Jesus the Good Shepherd

Jesus the God Shepherd

4th Sun of Easter

In our Gospel we hear the first part of a much longer section in Chapter 10 of John’s Gospel speaking of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

This is the first simple image of himself as the GS that Jesus gives.

In a commentary on this someone suggested that one of the themes is synodality.

Pope Francis is calling for the church to be synodal in its journey in the world and has called for a Synod on synodality and our Bishop is in the process of convoking a Diocesan Synod.

That synodal notion is of all members of the church walking together as the Pilgrim People of God respectfully listening to and supporting each other as we follow Jesus.

The problem here in this Gospel is that that theme is not present but a much more fundamental truth that synodality rests on is.

This started me thinking, why did Jesus choose this image given that sheep are one of the least intelligent of animals?

The point is simple; Jesus is God, His sheep are those given to Him by His Father and our Father.

He knows what is best for them, something which they cannot understand.

He knows how to keep them, us, safe from an enemy we can’t possible resist on our own.

He does not seek or listen to their advice. We must trust and follow Him where He leads us.

This is the most basic aspect of being a disciple of Jesus.

Synodality is not about us talking together and advising Jesus on where and how He should lead and protect us. We have to put our faith in Him and follow Him.

Don’t take this incorrectly. Unlike the actual shepherd in the image Jesus does listen to us. He always hears us when we speak with Him in prayer. He always listens to what we feel are our needs and what we wish for, but we don’t tell Him what to do.

Prayer rests on Humility and trust in the mercy of God, not on an arrogance which thinks God has to listen to me.

We can only follow Jesus as His flock if we are taught His commands and practice our faith, believing what Jesus teaches, using the sacraments that He has given to us and praying to Him as we should.

Where do we find this? We find it in the apostolic tradition which is made up of scripture and tradition. This is the truth about the living Christ, present among us now, who does not change but is utterly faithful in His love for us. This is safeguarded by the church, handed down intact from age to age, and given to us by the Pope and the Bishops.

For it is to the Pope and the Bishops in communion with Him that Jesus has entrusted the authority to teach and govern the church.

This is called the Petrine principle in the church and respect for this principle is fundamental to any true synodality.

Otherwise we will find ourselves divided and led by false shepherds into disaster.

Pope Francis has pointed out that all members of the church must walk together in communion with the Pope and the Bishops if it is to remain true to Christ as the GS.

As he says any synod must be with Peter and subject to Peter.