*HOMILY FOR JULY 24 2020 FRIDAY OF THE SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II*
Jeremiah 3: 14-17; Jeremiah 31: 10, 11-12abcd, 13; Matthew 13: 18-23
*RETURN, REBELLIOUS CHILDREN, SAYS THE LORD*
Why must I return to the Lord, and why must you return to the Lord? The Lord God says, that we should return to him, because he is our master, and he will bring us to Zion (Jeremiah 3:14). Hebrews 12:22-23 tells us that Mount Zion is the City of the Living God, where Angels minister day and night, a place where we are First born of the Lord God. Again, we must return because the Lord God will appoint over us shepherds after his own heart, who will shepherd us wisely and prudently. Jeremiah 31:10d says that The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock. Yes, the LORD shall ransom us, and redeem us from the hands of our conquerors.
In the First Reading, Jeremiah speaks the Word of the Lord in which God promises to send Good shepherds to tend to the flock of Israel. Jeremiah speaks to the people about a time when the old way of people relating to God will be changed. Instead of a relationship based on temple worship and God’s presence in the Ark of the Covenant, there will be a new relationship – more personal – when God will relate to the people like a shepherd tending the flock. And hopefully, also, the people will relate in a more intimate way, just as sheep follow and listen to the voice of the shepherd.
This theme is echoed in the Responsorial. There we hear that God will take care of Israel just as a shepherd protects his sheep. The Responsorial today is not a psalm but rather another section from book of Jeremiah in which the prophet speaks about God’s bringing together the scattered people of Israel just as a shepherd herds the flock. And just as the shepherd is willing to protect and guard the flock, so God will safeguard the people who listen to the voice of the Lord.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains the parable of the seed which falls on different types of ground. The Gospel reminds us that the Word of God, which is the seeds, can produce more fruit when they fall on the fertile soil which provides the place in which the Word (the seed) can multiply and grow. God’s Word will take effect when those who hear it are prepared and anxious to have the Word give life and meaning.
Dear Sisters and Brothers, the imagery of a shepherd, although very common in scripture, is not as powerful a concept for us in the twenty-first century. We tend to miss some of the subtleties of the role between the shepherd and the sheep. Although those who are involved in church life use a term which means shepherd (or its related activity), we fail to really understand some of the finer points of shepherding. We call a church leader “pastor” (which means “shepherd”) and say that the work in the church is to be “pastoral” or relating to shepherding. Yet we often fail to appreciate the important relation between the shepherd and the sheep. Shepherds, whose livelihoods depended on the care of the sheep, had a personal relationship with the sheep. They often would spend endless hours alone with the animals. The shepherd would talk to the sheep and the sheep recognized the voice of the shepherd. The shepherd was willing to do anything to protect the sheep and lead them to green pasture where they could graze without fear.
The job of shepherding God’s flock is not limited to those who are called by the Latin name for shepherd (pastor). All of us are entrusted with different parts of God’s flock at different times in our lives. And all of us are under the care of other shepherds who are called to lead us. One of the key points of the link between shepherds and sheep is the personal relationship that exists between the sheep and the shepherd. They have a bond between them. They recognize each other and their dependence on each other.
So what does all of this have to do with my daily life? Am I going to give up the classroom and move out into the country and take care of sheep? No. I have a two-fold reaction. First, as a member of the flock, I must be willing to listen to the One True Good Shepherd and to those other shepherds who have been place over me. I must be willing to place authentic trust in those who are called to care for and protect me. I must be willing to follow the lead of those who have been given authority in my life. Yes, I must be obedient to the Good shepherding, and also conscious of those who may be bad shepherds, hirelings who are not interested in the care of the sheep, but only in their own gains. Second, I must also realize the responsibility I have to care for those who been entrusted to my care. I must be willing to do whatever I can to lead them to safe grounds where they feel secure. In both cases, the shepherd’s crook may be necessary. Those in authority (both those over me and myself when caring for others) must sometimes prod the “sheep” in the right direction, and hook and pull back those straying away. The key thing is to develop a personal relationship of caring. If I have failed in any of these options, I have to return to the Lord God. The two adverbs used by Jeremiah in describing the shepherd relationship are important: wisely and prudently. The shepherding bond is not something entered into casually or unintentionally. It is something which takes my conscientious decision and full attention, whether I am a sheep or a shepherd. I must want to be in that caring relationship. I must be committed to it. If we can have that attitude (whether we are shepherding or being shepherded), it will lead to the day when all mourning will turn into joy and all peoples will dance and make merry, for we will together be in God’s house, for ever and ever. Today is free for you, tomorrow may be too late. Let us return to the Lord God.
*MEDITATION* How do I feel when I think about the biblical image of sheep and shepherd? In my role as a member of the flock, do I obediently trust those who are authentically living out their calling to shepherd God’s flock? Do I pray for those who are in roles of leadership over me? In my role in helping to shepherd the flock God has entrusted to me, do I seek the good of the flock over my own desires? Do I look to the Good Shepherd as my role model in caring for those for whom I am called to serve? How can I help others be both the shepherded ones and the shepherding ones? Do I see the need to return to the Lord God?
