In these words from the prophet Jeremiah, God promises his people that he will never leave them without shepherds to gather them together and guide them: ‘I will set shepherds over them [my sheep] who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed’ (Jer. 23.4).
The Church, the People of God, constantly experiences the reality of this prophetic message and continues joyfully to thank God for it”.
These words are not mine. They belong to St John Paul II. They open an Apostolic Exhortation written in 1992 on the formation of priests. By then, Fr Mafola had been a priest for 17 years but certainly marked his journey!
I will give you shepherds after my own heart.
Simple words of a very deep nature. Deep because – even though they are taken from the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament – they call us to look at God’s heart revealed in Jesus.
I always like to remember and remind others about Paul’s words to the Colossians (interesting enough we will be reading them tomorrow in the second reading) when he says that Jesus is “the visible image of the invisible God”(1:15). It is only by looking at Jesus that we are able to come to know the heart of God. It is only by looking at Jesus that we are able to grasp a little bit into the heart of God.
It is a journey. It does not happen overnight. Paul, again, writing to the Ephesians prays they come to know the love of Christ, which is beyond knowledge (3:19). It seems a contradiction (coming to know what is beyond knowledge) but he makes them and us aware that knowing the love of God is a journey that takes all our lives. It is so for every priest.
It is not a matter of studies but of deep friendship with Jesus. The intellectual formation of our seminarians and priests is very important for us in our diocese but degrees without an intimate friendship with Jesus might make us – priests and bishops – professionals in religious matters but not priests according to God’s heart.
In fact, you – the people we serve – want much more than someone who is able to celebrate Mass, pray for the sick and give absolution when celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation.
- You want to see in that priest that he is able to give up his life as Jesus did every time he says: “take and eat, this is my body given for you”. You want to experience that the priest is offering himself as food for you in every celebration of the Mass;
- You want to experience Jesus’ touch like those in the Gospel every time you ask for a prayer in your sickness. You want to be touched by Jesus through him;
- You want to hear and experience Jesus telling you, “has no one condemned you, nor do I”, “your sins are forgiven” every time you celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation.
All this is only possible when priests grow in an intimate friendship with the One who called them, when they grow in an intimate friendship with Jesus.
Jeremiah’s words are deep because behind them is a God who is crying about heartless shepherds. St John Paul II, in those very first lines quotes both Jeremiah 3 and Jeremiah 23 where God says about the shepherds:
You have scattered my flock, you have driven them away and have not taken care of them… For them I shall raise up shepherds to shepherd them and pasture them. No fear, no terror for them any more, not one shall be lost (23:1-4)
Imagine! Shepherds bringing fear, scattering the sheep, not feeding them… but that is why God says: "I will give you shepherds after my own heart".
A shepherd after God’s own heart is always filled with mercy. It cannot be otherwise. The call we receive humble us. Pope Francis used to say: "I am a sinner whom the Lord looked upon with mercy" and this is what Paul also says in the second reading: “Mercy was shown to me”.
The passage of the miracle of the loaves has always been a point of reference to me; particularly that moment when Andrew – one of the apostles – say: “Here is a small boy with five barley loaves and two fish... but what is that among so many?”. I love that moment. Though he feels five barley loaves and two fish is “nothing” in front of a hungry multitude, he still tells Jesus about it.
Priests are called and sent to bring good news to the poor, called to become food for hungry multitude, hungry of God’s love, mercy, presence, healing, forgiveness... and we say: “I am no better than anyone and what is my life for so many?”
In each priest the experience of mercy and the miracle of the loaves are constantly repeated. It is just one life but in the hands of Jesus, that life is able to feed a multitude. It is something that we ourselves cannot explain.
Every priest then trusts in the promise of the Lord: “I am with you always” and puts his life in Jesus’ hands so that the little we have to offer can become satisfy the hunger of a multitude.
Fr Mafola has been doing so for over 50 years because the journey begins even before going to the seminary and we pray today that God bless him with many more years of deep friendship with Jesus and generous service to his people.
Readings
- Jeremiah 3: 14 – 17
- 1 Tim 1: 12 – 17
- John 6: 1 – 15
