Shepherds that scatter the sheep

Not many indictments in the Holy Scriptures would equal this one in severity: ‘Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!’

Who are these shepherds? The Prophet Jeremiah often referred to both kings and priests as ‘shepherds.’ Their political and spiritual failure caused the Jews to disperse. It is clear from the First Reading (Jer 23: 1-6) that he foresaw the coming of a true Shepherd who would not scatter, not destroy, but lead the sheep to God.

In the Gospel (Mk 6: 30-34), Jesus reiterates that injunction. He wants shepherds to be models of love and service. Hence, they have to be formed according to His Sacred Heart and be trained to put God above all things. They would then be exemplars of knowledge and virtue, of which we have had glorious examples: priests toiling in parishes, indefatigable missionaries, learned doctors of the Church, and other selfless workers.

That is to say, thousands working in the Lord’s Vineyard have touched lives, provided spiritual healing, and acted as beacons of faith, inspiring others to join the priesthood and serve in like manner. Political shepherds, though, living in a godless world are a different breed, and less said about them the better, for usually do not share our perspective. In the ultimate analysis, they do not care for anybody but themselves; many hoodwink the people and lead them astray.

But alas, nowadays, it is sad to see that many spiritual shepherds too, (mis)guided by modern-day philosophies, ideologies and worldviews, follow their political counterparts. They slavishly imitate them instead of guiding and inspiring them. They show a lack of commitment to their vocation and disbelief in many tenets of the faith; they neglect their primary sacerdotal duties, as a result of which, they ‘scatter’ and ‘destroy’.

That is a typical situation of sheep without a shepherd, akin to a child without mother. At any rate, it is easier to cater to material needs than to the spiritual, for the latter can only be done with the purposes set by the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ and under His express protection.

In this regard, we must not discard the many prophetic messages about the crisis in the Church and the world at large. Our Lady of La Salette has said: “Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist.”

Mercifully, we also know of St John Bosco’s dream of an endless sea – representing the abovementioned crisis – in which two solid columns were soaring high into the sky: one bore a statue of Our Lady, Help of Christians, and the other, supported a Host of proportionate size, with the following inscription beneath: ‘Salus credentium’ (‘Salvation of believers’).

After all, we have it from the mouth of Our Lord that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Bride, the Church. So, we are not to despair but to remain hopeful, faithful and prayerful.

Finally, St Paul in the Second Reading (Eph 2: 13-18) reminds that those ‘who were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ’. He has extended salvation to the whole world: what the Jews had failed to do, Jesus did Himself, by reaching out to the Gentiles. Of course, in dealing with nonperforming shepherds, He will ‘set shepherds over them who will care’.

The mission of the Church is to seek out the lost sheep and bring all peoples into a single fold. It is also the bounden duty and privilege of lay people to be part of this noble mission as priest, prophet and king (CCC #783): to be labourers in the great harvest.