By Olivia Obijiaku
The Associate Parish Priest of Good Shepherd Parish, Graceland Zaria, Rev Fr Adams Kumbo has reminded priests and pastors of their primary responsibility of ensuring total wellbeing of the sheep under their care. He took this stand in the parish on Good Shepherd Sunday, 21st April 2024.
Kicking against the manner in which some of them have derailed from their calling, the priest attributed some attacks on priests and priests to the way some of them live their lives.
He expressed, “We are supposed to be spiritual leaders who prepare themselves by living a life of prayer and holiness so as to direct the sheep. Unfortunately, some of us are not accountable spiritually. Some of us are now into business more than other businessmen and women.
We are after the material things of this world. We have abandoned our calling. In the teaching of the Church, a priest is supposed to intercede on behalf of his people.Sometimes, those driving flashy cars are pastors and priests. And this why every sheep in Nigeria wants to become a shepherd because they see they type of life the shepherds are living.
Instead of being at the frontline, they are pushing the sheep at the frontline and they will be at the back, enjoying. We must be very careful as sheep as regards the kind of shepherd that we associate with.People should be able to come to us with their troubles. People should be able to seek counsel from us.
However, when we look at our relationship with our people, we notice that when people are going through difficult times, when they are going through challenges, they find it difficult to share with us because there is that break of trust between the sheep and the shepherd.
Some of us are not accountable to the sheep towards what they do for the development of the Church.So today Christ is telling us to learn from Him. We must learn to be accessible, we must be available; we must learn to be approachable, so that our sheep will seek counsel from us. We must learn to be accountable.
It is quite unfortunate that it is this kind of shepherd that we quickly associate ourselves with. In our own myopic thinking we think that they are the most effective shepherd.
We must look at how the shepherd is living his life.
However, being a good shepherd does not mean that they are without mistakes. But the shepherd should be quick to acknowledge his fault and make a change. It is also our responsibility as sheep to hold our shepherds accountable if they is not living up to standard.
But some of us are among those bringing about their downfall. As the flock of Christ, we must be ready to listen to the voice of the shepherd. Following the shepherd will not always be easy but it will always be profitable if we follow the Good Shepherd with the right disposition.”
Fr Kumbo quoted Pope Francis who said that, ‘A shepherd must smell like the sheep,’ and maintained that shepherds who drink clean water while their sheep are finding it difficult to get same are not living up to expectations. He charged them to provide for their sheep before they think of themselves.
