Have you ever wondered what it meant for "the shepherd to lay down his life for his sheep?" Why would he do that? They are only sheep? I heard it once said that, especially back in those very olden days, sheep were everything to a family of sheep-farmers. They meant survival for them. It was not unheard of, then, for a shepherd, while defending the flock from attack by wild animals – to end up dead himself – for the good of the rest of the family.
The gospel passage tells us today that the hireling – a non-family member – who was simply into shepherding for the money was not about to sacrifice himself for any sheep. There was not family oriented responsibility in it for him. He simply ran away and left the sheep to the wolves.
Jesus uses this powerful imagery of sheep farming not to illustrate how much we are like real sheep: dirty, smelly, unruly, always getting lost and being basically unintelligent – but rather to tell us about himself as SHEPERD of us his beloved flock of BEAUTIFUL BROTHERS AND SISTERS – whom he wants very much to be able to have all the benefits that were lost for us by our first parents in the Garden of Eden. He wants to forgive our sins; he wants to nourish us with his own self, spiritually; he wants to lead us by safe paths to the shores of everlasting life. He calls us each by name – and he would love it if we would follow after him!
Then he tells us that the manner in which this would be brought about would be for him to voluntarily lay down his life – at the moment planned from all eternity – and die on the Cross of Calvary; and then three days later voluntarily to take it back up again, in a newer fuller format: all of this in obedience to God the Father who was in charge of the whole thing, and still is in charge of everything.
What the Father and Jesus planned as well was that, with the Holy Spirit, they would empower men and women and even children to carry to others the Good News about all of these things that had happened; and that everyone was invited to join the new people of God called the Church. In this Church, all new members are called to carry the message to other possible new members. But the coordinators, preservers and ministers of the very special gift of the Sacramental System of the Church (his chosen method of dispensing grace and peace and strength), along with the official teachings of Jesus - would go to St. Peter, his fellow Apostle friends, and their successors and helpers throughout the ages, in an unbroken line of transmission – until as Jesus said: he comes again!
Today I celebrate the day on which, 34 years ago, I became one of those coordinators, preservers, administrators (of the second order) of the Sacramental System of the Catholic Church – I was ordained a priest at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Richmond, VA.* At that moment I became joined to Christ the Head of the Body; Christ the Vine which has branches; Christ the Shepherd who has sheep (faithfilled people of the Church) to take care of; Christ the Teacher who has much to share with those who want to know; and Christ the Priest – who prooves his friendship by becoming a piece of bread and then by dying on the Cross – and then made it so that I would have the supreme privilege of making that ordinary bread really him, by my (which are his) words as a priest, and the working of the Holy Spirit. Being a priest is an extraordinary thing – and I am humbled beyond belief every morning when I open my eyes to face another day in the pasture, in the vineyard, in the "classroom," at the altar! Pray, my dear branches, my dear sheep, my dear students and my dear fellow priestly-people of God for me and for vocations to the priesthood! God will never leave his flock untended – but he wants us to pray like it just might be!
Of course, vocation to the priesthood is only one way in which God calls his children to spend their lives for others. Marriage (between one man and one woman) and ensuing family life together is another. Sacramentally it is extremely beautiful in the way that marriage is a reflection of God's own love for all of his people. The way husband and wife and children all give to one another, and to the world-at-large, is the way the family of God the Father is meant to interact with one another – and the way we will interact one day, when we go to our Father's house in heaven to live forever.
The celibate, consecrated, religious life is also a very special way to spend one's days! It is said that experiencing the celibate life of a religious brother or sister or priest – if it is done according to the intent of the founder of the order – is like being in heaven already. The only thing is that you are still alive here on earth and do not yet have those seven attributes of the risen body that we talked about a couple of weeks ago.
The celibate non-consecrated person – those who simply live life in the single state – of any age – are also invited by God to live life fully in a relationship of Divine Friendship with him first, and loving service to others as proof of their love for him, secondly. Do all you do – in work and play for God and for your brothers and sisters in the human family – and you will be very happy!
Everyone is called by name to do something for someone else; everyone is called to give their all doing it; everyone is called to be JUST LIKE JESUS!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me! I have laid down my life for them! and now I live again – to be with them always to help them give themselves for one another!
No comments:
Post a Comment