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The Good Shepherd |
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Written by Msgr. David Ratermann
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Sunday, 19 July 2009 |
Msgr. Ratermann is a founder of the Latin America Apostolate, and served in Bolivia from 1956 to 2008.
 Jeremiah 23:1-16: “Woe to the shepherds who scatter my sheep. I myself will gather them.”
Ephesians 2:13-18: "Christ is our shepherd who made both groups one, i.e., Jews and Gentiles."
Mark 6:30-34: “They are like sheep without a shepherd”, says Jesus, the Lord.
Remember the 10 Commandments? They are written in the book of Exodus, chapter 20, where God says: “You shall have no gods except me. You shall not make yourself a carved image or likeness of anything in heaven, here on earth, or in the waters under the earth!” Jesus is the living image of God and so it was that in the early church, the faithful began to make images not of any other thing but only of Jesus. Among the first images that they made of Christ Jesus – the Good Shepherd – was most popular.
Today’s first reading from the prophet Jeremiah says: “Woe to the shepherds who scatter my sheep. I myself will gather them.” And that is exactly what God did when He sent Jesus into the world. As the second reading puts it: Christ is our peace who made us all into one flock, one fold, one family – Jews and Gentiles, that is, every race of people that ever walked or will walk the face of the earth.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus looks at the people who seek him, who literally “run after him” and he says: “They are like sheep without a shepherd.” And he begins to teach them, to gather them into one flock. Then he sends the disciples out to continue that same mission. First the 12 apostles; then the 72 disciples; then the 72 hundred thousand million… in other words, ourselves and all who become his followers. That’s why we were baptized: to become more authentically Jesus’ followers and shepherds.
We are all shepherds. We are sheep and shepherds at the same time. So also is Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd and the paschal Lamb. Our vocation: gather all people into one community. Is it possible? Perfectly? No! But really and authentically… Yes! It becomes our never-ending task. It starts at the level of the family and it continues in ever widening circles that are destined to include the whole human race. Mothers and fathers are the first shepherds… of their children, and then children shepherd their mothers and fathers… and then parents and their children become shepherds of the extended family and of the larger community, that is, of the whole world.
It’s the reason why I became a priest. It’s also the reason why, well over fifty years ago, Archbishop Ritter sent me and many other brother priests plus many sisters and lay people to work in Bolivia. A half century of my life was dedicated to that task in Bolivia and now in my old age I have the privilege of sharing with the folks back home here in St. Louis all the blessings which, thanks to your support here in the home church, I received in Bolivia from being on mission to and with the Bolivian people.
I learned a lot from those people. Let me give you just two examples:
1. When a little child comes home from school, he or she is taught to go to every person in the family, everyone in the house, greet them and give them a kiss. This is a way of recognizing how important each person is before God. Each one of you, of us, is precious in the eyes of God. And little kids learn that almost without conscious awareness that they are learning it.
2. The people there also have a great respect, even veneration, for all of nature. They know that they depend upon Mother Earth. Before plowing the ground with a yoke of oxen or a shovel/spade in order to plant potatoes, they ask permission and forgiveness of Mother Earth because they have great respect and veneration for God’s Creation. When they bring in the harvest of potatoes, they kiss the first potato, saying thanks to God and to Mother Earth who is God’s gift to the human race.
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, help us to be good shepherds of one another, just like you are of us all!
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Archdiocese of St. Louis: Mission Office
20 Archbishop May Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63119 • missions@archstl.org
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