A Good Shepherd Walks Upfront

“A good shepherd walks upfront, and the sheep follow him.” (Jn 10:4)

A Good Shepherd Walks Upfront
May 15, 2011, Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 36-411 Peter 2:20b-25 John 10:1-10
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber. The man who goes in by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought them out, he walks upfront, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” Although Jesus used this figure of speech, the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep.All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
_______
Introduction
Upfront shepherding

The fourth Sunday is always Good Shepherd Sunday. The gospel for the fourth Sunday in all three liturgical cycles of A, B and C is from the 10th chapter of St. John, which is a long disquisition on the qualities of a good shepherd. The gospel for today’s cycle A says “a good shepherd walks upfront, and his sheep follow him.” (Jn 10:4) Upfront shepherding leads the sheep not by directives, commands or threats. Rather, it leads the sheep by being so attractive that the sheep are happily drawn to follow the shepherd. An upfront shepherd does not drive the sheep from behind but draws them as he walks upfront.

Bishop Untener – a shepherd who walked upfront

Bishop Kenneth Edward Untener (1937- 2004) was shepherd of the Diocese of Saginaw from 1980 until his death in 2004. He was a good shepherd who walked upfront, and the sheep happily followed him. His first words as bishop to the people of Saginaw were: "My name is Ken, and I will be your waiter for a long, long time.” Then he sold the bishop's mansion, and proceeded to live in 69 rectories over the next 24 years. His office was the trunk of his car.
When the twenty-fifth anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter Humanae Vitae (which reaffirmed the Church's stand against artificial birth control) dawned in 1993, Bishop Untener used the occasion to keep his promise to be a “waiter” serving his people. He invited his Church to reopen the discussion on birth control, and to do it honestly and openly. The invitation was not well received by the Vatican. There were other issues in which Untener kept his promised to be a “waiter” serving his people. On the issue of divorce, he said, “I am not here to condemn divorced people, nor am I here to condone them. I am here to help them. Jesus did not come to condemn or condone the woman caught in adultery; He came to help her.”

Bishop Untener was a good shepherd who walked upfront, and the sheep, indeed, followed him with great joy. His funeral Mass was attended by 1,800 grateful sheep, and the service evoked tears and laughter, audible "amens" and a standing ovation.

Bishop Gumbleton -- a shepherd who walked up front

Bishop Thomas John Gumbleton (b. Jan. 26, 1930), retired auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, is also a good shepherd who walked upfront, and the sheep joyfully ran after him. He was a leading voice for peace, justice, and civil rights. He was a co-author of the 1983 U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference Pastoral Letter: The Challenge of Peace. He was a founding member and past president of an American Catholic peace movement called Pax Christi USA. He was also a founder and former president of Bread for the World. Gumbleton was awarded a number of honorary degrees from educational institutions, and was presented with various awards, among them was the 1995 Bridge Building Award.

Gumbleton courageously walked upfront, as he openly stated that many bishops don’t believe that every contraceptive act is intrinsically evil, but they aren’t willing to say it publicly.[1] Again Gumbleton walked upfront, as he courageously predicted that “Priestesses will inevitably come.” He pointed out that “Already, female parochial administrators are proving their competency and laying the groundwork for the ordination of women.” In the arena of gay/lesbian issues, the bishop again walked upfront. In 1992 he wrote:

When I recall my first years as a priest, I wonder how I could have spoken as I did many times in the confessional to gay people. Not very long ago my own brother, Dan, wrote a letter to our family in which he declared that he is gay. He and his partner have a very good relationship. It is humbling for me to acknowledge that I would not even deal with this letter for several months. I simply refused to respond.

One of Gumbleton’s devoted sheep writes,

I have observed the American Catholic Church closely the past 40 years, and the
upfront shepherding of Bishop Tom Gumbleton strikes me as light in the darkness. His thinking on virtually all the issues of consequence these 40 years is way ahead of the times. His is a monumental legacy, but the fate of many prophetic leaders is to be ostracized by the institutional powers.[2] I think he's viewed as out of touch, too radical, a confirmed pacifist, not compatible with the thinking of the moderate majority. For many of us Tom Gumbleton is a "Giant" in the American church; his legacy will endure. Compassion is the life-line he brings to the people.

