Parables involving sheep and shepherding

Often a homilist will have to explain something about the pastoral mindset of the people during Biblical times in order to understand parables or sayings about shepherding and sheep. Today this is called "understanding the cultural context."

In the time of Jesus Christ sheep belonging to different owners were often kept in a common corral or penned part of the field for protection while traveling, or overnight. The sheep would recognize the voice of their own shepherd and respond to his voice by leaving the group and congregating around him. This is what Jesus meant when he said the sheep know the shepherd's voice.

Today I'd like to caution you using this parable. Suppose the sheep are confiscated by a wrongful owner and taught to respond to a different voice. How long will the sheep remember the voice of their rightful shepherd? And more so, how long will the shepherd call for his sheep if they are penned in out of his voice range and under the control of another? The owner will tell the shepherd to save his breath and they will obtain new sheep.

This is something to ponder during this predicted time of many false prophets.