Who's Your Shepherd?

The Catholic Liturgy for the 16^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 22, 2018. Gospel: Mark 6:30-34. Theme: Who’s Your Shepherd?

It’s pretty basic fact of nature that sheep are among the most dependent of livestock. They are quite vulnerable without a shepherd and become easy prey for their enemies such as wolves and thieves. They are trained to recognize the voice of their own shepherd, so when others call after them they can become bewildered, confused and wander.  St. Mark’s Gospel describes the crowds of people who thronged to Jesus as being like those sheep, of being “shepherdless”. They were without leadership in many ways, political and religious.  

That’s why today’s Gospel says about Jesus that “…his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” And the teachings of Jesus were simple and to the point; demanding, yes, but not oppressive. They brought freedom of heart and joy of spirit.

In today’s world, we also have social, political and even religious leaders who do not care about our ultimate well-being in mind, body and soul. Through the means of highly developed technology, with all its glitz and glamour and lots of fake news and advertising skills, we can so easily become used and confused by them, like those sheep without a shepherd.  We might think we are smart enough to recognize the fake voices of these false shepherds, but it’s not so easy, considering that we have been hearing their message for years as it is daily pumped into homes, our cars, our schools, our ears, our heads. These false shepherds promote their carefully crafted politically correct propaganda without any concern or regard for us as individuals or as human beings:

·       Celebrities and media that constantly shove before our faces cosmetically-or digitally enhanced “beautiful people” as the ideal picture-perfect humans.

·       Manufacturers who spend billions of dollars to convince us that we will be so much happier if we are always buying the newest, or the biggest, or the best.

·       Schools and sports teams that guilt parents into overloading their children with activities, robbing them of the chance to enjoy just being kids, and of the family its precious opportunities to enjoy quality time together.

·       Cultural and social agendas that try and convince us that the human race has been confused and wrong about gender, marriage and family for thousands of years.

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      So many false voices…so many fake shepherds.

Today’s Gospel places before us an important question that each one of us needs to truly ponder and honestly ask ourselves. Who is my shepherd? That is, who is that I listen to, admire and follow? Who do I look to as a pattern for the way I want to shape and live my life? Whose example and words do I take as my own to give meaning and intention to my life?  For those who call themselves Christian, the answer must be Jesus Christ. If it is not, if we seek our primary inspiration and guidance from anyone or anything else, then we need to find a different name for ourselves.

And if we are going to take ownership of the name of Christian, then we must learn to make time every day to spend with Jesus and expose our minds and hearts to His word. There is no other way to remain unscathed by the false shepherds who want to scatter the flock.  

And so Jesus teaches us…

·       He teaches us to pray and build a personal relationship with Him.

·       He teaches us to trust in Him and his plan for our lives.

·       He teaches us to encounter Him in the Gospels so that we can learn to recognize His voice, be inspired by His example, and live His words.

·   He teaches us to come to Him really personally present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist so that He can live with us and within us.

·       He teaches us to come to his Sacred Heart, which is moved to the very depths of His gut with love for us, and there we will always find serenity and peace in the midst of so many false promises and so much fake news.