Jesus said: "I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I will lay down my life for the sheep."

"I’ve been on the brink, so, tell me what you want to hear. I’m sick of all the insincere, so I’m gonna give all my secrets away this time. Don’t need another perfect line, don’t care if critics never jump in line. I’m gonna give all my secrets away."              

Around Jerusalem, there were many plains, abandoned and uncultured tracts of land that were good for nothing except pasturing sheep. Therefore Jesus’ audience knew about shepherds and sheep. Shepherds in particular were interesting people. Since Jesus compared himself to one, we have become accustomed to considering them to be gentle, understanding, and kind people. Actually as we have begun to discover more about Jesus’ times, most shepherds were just the opposite. They were dirty, smelly, and ignorant individuals who did not respect the rules of religion; in fact, most of them did not appreciate religion at all. Some of them were thieves; most of them were tough characters who were not afraid to use their shepherd staffs as weapons.

Why then did Jesus compare himself to a shepherd? Much of the reason may lie in Jesus’ understanding of the virtue of sincerity. The master who owned the sheep could depend on good shepherds. Good shepherds were sincere people, unconcerned with show or what other people thought. Consequently, for Jesus, when he thought of himself as a good shepherd, he was probably thinking of the shepherds’ sincere concern for their sheep.

In their song "Secrets," OneRepublic is thinking of sincerity, and the sincerity of the man in the song toward his friend. He is not happy with himself at the way he has treated his friend, saying that he is "sick of all the insincere," and therefore he will be more honest in his approach. For him, sincerity means being honest in divulging deep feelings. He had not done it in the past, and he was determined not to make that mistake again.

What about sincerity in our lives? Because we are Christian, we are called to be "sick of all the insincere," that is, we are called to love, to really be concerned about, be willing to die for those with whom we work--our families, the people in our place of employment, the people that we run into every day. As we strive to be sincere in our approach to others, we know that we often take them for granted or judge them. If we are to be like a good shepherd, we will be people who really care about those around us.   

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son compared himself to a shepherd, no doubt because of how sincere the good shepherds were in following through with their duties. You call us to be followers of your Son; may we be truly sincere in following it through. Be with us, we pray.  

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Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America