In the Gospel this weekend we hear of Christ the Good Shepherd. This image has been used for centuries as the preferred style of Christ's leadership and consequently as an example to church leaders. Bishops carry shepherds' crooks, the local minister is referred to as the pastor and the rest of the church is the flock.
There is another place where this theme has given us a word. All apostolic ministry is referred to as pastoral. This is an image that should not be limited to the ordained ministry. It would be good to examine the pastoral roles of all Christians this weekend.
There are many ordinary Christians who live their lives in the mould and example of the Good Shepherd. The fruit of their example is found in the inspiring way they call us to prayer through their teaching, in their outreach to the poor and elderly, and in their caring for and rearing of families.
An authentic life has many elements. We are naturally familiar with our temporal needs but we should also recognise the value of the spiritual ones. People who imitate the love of the Good Shepherd draw our attention to our spiritual needs. Their lives and examples give valuable testimony to their faith. At home and at work, Christians have inspired, encouraged, comforted and supported their colleagues, families and friends. In doing this they have preached the central message of Christianity - to love God and to love our neighbours. If we stand beyond the episcopal usage of the shepherd theme, we can see that these people are also good pastors as they call us to examine the otherness of our lives, they call us to pray and thereby to participate in the primary purpose of the Church: to pray together.
But these Good Shepherds are not immune to the attacks of the wolves in our society. Popular magazines and television tell us to live life a certain way, to hold certain values and to aspire to a banal and selfish comfort. Looking after "numero uno" is the way we are told we should live. Modern life demands that each of us should rise, shower, dress in designer clothing and commute to a job in the city. Once we arrive there we are expected to be busy making phone calls and outwitting rival companies. At the end of a successful day we should visit a wine-bar on the way home, where our beautiful spouse awaits us after her/his similarly successful day; then on to the apartment where, seated on designer furniture, we should watch American sit-coms.
When Frederick Nietzsche tried to develop his way of living in freedom he fought against the same oppressive ideas as we live with today. The crowd demands that we do things and the dragon called Thou Shalt stands in the way of our progress to freedom today as much as he did at the turn of the last century. It is a bitter irony that the Christian is the one that stands against Thou Shalt today. The important values of freedom, peace and self-fulfilment that Nietzsche sought are driving passions still. Some seek these elements through conformity to the social demands but there are also people who seek higher ideals and encourage us all to do the same. These people are not as rare as one might think.
One example of the modern Zarathustra can be found in the many people who work for social justice in Ireland and throughout the world. These people are often ridiculed as they stand outside embassies and protest against human rights abuses in other countries or at home. We often hear harsh criticism of dogooders by others in our society. Those who campaigned successfully for the end of apartheid, for peace in Central America, Northern Ireland or in East Timor have lived good and successful lives. They may not be wealthy, they many not be respected for their efforts, but they have great dignity, they have found freedom, peace and self-fulfilment. They inspire us to pray. They have not fled when myriad wolves attacked them - they are the Good Shepherds.
There are many more examples to ponder this weekend.
F. MacE.