Worship - 11 May 2025

Summary of this week's theme

The Roman Catholic Church has a new pope - an American with deep Peruvian ties - who now steps into a global role as both spiritual leader and a symbol of Christianity itself.

While some may see in him the image of a shepherd, the true shepherd remains Christ alone. The clergy, I’ve often said, are more like sheepdogs - guiding, but not replacing, the Shepherd. Yet, through the Holy Spirit, the Church is called to be the presence of the Shepherd in the world.

As George MacLeod, the founder of the Iona Community, said, ‘We are to be to others what Christ has become for us’ - servants, not rulers.

Jesus warns in John’s Gospel of thieves and strangers who threaten to snatch his flock. His is a kingdom built not on dominance or power, but on love and sacrificial presence. Many failed to see this, clinging instead to worldly power and traditional expectations - even when God stood in front of them in Christ.

The imagery of shepherds was complicated: they were both tender caregivers and social outsiders. Perhaps that tension helps us understand why Jesus chose this image. He was not a polished king but a servant—and that unsettled the religious establishment.

Peter, once a fisherman, learned this as he crossed boundaries in Acts - touching the unclean, staying with outsiders, raising the dead. He came to see that God’s grace is for all people, not just a chosen few. Like Jesus, Peter’s actions redefined what holiness looked like.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, upended all notions of power. His strength came through vulnerability, not conquest. In the Eucharist, we remember this truth: mercy, not might, is at the heart of God. In this week’s Gospel, Jesus says, ‘My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.’ We are reminded that being disciples is about listening - through the noise, fear, and distraction - for the quiet voice of love. That voice speaks in the overlooked, the ordinary, and even the uncomfortable.

Discipleship means helping others hear that voice too. We may not be the Shepherd, or even proud sheepdogs. We are the ones who’ve heard the call - and are still learning to follow. So let’s listen. Let’s follow. And let’s go where the Shepherd leads - into love, into service, and into life.