We are All Shepherds for One Another

Dear Friends:

This week we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday!  While the imagery can be somewhat lost on today’s believer, there was a good reason why the illustration of a shepherd with his sheep was used so often in biblical times ... it was an illustration people could easily identify within their cultural context.  Surely we can build on this biblical image and adapt it to our times taking into consideration our role in being shepherds to and for one another. 

Illustrations are most effective when they are understood easily by the culture in which we find ourselves and where God has sent us to minister.  Middle eastern cultures understood what shepherding was all about.  It was about feeding the lambs and the sheep, bringing them to good pasture lands and fresh water, grooming and clipping them, leading them and teaching them to stay together, going after the wandering lost ones, and protecting the sheep in the field and in the fold. 

By virtue of our baptism, we are all shepherds for one another, with Jesus Christ as our Good Shepherd.  We are invited first to be loved by the Good Shepherd and then challenged to share that love in caring for each other.

Feeding

A shepherd feeds his sheep.  Jesus feeds us with his Word and the Eucharist which gives us guidance and food for the journey.  As shepherds we too are called to feed the lambs and care for the sheep.  So many have not heard the Word of God nor partake of his Body and Blood.  Our word, example and invitation can inspire our brothers and sisters to be inspired and fed by the Lord. 

Watering

The shepherd gives the sheep fresh and pure water so that they may live.  In baptism we are configured to Christ. As shepherds, filled with the gifts of the Spirit, we are called to lead one another to water regularly.  So many have been baptized, but the water has dried up and the impact forgotten. Our fresh and living faith can refresh and restore the grace of baptism in others so that the light of God's written Word can shine through and be evidenced in prayer and living joyfully in the example of Jesus Christ.

Grooming

A shepherd grooms his sheep and keeps them clean and free of contamination from the bad things in the world.  Jesus tells us of his love and generous mercy.  As shepherds we are called to share this message of love and mercy with our friends and family.  Many feel unloved and alienated from our faith in Jesus and even from one another.  Sharing our story can welcome people back to Jesus, our source of love and mercy.

Shearing

At times sheep must be sheared.  This is a useful and profitable process for both the sheep and the shepherd.  This is an offering to the Good Shepherd.  For the benefit of all, the sheep must be sheared, disciplined, encouraged and rebuked.  At times we know we too have gone astray and are in need of shearing  to keep us fit for service to the Lord.

As shepherds we too can humbly correct, rebuke and encourage one another— but only with great patience and careful instruction. Our correction can never be judgmental and without compassion, but always attuned to truth and charity.

Leading and Teaching

The shepherd leads the sheep.  Jesus is the way that leads us to heaven.  As shepherds are also first to be aware of the distractions and pitfalls of the world.  We are called to lead by example and contribute to building up our community of faith and working to stay together in unity.

Wandering Sheep

True shepherds make an effort to look for wandering sheep. Jesus seeks those who are lost.  The Bible is clear that many people have and will continue to wander from the faith. As shepherds we need to help the return of the people who have wandered. 

Protection

The shepherd brings the flock home to the fold at night.  He then lays down in the gate physically to protect the sheep from wolves coming into the sheepfold.  He literally put his life on the line for the sheep.  Jesus does the same for us.  As we have seen his example, we are called to do the same, bringing one another into the fold, caring for each other and protecting each other.

Conclusion

The illustration of the Good Shepherd reminds us that we are called to be obedient to the Lord and shepherds in the body of Christ and that we must take that responsibility seriously.  We have all seen far too many who claim to be called to servant leadership but demonstrate clearly that they are not qualified to be shepherds according to God's criteria.  

This weekend’s readings remind us that just as we are the sheep of the Lord, we are also his shepherds. We need to be feeding the lambs and the sheep, bringing them to good pasture lands and water, grooming and clipping them, leading them and teaching them to stay together, going off after the wandering lost ones, and protecting the sheep in the field and in the fold.

It's surely the project of a lifetime, but given what the Lord has done for us what could ever be greater or more important?

Blessings!

RSM

Post-Covid Radical Rethinking

Recently, I was reading a reflection by San Diego Bishop, Robert McElroy, who wrote: 

"… in these days of pandemic and social distancing … I have been amazed by the energy, creativity, optimism and resilience that have emerged in the collaborative actions of priests, lay leadership, pastoral staffs, school communities and religious women and men. Faced with the searing deprivation of direct sacramental encounter and community necessitated by the demands of public health, the Catholic people are imagining dramatically new pathways of participation in the most important elements of the life of the church."

