"The Shepherd and guardian of your souls"
The Word for Sunday: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/051114.cfm
Acts 2:14a, 3
1 Peter 2:20b-25
John 10:1-10
This
Sunday we are presented with an image of Jesus that was also very familiar to
the earliest of Christians: Jesus as a Shepherd. Jesus is not pictured as an
ordinary shepherd, he is depicted as a shepherd who cares so much about the
sheep in his flock that as St. Peter tells us in the second reading: “Christ
also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow.” This
shepherd is humble and self-sacrificing. It’s an image that is gentle and
secure.
Jesus
himself in the Gospel says: “I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved . . . and find pasture.” The sheep are more than just defenseless
animals – they are of deep concern, every one, to the shepherd that none would
be lost or harmed. So
this is not an ordinary but an exceptional shepherd who cares more about the
sheep than he does about his own safety or reputation. For the early Christians, in the midst of a
hostile pagan culture, to imagine Jesus as a noble or good shepherd was to have
the confidence that his voice, the Way of Jesus, would protect and lead them to
safety.
But
how many daily “voices” constantly grab our attention these days? Shepherds are not exactly among the top ten
careers college graduates would look to find secure employment and a good
salary. Other voices are in competition. For all the advantages and human
progress these days, the deeper spiritual and moral needs of our lives remain
challenged by conflicting voices.
Television,
personal responsibilities, cell phones, computers, children, spouses,
parishioners, the Church, the constant barrage of media and news reports,
movies, the normal sounds around us of daily living, and a host of more that
constantly cry out for our attention. As
a people of faith, called to holiness of life, we struggle above all this present
day constant din to hear the voice of God. We may often feel like sheep that
are more confused and overwhelmed than confident in where we’re going.
However,
the image of Jesus as the self-sacrificing shepherd is one that we should pay
attention to. The Way that Jesus shows
us isn’t simply a direction to go but a place to go to. He provides
satisfaction for the deeper needs of human living. For the morally confused,
the spiritually lost, or those who feel empty in spirit, the voice of the
Shepherd cries out.
The
Pew Forum on Religious Life recently
reported that a third of American adults under the age of 30 have no religious
affiliation whatsoever — less religious involvement than either their parents
or their grandparents. What voices have pulled them away or deafened their
religious sense? Whose voice must we speak with?
The
Gospel speaks of the “sheepfold” and the “gatekeeper” (Jesus) in whose voice we
can have confidence that if we listen to Him, we will be lead to a place of
safety. The Church is that place of
safety because here we encounter the noble Shepherd in both word and sacrament.
Our lives are meant to be a response to a living encounter with Jesus Christ,
who invites his sheep to live well.
Pope
Francis reminds us: “We Christians were
not chosen by the Lord for small things; push onwards toward the highest
principles. Stake your lives on noble
ideals.” Where do we find those “noble ideals” best taught? By the Shepherd himself whose voice is
recognized in word and sacrament and through good shepherds. While the
sinfulness of God’s people remains, the Church itself is made holy by its true
Shepherd.
We
sheep, taught by our Shepherd, have work to do. To see the Church as a living
encounter with the risen Christ is shown primarily, then, though the lives of
those who have found a faith home in the living community of the Church. If we sheep truly live the Gospel in a way that
is attractive to others, then we “get it.”
Our
friendship with Jesus Christ can grow if we see our faith not as only a set of
obligations but as an encounter with a living person. It’s all about the
Shepherd and his Gospel way of living. Pope Francis reminds us there should be
joy in the Christian way of life.
To
keep alive his life in us by daily prayer, by embracing the Gospel as a rule of
life and not just as a piece of ancient literature. By being open to receive grace in the
sacramental encounter with the risen Christ who desires that we be forgiven,
healed, united, fed, and made holy through his Spirit as gift.
So,
each of us has a purpose and a task to perform.
Each in our particular way of being Christian as married, single,
ordained. When we encounter others, what
kind of Christ do they see in us? If we
invite the sheep who are lost or have at least wandered away, what will they
find if they return? The face of Jesus
Christ in the community of his believers?
When
we sheep come together in Eucharist there we stand in the real presence of
the risen living Christ through Word and Sacrament and the faith of our brothers and sisters.
As we receive him, open to his grace and his voice in our hearts, who do
we take with us when we go out to those around us? Does the Shepherd come with us or do we leave
him in the walls of the Church?
Almighty and ever-living God
lead us to a share in the joys of heaven,
so that the humble flock may reach
where the brave Shepherd has gone before.
(Collect for Sunday)
No comments:
Post a Comment