*PRAYER* I need your grace Lord God, in the life, to accomplish what you want me to do. I ask for guidance for those of us who are given the privilege of taking care of some of Your sheep (in our family or at our work or in our faith community). May we continue to develop an authentic, positive, and Christ-like relationship between the shepherds and the sheep, so that we can together arrive safely at Your home where there will be an abundance of joy. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen
© Rev Utazi Prince Marie Benignus SFDPM
Jeremiah 3: 14-17; Jeremiah 31: 10, 11-12abcd, 13; Matthew 13: 18-23
*RETURN, REBELLIOUS CHILDREN, SAYS THE LORD*
Why must I return to the Lord, and why must you return to the Lord? The Lord God says, that we should return to him, because he is our master, and he will bring us to Zion (Jeremiah 3:14). Hebrews 12:22-23 tells us that Mount Zion is the City of the Living God, where Angels minister day and night, a place where we are First born of the Lord God. Again, we must return because the Lord God will appoint over us shepherds after his own heart, who will shepherd us wisely and prudently. Jeremiah 31:10d says that The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock. Yes, the LORD shall ransom us, and redeem us from the hands of our conquerors.
In the First Reading, Jeremiah speaks the Word of the Lord in which God promises to send Good shepherds to tend to the flock of Israel. Jeremiah speaks to the people about a time when the old way of people relating to God will be changed. Instead of a relationship based on temple worship and God’s presence in the Ark of the Covenant, there will be a new relationship – more personal – when God will relate to the people like a shepherd tending the flock. And hopefully, also, the people will relate in a more intimate way, just as sheep follow and listen to the voice of the shepherd.
This theme is echoed in the Responsorial. There we hear that God will take care of Israel just as a shepherd protects his sheep. The Responsorial today is not a psalm but rather another section from book of Jeremiah in which the prophet speaks about God’s bringing together the scattered people of Israel just as a shepherd herds the flock. And just as the shepherd is willing to protect and guard the flock, so God will safeguard the people who listen to the voice of the Lord.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains the parable of the seed which falls on different types of ground. The Gospel reminds us that the Word of God, which is the seeds, can produce more fruit when they fall on the fertile soil which provides the place in which the Word (the seed) can multiply and grow. God’s Word will take effect when those who hear it are prepared and anxious to have the Word give life and meaning.
Dear Sisters and Brothers, the imagery of a shepherd, although very common in scripture, is not as powerful a concept for us in the twenty-first century. We tend to miss some of the subtleties of the role between the shepherd and the sheep. Although those who are involved in church life use a term which means shepherd (or its related activity), we fail to really understand some of the finer points of shepherding. We call a church leader “pastor” (which means “shepherd”) and say that the work in the church is to be “pastoral” or relating to shepherding. Yet we often fail to appreciate the important relation between the shepherd and the sheep. Shepherds, whose livelihoods depended on the care of the sheep, had a personal relationship with the sheep. They often would spend endless hours alone with the animals. The shepherd would talk to the sheep and the sheep recognized the voice of the shepherd. The shepherd was willing to do anything to protect the sheep and lead them to green pasture where they could graze without fear.
The job of shepherding God’s flock is not limited to those who are called by the Latin name for shepherd (pastor). All of us are entrusted with different parts of God’s flock at different times in our lives. And all of us are under the care of other shepherds who are called to lead us. One of the key points of the link between shepherds and sheep is the personal relationship that exists between the sheep and the shepherd. They have a bond between them. They recognize each other and their dependence on each other.
So what does all of this have to do with my daily life? Am I going to give up the classroom and move out into the country and take care of sheep? No. I have a two-fold reaction. First, as a member of the flock, I must be willing to listen to the One True Good Shepherd and to those other shepherds who have been place over me. I must be willing to place authentic trust in those who are called to care for and protect me. I must be willing to follow the lead of those who have been given authority in my life. Yes, I must be obedient to the Good shepherding, and also conscious of those who may be bad shepherds, hirelings who are not interested in the care of the sheep, but only in their own gains. Second, I must also realize the responsibility I have to care for those who been entrusted to my care. I must be willing to do whatever I can to lead them to safe grounds where they feel secure. In both cases, the shepherd’s crook may be necessary. Those in authority (both those over me and myself when caring for others) must sometimes prod the “sheep” in the right direction, and hook and pull back those straying away. The key thing is to develop a personal relationship of caring. If I have failed in any of these options, I have to return to the Lord God. The two adverbs used by Jeremiah in describing the shepherd relationship are important: wisely and prudently. The shepherding bond is not something entered into casually or unintentionally. It is something which takes my conscientious decision and full attention, whether I am a sheep or a shepherd. I must want to be in that caring relationship. I must be committed to it. If we can have that attitude (whether we are shepherding or being shepherded), it will lead to the day when all mourning will turn into joy and all peoples will dance and make merry, for we will together be in God’s house, for ever and ever. Today is free for you, tomorrow may be too late. Let us return to the Lord God.
*MEDITATION* How do I feel when I think about the biblical image of sheep and shepherd? In my role as a member of the flock, do I obediently trust those who are authentically living out their calling to shepherd God’s flock? Do I pray for those who are in roles of leadership over me? In my role in helping to shepherd the flock God has entrusted to me, do I seek the good of the flock over my own desires? Do I look to the Good Shepherd as my role model in caring for those for whom I am called to serve? How can I help others be both the shepherded ones and the shepherding ones? Do I see the need to return to the Lord God?
*PRAYER* I need your grace Lord God, in the life, to accomplish what you want me to do. I ask for guidance for those of us who are given the privilege of taking care of some of Your sheep (in our family or at our work or in our faith community). May we continue to develop an authentic, positive, and Christ-like relationship between the shepherds and the sheep, so that we can together arrive safely at Your home where there will be an abundance of joy. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen
© Rev Utazi Prince Marie Benignus SFDPM
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