Today, we hear from Jesus, the parable of 'The good shepherd'. We can imagine one of those sheepfolds in which the flocks of various shepherds are gathered together for the night under the vigilance of one caretaker. At dawn, each shepherd comes and calls his sheep and leads them out. This one caretaker is in fact the doorkeeper of the sheep pen; he regulates which shepherds bring and take which sheep. It is an indication of safety, trust, rest and comfort.

Without being overly attached, it is a term of endearment to give names to our pets or other domestic animals and call them by their names, so do the Eastern shepherds with their sheep. More so, when we do call people by name, it means we call them with utmost respect. In the Gospel, Jesus calls His 'disciples' by name: Simon Peter, Philip, Mary (of Magdala), Matthew; and at every encounter with them, it becomes a turning-point in the disciple's life.

And the shepherd customarily goes at the head of his sheep, and they follow him from pasture to pasture. Without a doubt, the shepherd and his sheep form an intimate relationship. The shepherd knows his sheep and they know him. What does that mean? Well, the shepherd only needs to give his distinctive call and his sheep will come out of the common sheepfold and follow him. Sheep are very sharp at identifying their shepherd's voice.