SUNDAY WEEK FOUR OF EASTER C - 2007

Often, when I am reading this gospel to young school students…..  the part where Jesus says… “I am the shepherd….. …. / and other places where Jesus says…. “I am the good shepherd…. I know my sheep and they know me… they know my voice and they follow me.,…” 

 

I often ask the students after this reading…..  “Is jesus talking about real sheep in this story?”….

 

No matter how young they are…. the answer has invariably been….”NO..”

 

then I ask….  “who is Jesus talking about then?”..

 

 

and they always say….”Us……..” they know that we all belong to God and God knows us each by name and loves us and cares for us and watches out for us………

 

I can’t help but think of that rather unfortunate but hilarious news story I read yesterday….about masters who not only did not recognize their own sheep…but did not even realize they WERE sheep……. apparently some unscrupulous businesses in Japan have been ripping off Thousands of Japanese  customers…..  in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles, ………Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.

That is a very cheap compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.

The scam was uncovered when Japanese movie-star went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.. She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.

Then hundreds of other viewers got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep.

One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves.

Japanese police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam, which capitalised on the fact that sheep are rare in Japan, so according to reports many do not know what they look like.

"We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company were selling sheep as poodles," Japanese authorities said. Many of the sheep have now been donated to zoos and farms.

The owners of these sheep did not really know what they had……..     it makes jesus parable and example of the good shepherd… and his words of the gospel even more striking…..  even though sheep can look the same…. even if they can be mistaken for something else (apparently)….. this good shepherd knows each one of sheep by name and calls them…..

 

But unlike sheep… we are not called to follow like unquestioning sheep….but rather… we are called to be followers of Jesus like discerning disciples…. Jesus cares for and watches over us as a shepherd looks over sheep…. but Jesus relates to us and invites us into discipleship as he would welcome a friend and an equal……..  so we have the best of both worlds…

 

We do not follow blindly but listen to Jesus’ voice through prayer, both private prayer and public prayer. We need both sorts of prayer to hear us properly: one in silence on our own and the other in community worshipping the Good shepherd…and listening to his good news with our fellow disciples and companions on the journey.

 

One last thought… about the scriptures……    Jesus again calls anyone who dares follow him in discipleship to be very much in touch with the cares and worries, the fears and suffering of others….. Jesus, the good shepherd, remained close to and very much in touch with those who suffered, who were on the edges of society….. who were oppressed……. 

 

The readings today remind us that we will be sorry at the the final reckoning if the Lord finds us dry-eyed….  because it may very well mean that we have not been able to weep with those who weep……… and stand in support with those who suffer……