There is an old Italian saying: “The fish stinks form the head down”, This has been a guiding principle of the church since the beginning and the human reality behind the image of the Good Shepherd in St. John‘s gospel.
The community which St. John formed was begun by Jews who knew their history. They saw the rise and fall of kings and how that affected the lives of common people. They knew the book of Ezekiel and his use of the shepherd image. He wrote when the Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem and brought the Jewish leaders to their capital as captives. Ezekiel thought that the people had been scattered because the leaders – shepherds – had pastured themselves and not the sheep. (Ez 34:8)
Continue reading “Homily – Good Shepherd Sunday (Fr. Smith)”
