The image of the shepherd and the sheep was well known to the cultures of the Ancient Near East, but what might an equivalent image that speaks similarly to modern New Zealand be?
The was one of the questions put on July 18 by Auckland auxiliary Bishop Michael Gielen in his homily at the closing Mass of the Auckland Eucharistic Convention, held at St Mary’s College in Ponsonby.
Reflecting on the readings for the day, Bishop Gielen spoke of the way in which the sheep in biblical times in Israel typically knew and trusted the voice of their shepherd, and how the shepherd knew each of them.
The union between sheep and shepherd was so close, that “the shepherd would sleep with the sheep at night to protect them; would build a fence, and would even become the gate”, sleeping in the gap that was between “the wilderness and security”.
Bishop Gielen noted that the image of sheep and shepherd occurs some 500 times in the Old and New Testaments, and is the most-used biblical image of all.
Knowing the voice of the Good Shepherd, and listening to that voice, are at the heart of being a disciple, Bishop Gielen said.
But “what is the equivalent image we would use in our modern society for shepherding, for a shepherd”, that speaks of such a close bond, Bishop Gielen asked. He suggested it might not be one of a farmer in modern New Zealand.
“My father was a farmer, and his best cows had names — that was because they produced the most milk and therefore the most money. But he didn’t know all his stock. . . . It is not how we connect with our stock today in New Zealand,” the bishop said, adding that this might be different for “weekend farmers”.
Bishop Gielen wondered if a medical doctor might fill the biblical image of shepherd in modern New Zealand. “A doctor should know their patients, and they protect us, and they offer us advice.”
“But, of course, that is still not intimate enough. The best image is parents — mums and dads.”
Bishop Gielen spoke of his own nieces and nephews, and the way in which they knew the voices of their parents and trusted them.
The intimacy between parents and young children is something to recall when reflecting upon the spiritual life, the bishop told those at the eucharistic convention.
How close is Jesus to us, he asked. And he suggested that those present reflect on how well they were “shepherding” and guiding those close to them, and teaching them through love and service.
The key to all of this is spending time with Jesus, Bishop Gielen said.
Praying at the end of the homily, Bishop Gielen asked for healing for occasions when those who were supposed to shepherd people in the Church let them down and betrayed the trust they had been given.
“We ask Lord that you will raise up mothers and fathers, teachers, priests and religious, who will reflect your heart, a heart that knows the voice
of their sheep, and the heart that speaks that truth.”
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