Coming back to an earlier post about Pope Francis’ exhortation to pastors to “smell like the sheep” -
A pastor smells like the sheep because he is out ‘in the midst’ of them. Involved. Gritty. Not retreating constantly to fulfil his desires for inner peace. Like a good parent, his flock comes first. They are not there to serve him. Although he does allow himself to be lifted up, encouraged, and fed by their love of God. He doesn’t run to a separate kosher kitchen for meals. Is it the smell of urine and incontinence? I suppose it’s whatever malfunction and distress his people face. Not to mention his own inconsistencies and failures. It’s a messy existence, yet one ordered by truth. Finally le bon pasteur smells like the sheep because he IS a sheep! There is but One shepherd. The pastor shares in the shepherd’s role but remains a sheep himself, otherwise his discipleship devolves into rule. The olfactory analogy can only go so far. It’s not meant to be a comforting picture but one that shakes up our usual notions. After all, sheep smell a good deal like shit, I imagine.
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