Today is Mother’s Day!
On behalf of Fr. Elias and all the monks, “Happy Mother’s Day” to all the mothers with us this morning, especially those surrounded by their children! As we pray for all our mothers, living and deceased.
Today is “Good Shepherd” Sunday!
Jesus says: “I am the Good Shepherd.’
A farmer might say: “Sheep are so dumb! Or at least do dumb things!”
They’re needy, lacking self-defense: they can’t bark or growl, don’t have sharp teeth,
have no way to scare anybody away. Their one saving protection is just to stick together.
Yet they do exactly the opposite: they tend to wander off, lack a sense of direction, and without other sheep as company, they’ll walk in circles, going nowhere, even not eating, until they die.
Ewes can walk away from their newborn lamb and leave it to die,or have a twin, leaving the first one for coyotes and wolves.
Sheep can get their head stuck in a bucket and not have the sense to back out, they just keep pushing forward. And they’ll do the same thing over again … Same bucket!
They can squeeze into a hole in the fence to reach a bit of food, get stuck in the hole, and instead of backing out, keep pushing forward and die there.
If they finally work their way through that fence, get to the grass on the other side,they’ll run away from dogs or man trying to get them back inside the safety of the pen.
They’ll run right past the open gate, right past the other sheep, in the opposite direction, away from their mates.
In so many ways, sheep need help.
Are humans any better?
Don’t we also tend to be dumb? And do dumb things?
Yet some of us boast: I’m smart, I don’t need a Shepherd.
People forget their past, and they forget the truth.
At Easter, we read the story of Israel’s First Passover,
how Moses finally got the Israelites out from Egyptian slavery,
how all the people witnessed the power of God that saved them.
With their own eyes they witnessed one plague after another, then the parting of the Red Sea to get them across.
When they got to Mount Sinai, with their own ears, they heard God Himself giving them the Commandments, God speaking in the midst of an earthquake, dark clouds, thunder, lightening,
It was so powerful that the people said to Moses:
“We don’t want to hear that voice any more. You go, you listen to what God has to say.”
They already had the Commandments; Moses had to go up the mountain to receive the full instruction of the Law.
For 40 days and 40 nights, Moses was gone, up on Mount Sinai.
But what happened to the people of Israel when their leader was gone shows what’s in our genes, how fickle we are, how quickly we forget.
When Moses delayed coming down, the people got together, and persuaded Aaron:
“Make us a god who will lead us out of here. As for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what’s become of him, he’s perhaps Lost or Dead. We need something new.”
So Aaron made them a golden calf, and the very next day the people offered sacrifices to the calf, and sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
Without Moses the leader there, it took just 40 days to lapse back into idolatry, adultery, immorality.
What happened on Mount Sinai happens whenever we don’t have a shepherd. Sometimes it doesn’t even take 40 days before we forget, turn away from God, turn back to the world and the things we know, start doing dumb things.
As he was about to die, Moses even asked God for a new leader, to ensure that Israel would have a shepherd.
“Lord God,” he prayed, “Appoint a man who can lead this people and command them, so that they will not be like sheep who have no shepherd.”
Today we celebrate Jesus Christ, our Shepherd.
“I am the Good Shepherd,” He said, powerfully and deliberately.
The good news is: He was born for the job and He’s not giving up! There’s no going back.
He offers to lay down his life for the sheep.
The bad news is: He can’t force anyone. He can only offer, invite. The choice is ours.
The Good Shepherd offers to lead His sheep, lead them to heaven, since He alone is the Way.
He offers to give them guidance, keep them aware of the distractions and pitfalls of the world, physically protect the sheep from wolves.
He offers to go out and look for the lost and wandering sheep, call them by name, bind up their wounds, carry back the helpless on His shoulders, just as they are, dirt and all,
He offers to feed them the finest, with his Word and the Eucharist, food for the journey.
He offers fresh and pure water so that they may live,
he refreshes and restores the grace of baptism where the water has dried up and the impact of baptism is forgotten.
He wants to be our Shepherd, the King of Love,
leading us to green pastures,
walking with us thru the valley,
giving us rest and peace.
leading us home by day’s end.
The Good Shepherd wants to bring us to join the saints.
All we have to do is ..