Listening for the Shepherd's voice

On Good Shepherd Sunday I think it bears noting that there is but one Good Shepherd: Jesus Christ. For the most part, clergy are hirelings. Not all hirelings are bad, many care and are not driven exclusively by self-interest or self-preservation. On other hand, some are driven by less than laudable motivations. Like most human beings and human relationships, it is a mixed bag, to say the least.

Another thing that is worth pointing out is that being compared to sheep is far from flattering. Just as Jesus did not demand unquestioning obedience, Catholics are not to be blind followers. Mature faith requires a certain critical conscientiousness, which is informed by the Gospel and by Church teaching. Even when accepted in principle, infallibility, problematic in itself, is pretty restricted.

The English word "obedience" finds its root in the Latin word that means "to listen." Hence, being obedient does not mean simply doing what you're told. It also doesn't mean just doing what you want. To have faith is to accept Jesus as Lord. In the circumstances of our lives, we need to listen for his voice. It takes time and a lot of listening to be able to discern the Shepherd's voice, which has a lot of competition both internally and externally. Besides, don't we learn to trust through experience?

It is in the second reading from 1 John that the language employed is less analogous and more real: "Beloved, we are God’s children now." We are children not merely of a loving Father but of a Father who, with his Son and their Spirit, is love.

Doctrine is regulative, not prescriptive. If it were otherwise, Christianity would simply be a matter of following the rules. If there's one thing Jesus demonstrates over and again, this cannot be the case. Variances from the norm can and must be permissible. If this were not the case, would there be the need for pastors or pastoral ministers? Would there be a need for seminaries and schools of pastoral ministry? From the Council of Trent until the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church became very dogmatic. What I mean by that is many teachings, quite far removed from the fundamentals of Christian faith found in divine revelation, have been promulgated with an authority such teachings can never claim.

Enforcing the rules is not pastoral ministry. Far from seeking to make us uncritical and unquestioning followers, Jesus's shepherd analogy is about his care for us, his willingness to lay down his life for those in his care, to look out especially for the most vulnerable. His love extends beyond laying down his life. It reaches out to his taking his life up again. Jesus didn't just die for us, he rose for us. Love is the power that raised Jesus from the dead.