Who shepherds your
life?
When sentiments of
nationalism increase, so naturally does a focus on self, and both of these can
blind us to what is needful elsewhere in our world. It was sentiments of nationalism that gave
rise to the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe in 1925,
between two world wars. The Solemnity is meant to remind us that it is God, our
shepherd and savior, who is to rule in our lives; it is Jesus who is King. The
lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, God tells the people
in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, but
the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly. These sleek
and strong – the goats – have
established their independence; they have separated themselves from God. They are far from the psalmist in Psalm 23,
who identifies with the sheep, and
who allows God to shepherd him rightly, accepting all the gifts God
offers: repose, a banquet, and a cup that
overflows.
Jesus is similarly
concerned with shepherding his sheep rightly in Matthew’s Gospel, and this
involves instructing them on what they must do to inherit the kingdom: they
must feed the hungry, welcome the stranger,
clothe the naked, and care for the ill. What does this have to
do with Jesus’ kingship? As Paul tells
the Corinthians, Jesus’ goal is to hand
over the kingdom to his God and Father, once he has subjected everything to himself.
This doesn’t involve power in the traditional, nationalistic sense, but
rather the power of God’s love, which Jesus employs to help us to be united in
him. And for that power to be operative
in our world, we must embrace it as well, seeking union with others, with all,
reaching outside of ourselves, feeding the hungry,
caring for the ill, clothing the naked, with Jesus, King of the Universe,
as our shepherd and guide. Only when we
live as one in Christ Jesus can God finally be
all in all.
This post is based
on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle
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