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Are we smarter than sheep? Jesus says that His sheep know his voice and won’t go to
another shepherd. Sheep are smart that way, at least. But, sheep also get lost easily and will follow each other if they have
no shepherd, even if they get into trouble or danger.
The Good Shepherd, Jesus, watches over his sheep day and night, never taking a nap or leaving them alone.
In the twenty-third Psalm, we read the description of the Good shepherd who leads his sheep to green pastures, waters
them, and protects them from danger in dark and frightening places.
The shepherds of the Church: The Holy Father, bishops and priests, are called to imitate Jesus, the Good Shepherd and
the faithful of the flock of God are called to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd through them.
Together we are all sheep, listening for and obeying the voice of the Shepherd, relying completely on him for everything
and never wandering off into dangerous places. We do not listen to the world’s voice calling us to sin, or ways of thinking
and acting that separate us from Jesus our Good Shepherd.
Are we smarter than sheep? Or do we continue to go our own way, not listening to the voice of the shepherd, and getting
ourselves into bigger and bigger messes, only then calling on the Good Shepherd to come to help us?
Remember what we said about the twenty-third Psalm? The shepherd leads the sheep, but the sheep need to listen to his
voice and stay close to him. The Bible says that the devil goes around like a hungry lion seeking souls to devour.
A smart sheep knows that he has no natural defenses, so he relies on the shepherd to use his staff to protect him. In the
same way we need the Good Shepherd to keep us safe every day. Are we smarter than sheep? Fr. Tony