Christ Our Light Catholic Parish

A shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW
approaches. The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans
out the window and asks the shepherd, "If I tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will
you give me one?" The shepherd says, "Sure, Why not?"

The man whips out his Smart Phone. pulls up a GPS satellite app that scans the area in an ultra-high-
resolution photo. He exports it to an image processing facility, receives an email containing an Excel
spreadsheet with hundreds of complex formulas. He uploads the data, receives a response a text that
reads, "You have exactly 1,586 sheep." "That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my sheep." says
the shepherd. He watches the young man select one of the animals and stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the shepherd says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you
give me back my sheep?"
The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"
"You're a consultant," says the shepherd.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required," answered the shepherd. "You showed up here even though nobody called you;
you want to get paid for an answer I already knew; to a question I never asked; and you don't know a darn
about my business. Now give me back my dog."

Shepherding is hard work and it has evolved over the years, but the basic component remains the same . . .
the shepherd knows the sheep and the sheep trust the shepherd. So I need some volunteers to show how
that works. [Have one volunteer put on a blind-fold and sheep head-dress. The others act as obstacles. I
direct the “sheep” to listen to my voice and follow my instructions]

This weekend is Good Shepherd Sunday. Many of the all-stars from the bible were shepherds: Moses,
Jacob and David. And many of the early Christians were shepherds, so the image of shepherding was
a common one. For us we usually think of a kindly shepherd carrying a lamb on his shoulders or in
his arms. But the shepherd imagery from John gospel (which we heard today) is not of someone nice
and pleasant. Instead it’s someone who’s feisty and strong; willing to fight off wild beasts and bandits.
Someone is not afraid to lay down his life for the sheep (this passage occurred just before this gospel).

So when Jesus says, in the gospel, that the sheep hear his voice, “I know them and they follow me.” He is
referring to us and that the good shepherd will do everything to lead us along the right path. We just have
to listen.

Part of the message tells us, “You’ll be OK. I’m with you always. I’ll be here to guide and protect you.”
But also that voice of Jesus tells us to shape up. It’s not that we can do anything we want, we have to be
accountable. But it’s as Jesus is telling each of us . . . “Come on. Do what you are supposed to do. Stop
acting so snotty, or rude. Shape up. Be a Christian.

In a book titled A HIDDEN WHOLENESS, Spiritual writer Parker Palmer accuses most of us as living a
“divided life.” We are not listening to the voice of Jesus and so our lives feel fractured or divided.

Here are some clues to when it’s happening . . .

When we refuse to invest ourselves in our work,
diminishing the quality and distancing from those our work is meant to serve.
For you kids, it’s when you don’t really try hard at school. That is, you just do
enough to get by.

When we make our living doing jobs that violate our basic values.
For kids, when you do things that you know you are not supposed to do.

When we remain in relationships that steadily kill our spirits.
For kids, when you hang out with friends who have a bad influence on you.

When we harbor secrets to achieve personal gain at the expense of other people.
For kids, when you don’t tell others (especially your parents) the truth.

When we hide our beliefs from those who disagree with us to avoid conflicts,
challenges and change.
For kids, when you are fake and not true to yourself.

When we conceal our true identities for fear of being criticized, shunned or attacked.
For kids, when you pretend to be something you are not.

The call of the Good Shepherd is there to assure and comfort us when we need it. But also to tell us
to “shape up. We come to Mass to be reminded of who we really are and to be nourished in that
knowledge. But it’s not so much by what we say, but by what we do.

Our new Pope has been demonstrating that.
John Wesley (the founder of the Methodist Church) said,

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,

In all places you can,
At all times you can,
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can.”