Clearly, these days are like no other I have ever seen in my lifetime, and there is no more such thing as business as usual. Further, as we move ahead, quickly approaching the apex of the virus in our part of the country (NY/NJ Metropolitan area), we will never be able to go back to ministry as we once knew it.  The impact on the ecclesiastical, emotional, financial and institutional aspects at every level will have to be re-evaluated and in many places re-constructed and/or replaced.

McElroy writes that:

"Parishes, schools, dioceses and social service agencies are attempting to carry out their missions in a vastly transformed culture in which we cannot wait for men and women of faith to come to us and our churches because it is impossible for anyone to come. Every single pattern of pastoral service, sacramental life and the proclamation of the Gospel has to be rethought and reconfigured in a radical manner."

At this point, I’m not sure exactly what that radical rethinking means, but it will surely involve:

1. Better and more timely communication with our people;

2. Utilizing more creative resources for sacramental and other instruction;

3. A deeper, more inclusive, and collaborative sense of mutual responsibility and accountability for all aspects of our Church;

4. Letting go practices and models that have not worked for a long time now.

5. Ministering to those most severely affected by the pandemic.

These days have afforded me the opportunity to share thoughts, ideas and anxieties with brother priests across the country.  A growing number share the opinion that many people will not return for different reasons, and those that do will have a heightened sense of expectation, one that looks at and lives more closely to Gospel values.  

Perhaps as we all have some more “at home” time these days, we can begin that process of creative thinking so that as a Church, we will be ready to continue to spread the Good News of Jesus to a post-corona world in ways that are effective, transformative and life-giving.

Blessings!

RSM

The Lord Walks With Us Always, Even If We Don't Recognize Him

Dear Friends:

Today the Word of God tells us that on the day Jesus rose from the dead, two discouraged followers were walking to Emmaus, a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. Along the road, they talked to each other about the death of Jesus. As they discussed what happened, Jesus caught up and walked with them - but the passage tells us that the two didn't recognize him. I have no doubt that given all we have been through in these last two months, walking on our road of life has been very difficult.  We have seen panic, anxiety and stress.  We have seen homeless, jobless, and hopeless.  We have seen sickness, sadness and even death. But in all this, have we seen the Lord? Some may ask, but how do we recognize the Lord - especially in the midst of all this bad stuff going on all around us? Historically, God showed himself in stages. First, he showed goodness through creation. Then, he showed his patience in his covenant with Noah after the flood. Then he chose a people of his own through Abraham and his descendants. Then he showed his people his will through the Law that he gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. And then he drew his people back to himself in the voices and challenges of the prophets. But, in the end, God wanted to show everyone himself. He did that in Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God born into the world. When we see Jesus, who he was and what he did, we see God. In Jesus, we see God alive and working.

I'm betting that just like those ancient disciples who were walking on the road with the Lord and did not recognize him, so too recently on our road, the Lord has been walking with us and we have not recognized him either.  If we look just a bit more closely, perhaps we might have seen him in the FaceTime with a friend, or the calming message from a relative, or email that reminded us that we are not alone. Perhaps we have seen him in the care and safety offered in shelters, or the outreach for a new job opportunity, or the simple prayers of our children. 

Perhaps we have seen him in the heroic work of nurses and doctors and all healthcare workers, or the smile of the grocery store clerk or the postal worker, or the comforting words of the priest livestream or at the moment of death.

Even in these days, we are reminded that God made us to seek him for our happiness and peace. When we see Jesus, we find God. And we can see Jesus in the words and actions of his followers today - those countless men and women who are here with us, offering us hope and consolation at every step of our road.  

On that road to Emmaus, they all walked together. And Jesus told them what the Bible said about him dying and rising from the dead. At the urging of the men, Jesus stayed and went inside with them. When they sat down to dinner, Jesus took some bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the two men. Now, they could recognize Jesus!  Perhaps today, despite some who may believe that the Lord has gone on without us, let's invite him, into our home, into our prayer, into the lessons with our children, into our work, into the deepest parts of our lives ... for then and only then will our hearts be burning with his love and his joy, and then, nothing else will matter. Peace! RSM