Archbp. Hunthausen - a shepherd who walked up front

Raymond Hunthausen (b.1921) was Archbishop of Seattle from 1975 to 1991. He was, indeed, a good shepherd who walked upfront, and the sheep followed him with warm devotion.)He was a great advocate for the poor and the marginalized. He spoke out courageously about controversial issues like artificial contraception, divorce and remarriage, the role of women in the Church and homosexuality. In a letter on July 1, 1977, he publicly defended the rights of gays and lesbians. That was, indeed, courageous in 1977. One of his very controversial acts was to permit a homosexual group called Dignity to hold its own Mass in his cathedral. “They're Catholics too,” he explained. "They need a place to pray.” Some unhappy people in Seattle managed to have Rome strip him of some of his episcopal authority, because “his lack of clarity about homosexuality had confused the faithful.”

One of Hunthausen’s devoted sheep writes,

I lived in Seattle from 1971 through 1999. I witnessed him in action. He was incredible. I was very involved at the time with Dignity, the Gay and Lesbian
Catholic group. We didn't ask for anything. We didn't want to get married. We didn't ask the Church to change its rules. All we wanted was to be left alone, to retain some human dignity, and to pray in our Church, with our Church. And because of Archbishop Hunthausen, I was so proud, so very proud to be a Catholic, in Seattle, at that time.

I love my Church. I love it deeply. I even have established the habit here in Tucson of going to the Mariachi Mass on Sunday morning at the Cathedral. The biggest blessing, by the way, aside from the deep devotion of the parishioners, and the incredible beauty of the music, is the fact that since the Mass is in Spanish, I cannot understand one word of the sermon! What a blessing!

Pope John XXIII: supreme shepherd who walked upfront

Good Pope John XXIII (b. 25 Nov. 1881 – d. 3 June 1963) was indeed a supreme shepherd who walked upfront, and the whole Church followed him with wonderful joy and enthusiasm. On the day of his `coronation,’ Nov. 4, 1958, he rose to give the homily. He remarked that everyone has his own idea of what the new pope should be. “For my part,” he said, “I have in mind the example of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve.” Then he went forth and shepherded us for five years – for five terribly short years! He died much too soon! And when he lay dying on June 3, 1963, the whole world was there kneeling at his bedside.

In that worldwide throng kneeling at John’s deathbed was Australian writer Morris L. West (1916-1999).[3] Though West was and always remained a Catholic, his various writings were often critical of the Church, and the Church wasn’t always pleased with him. However, he saw in good Pope John a shepherd who walked upfront, and that attracted sheep Morris West in a very special way. In a little volume entitled A View from the Ridge, written in his eightieth year, he writes,

I believe I can say with certainty that I remained in communion with the Church even when the Church itself excluded me, and I remain there still, principally because of the presence of John XXIII, the Good Shepherd, whom I never met, though I did meet his predecessor and his successor. Goodness went out from this man to me. I acknowledged it then. I acknowledge it again.

The Romans named him un Papa simpatico. And everyone wished he were younger, so that the imprint of his personality might be deeper on the corporate life of the Church and the common life of the world. We had had a surfeit of princes and politicians and theologians – even of conventional saints. We needed a man who spoke the language of the heart, who understood that the dialogue of God with man is carried on in terms far different from the semantics of professional philosophers. We had John too briefly.

Conclusion
Drawn by good shepherds

We are straying sheep who at times need directives, commands and admonitions from our Church’s shepherds. We are straying sheep who at times need to be driven. But we are also good sheep who are drawn by good shepherds like Untener, Gumbleton, Hunthausen, and good Pope John. They all walked upfront, and we the sheep ran enthusiastically after them.

[1] America magazine (Nov. 20, 1963)
[2] When Bishop Gumbleton petitioned Rome for permission to stay on as bishop beyond his 75th year, the canonical age for retirement (but which is often waived for a good reason) his petition was refused with e-mail speed.
[3] Among the many books he authored are The Devil’s Advocate and The Shoes of the Fisherman.