Last week was Good Shepherd Sunday. Just as Jesus invites us to trust in him, the One, True and Authentic Good Shepherd, he also asks us to trust in the shepherds he places over us. Today Jesus restates the idea using the concept of himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life.
The shepherd leads the flock along the right path – Jesus is the path;
the shepherd speaks words of truth to the sheep both in season and out of season – Jesus is the truth spoken; the shepherd provides life, food, nourishment for the sheep – Jesus provides eternal life for those who believe in him.
In the administration of the flock Jesus chose men to succeed Peter and the Apostles: these are the Pope and the bishops who have come down to us to the present day. They are Jesus' best friends and trusted co-workers. Priests of the second order help them in their work. Today in our first reading we see that to give the priests the opportunity to have more time to spend in prayer and in ministering the word of God, the first deacons were chosen and ordained by the apostles in a ministry of service: direct service to the bishop, and secondarily to the helper priests. This holy order has always been a part of Church history from that very day.
It is interesting to note the emphasis that the early priests of the Church made concerning their ministry: knowing that prayer was indispensible to their own holiness as shepherd/leaders – and also prayer on behalf of the Church of God was an essential part of their job. Ministering the word, as they had been mandated by Christ to do: to preach – teach – and baptize all nations – was then and ought to be today a priority for any and every bishop and priest in the Church. And any way deacons and other lay ministers can help them do their jobs effectively and joyfully ought to be appreciated and employed.
Before Christians can continue on their life-long journey of practicing more deeply their faith, and growing in holiness each and every day – and before those outside the faith can have any inkling of wanting to investigate the possibility of joining the ranks of Christians: they first have to hear the Gospel – hear the life, teachings and salvific events of the life of Jesus and the formation of the Church for our spiritual welfare until the end of time! Faith, then, follows upon proclamation of this Good News – using the intellect to stir the soul into a desire to make a leap into the amazing unknown of the mystery of God – which can transform one's life – now and forever! Faith is a gift from God the Father – and it is a gift he offers everyone – all it takes is a simple response, for which we all can pray for our selves, or for others.
Because of our baptism into Christ we can come to him – a living stone like he himself is – and become part of the spiritual edifice which is the Church – where we with him can make spiritual offerings to God the Father, through him who made the one, ultimate physical sacrifice in his own blood, once and for all of us! This is an amazing thing. We are all part of the priesthood of Christ because of our baptism. And each of us carries out that priesthood in a special way, unique to our vocation in life – whether as a layperson, a deacon, a priest or a bishop.
The Lord is our Shepherd, and he wants to provide for all our needs! May we this day continue to trust him to keep his promise of giving us life in abundance – both here, and hereafter!
Amen.
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