Fourth Sunday of Easter,Yeaster B

In every profession, there are people who make it a good name and those who do not. People are sometimes prone to think everyone is terrible after the bad ones. For example, we have a bad experience with a doctor and consider all doctors wrong. Or with a policeman, a civil servant, a teacher, a salesman, a priest…Jesus also chose one profession to explain his mission. He selected shepherding.

 It may seem to us that this profession had a good and attractive sound in the time of Jesus. However, this is not true. It must be understood more deeply if Jesus identifies with the pastoral profession. In the Old Testament, under the image of a shepherd, one thought of the one who leads people. During the time of Jesus, the writing of the prophet Ezekiel was known, which was very critical of the shepherds of Israel, that is, those who led the people religiously and politically. He accused them of feeding themselves more than the sheep and not caring for the weak, sick, and lost sheep. Since the sheep had no shepherd, they scattered and were eaten by wild animals (see Ezekiel 34, 2-5). This image brings us closer to the deep historical experience that not all leaders, kings, rulers, and politicians served their subordinates, their sheep – the people. On the contrary, they were often oppressed. And indeed, even in the history of the Church, some spiritual shepherds did not serve the people.

So why did Jesus choose the title of good shepherd, which was and is often so compromised? He did so because he truly is the perfect shepherd. He possesses all the qualities that a good shepherd, one who wants to lead people, should have. He assures us that he will lay down his life for the sheep; that he is always with them, protecting them and knowing them by name; that he is also seeking those that do not belong in his basket. Being a sheep of such a shepherd is therefore not only a great honor, but also a guarantee of satisfaction and safety. Jesus restores the designation ‘shepherd’ to its true meaning and mission, providing us with a sense of security and protection.

However, when someone thinks of us as sheep, we don’t feel comfortable. We perceive it as limiting our freedom, which we like to discuss. At the same time, we do not realize that the world has made us sheep anyway. Don’t we look like sheep wandering with hundreds of similar sheep in a big department store? Aren’t we like sheep when the same advertising shapes us, the same movies and the same magazines? Isn’t it the life of sheep when we look at life on a large estate? Aren’t we like sheep when we wear the same clothes? Or doesn’t the European Union also want to make sheep out of us when it wants to dictate to us some universal morality that we should live by so that we can consider ourselves Europeans? We could use many other images from our lives in one manipulated human herd. Indeed, not everything can be criticized or rejected. This is just a regular reminder that we are being manipulated more than we think; today, the ability to manipulate people is considered a science in which billions of money are invested. Anyone who can manipulate people can later make a living from them and live very well!

The Free can only remain with Jesus. Saint Paul wrote that ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’ (2 Cor 3, 17). With Jesus, we can experience our uniqueness, individuality, and our spiritual and human wealth the most. With him, we are not lost in the human herd. Jesus said it this way: ‘Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ (Jn 8, 12). Those who live according to the gospel know how to discern and live wisely. Such a person will not depart from this world nor reject the goods of this world. However, they will accept them with caution and responsibility, so that they cannot be manipulated either by things or people. They will be truly free, experiencing a sense of liberation and empowerment through following Jesus.

This is also the significance of all spiritual vocations for which we pray today and for which we ask. The world can progress well, freely and normally only when there are enough of those who will proclaim Jesus Christ and the life he offers. When there will truly be enough strong spiritual personalities, whether bishops, priests and deacons, or secular and religious priests, who will confess Christ with their lives and at the same time bring him to other people. This emphasis on spiritual vocations should inspire and motivate the audience to consider their own role in spreading the message of Jesus.

 I believe you rejoice that Jesus has called you his sheep. Your joy comes from the fact that you are in the hands of God, who guides us, helps us, and makes us good and free people.

 Popular words in social and political life include “independent.” Some parliamentarians, journalists, or artists say this about themselves. Sometimes, even simple people will say, “I am independent.” Is it possible for someone to be independent in his activities? We answer that no if we look at it logically and based on life experiences. True independence does not exist. Because in all structures of the world, where people live, where something happens, there must also be mutual dependence. A person would be independent only if he lived alone and had no money. However, inner independence is always possible.