remuneration. Many times, they killed the sheep for meal and wool and always lied to his father, that they were killed by predator animals. Yusuf promised himself that he would be a different kind of shepherd; he would care for his sheep, even to the point of laying his life for them. One day he led his flock out for pasture, about five miles away from the village. He wanted to be far away from his father’s hired hands. He was out there with his sheep till evening. As he was rounding the sheep up to lead them back to the pen, it started raining. He called and counted the sheep and was sure they were all there. He knew that there was a sick ewe among them, but he was more worried about the one sheep he called “The Beloved Wanderer”, because it had the tendency to wander away from the flock. He was sure he saw it during the head count. And so, he picked up the sick ewe, wrapped it with his mantle and went ahead of his flock as they followed him behind. He was happy with himself as he hummed a tune on his way home.
3. When Yusuf got to the pen, he directed the sheep in for the night. At the end, he discovered that one sheep was missing. The Beloved Wanderer was not there. He left the 74 sheep there in the pen and went in search of his ‘Beloved Wanderer’. It was late at night, yet down the road he went, not minding his safety, hunger and cold. He called the Beloved Wanderer as he went along. He was afraid for its welfare, cold, its safety and feared that the predators may have killed it. He was desperate but kept on searching. From a distance he heard the groaning of his friend, the Wanderer. How could he miss that groan! The sheep had wandered into a thorn bush and was unable to free itself. The shepherd struggled and finally freed the wandering sheep. He sustained wounds from the thorn bushes and was bleeding from his hands and head. But he was overjoyed that he got the Beloved Wanderer at last. He put it on his shoulder and brought it back home with others. He did not reprimand it, he did not shout at it but treated it just as if he had never wandered away.
4. My dear friends, the story of Yusuf captures the image and attitude of the good shepherd. The story parallels that of the lost sheep in Luke 15:1-7. Jesus is The Good Shepherd, He is the Gate of the sheepfold. He came to reconcile us to the Father, and, he laid down His life of us. He tells us “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (Jn. 10:10). Jesus watches over his sheep. He hears their cries and comes to their rescue. Speaking through Ezekiel, the Lord said: “I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal.” (34:15-16). Through the mouth of Isaiah, we hear, “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom and leading the ewes with care.” (Is. 40:11).
5. David reflected on the leadership of God over his people, so he calls God his shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. God will always provide for his own. There is a story told of an actor who recited the 23rd Psalm and held his audience spellbound. When he finished, a great burst of applause broke from his guest. As it died away, an old man rose from behind the room and declaimed the same psalm. His voice was not remarkable, his tone was not as faultless as that of the actor, but, when he finished, there was not a dry eye in the room. The actor rose, and his voice quivered as he said, “Ladies and
gentlemen, I reached your eyes and ears; he has reached your hearts. The difference is just this: I know the Psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.”
6. The question is simply, do we know the Shepherd as well as the Shepherd knows us. Do we listen to Him and allow Him to lead us to green pastures? Many times, in our struggles, we fail to see the shepherd in our midst. In the second reading, we are reminded that we should be patient in suffering, if our suffering is as a result of doing what is right. “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.” There are many prophets out there whose aim of preaching the gospel is to brainwash people to give them money. They only care for themselves and what they can get from their congregation. They preached prosperity gospel and look for ways to enrich themselves. They extort money in the name of tithes and seed-sowing to maintain their life style, build mansions, buy fleet of exotic cars, airplanes and jets in the name of preaching the gospel, while most of their congregants are impoverished. They are the thieves and robbers referred to in the Gospel. By their fruits you shall know them.
7. May we open our eyes and see the Good Shepherd who meets us at the points of our needs. When we mourn the loss of our loved ones, He appears to us as a gardener (Jn. 20:15) calls us by name and eased our problems. When we are unsuccessful at our jobs, he stands on the shore of our uncertainties and asks, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”, and then shows us what to do. (Jn. 21:5-7). When we are hungry, he appears to us as a cook and provides us with food, “Come, have breakfast.” (Jn. 21:9-12). When we are sad and in distress, He appears as a stranger on the road and explains things to us. (Lk. 24:13-28). When we have issues with our faith, He appears to us and helps us to believe again, (Jn. 20:26-29). The Good Shepherd loves people who are flawed. He loved the harlots and tax-collectors, the thieves and those feared by others: the lepers and those possessed by demon. He sends no one away and reminds us, “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” (Jn. 6:37,39). Even as young adults who disappear from church and lose their faith after Confirmation, He never leaves us. He waits as the merciful father waited for his prodigal son’s return, with no condemnation, anger, judgment or bitterness but mercy, compassion, understanding and love.
8. So, dear friends, like the sheep of his flock, let us listen to our Good Shepherd and hear Him calls us by name and He leads us to green pasture. Yes, we may wander away from his love, but we are his Beloved Wanderers. He will search of us and bring us back to himself. For “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance” (Jn. 15:7).
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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