Weekly Reflection 072306AD

Sunday July 23, 2006AD

15^th Sunday in Greentime

7^th Sunday after Pentecost

How the Shepherd Leads Us

Psalm 23, our responsorial psalm today, reveals one of the most beloved of all images of Jesus. This imagery has appealed to believers from the beginning. Even in the catacombs in ancient Rome, Jesus was depicted as a beardless youth tending sheep.

Avery Cardinal Dulles wrote that the image of Church as the “little flock of the Good Shepherd” was particularly strong among Catholics in the USA. Jesus leads us and we hear His Voice as individuals as well as a flock. We are called to relationship with Him and with each other. Do we respond?

However, whence does He lead us and where are we going? We live in a world in which we understand that something is not right. It is a world of secularity. The Transcendent is out the window. It is a world of individualism. The monadic notion of the self leaves out the basic fact that humans are social animals. It is a world of consumerism. We measure a person’s value by what one has, rather than what one is. It is a world of pragmatism. We use practicality as a criterion for human relationships.

The Good Shepherd can lead us out of this dark valley. He offers us an alternate worldview which He names as the Kingdom of God. The prevalent view of reality that we accept is called “conventional wisdom” and nice people live by conventional wisdom all the time. Don’t we all? The Good Shepherd tells us not to forget the Centrality of the Transcendent. We go 100 mph, but the Mystery of God tells us that it is wise to slow down to recall that life is not about speed or success.

When do we have sufficient time to experience cosmic awe?

The Good Shepherd tells us how we got into the dark valley. Nice people have bought into the Original Lie, viz., “you really don’t need God to live an authentic life!” The Good Shepherd tells us not to buy the “Original Lie”. He remind all Catholics, “God always comes first” even when conventional wisdom and the “Original Lie” says no. Trust the Good Shepherd.

Finally, the Good Shepherd leads us out of the dark valley. He tries to correct the faulty notion of the “Original Lie” that you (not God) can actually control reality. We live in a middle class environment in which we are able to control much of our lives. In fact, some spend their lives trying to control that reality. You can try, but don’t expect complete success or complete happiness. The inexorable Wheel of Life spins and some spend their lives trying to control its spin. However, it is a loving God Who spins the Wheel, not you. We all learn that sooner or later. The Good Shepherd calls it the Paschal Mystery. We all experience death and Resurrection as part of the destiny that a loving God has created for all reality. Try to fight it, but ultimately, you won’t succeed.

The Good Shepherd invites us not only to worship Him, but to follow Him. He enables us how to bear the unavoidable pains of life. He enables us to make a leap of faith with Him. He enables us to surrender, let go and trust the Holy Mystery that we call God. Christ Jesus has experienced the Paschal Mystery of death and Resurrection and He leads us along the path through the dark valley to arrive at the “House of the Lord (YHWH - the God of Life) where we will dwell forever.”

Along the path, the Good Shepherd enables us to live, to die and to live forever, with, in and through Him. Do Armonk Catholics have time for that? Will the children learn to have time for it as well? 072306AD jfq