A Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter (2008)
[An Olive wood statue of the Good Shepherd. Naturally, I do not want to get into “advertising” here on my blog, but since I borrowed this image from www.holylandmarket.com, I would like to give a plug for them, and the other communities of Christians still living in the Holy Land, often in poverty, who make a living making these items.]
The image of the Good Shepherd is one of the most familiar in all of Christianity. Archeology has uncovered tombs of Christians dating from the second century after Christ that have this image carved into them. Clearly, for the early Christians, and for us, Jesus was identified as the Good Shepherd, guiding His flock to heaven.
Even for us, who have been raised far removed from the pastures, we recognize in the image of the Good Shepherd that the shepherd protects and cares for his sheep, wanting them to be happy and healthy, and giving them all that they need to grow and multiply. One of the favorite images for Christ Jesus in Christian art, from the earliest years to the present day, is that of the shepherd carrying a little lamb around his shoulders. Who of us do not take some comfort in that image of the loving care that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has for each of us? I think if we were more familiar with shepherding most would be very surprised at the real meaning of that image of the shepherd carrying the lamb around his shoulders.
The only time that a lamb is likely to wander away from the shepherd, and the rest of the flock, is when it is either fearful or overconfident. And when the lamb wanders away, it is putting itself in great danger because it cannot protect itself from predators, and it lacks the experience and knowledge to really recognize danger. When a lamb keeps wandering away, either because it is fearful or overconfident, a shepherd will sometimes purposely break one of its legs. Then the shepherd puts the lamb around his neck and carries it to and from the pasture for the few weeks it will take for the leg to heal. By that time, the lamb has become so attached to the shepherd that it will never again stray from its master’s protection and guidance.
What do you think about that? It probably changes our feelings about that so familiar image of Christ as the Good Shepherd, but should it?
We are the sheep, and Christ is the Good Shepherd. As St. Peter says in our second reading, we “had gone astray like sheep.” When are we most likely to wander away from the teachings of the Church, the teachings of Jesus?
When we are frightened? We get scared of something in our lives — maybe it is trouble at work, or unemployment, or trouble in our families, or facing an illness — and we run so quickly towards things that we think will give us “quick fixes” to whatever is frightening us. Maybe it is the bottle, or drugs, or pornography, or overeating, or shopping, or any of a large number of addictions or escapes that our modern world offers us. We run to them thinking that they will keep us safe and make us happy, but whatever comfort they offer us does not last for long, and then we are right back facing what scared us in the first place.
Or maybe we wander away from the Good Shepherd when we become overconfident and filled with pride. We think that we know what is best for ourselves and others, and that we can fix all the problems. Isn’t that just what the serpent said to Eve in the Garden when he tempted her with the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? He told her, “you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.” It was a lie when he said it to Eve, and it continues to be a lie that we often fall for.
Understanding the meaning of the image of the Good Shepherd carrying the lamb around His shoulders gives us something to think about when we encounter difficulties and suffering in our lives. Because we have wandered away so often, we need some “pain,” some “brokenness” in order to learn that we must be dependent on the Good Shepherd to stay out of trouble, so that we will be truly healthy and happy, and grow and multiply.
Sin — whether it is from fear or overconfidence — is our wandering away from Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Sometimes as the Good Shepherd, His correction seems painful and hard to us, but it is so that we can learn to entrust ourselves to Him, to allow Him to carry us, care for us, and protect us.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows what will truly fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts and make us truly happy. He knows us better than anyone because He is our Creator, our Brother, and our Lord. He does want to lead us to the dream of a tranquil and simple life. He did come so that we “might have life and have it more abundantly.” Pope Benedict XVI, in his recent encyclical Spe Salvi: Saved in Hope, explains why Christ Jesus is the true shepherd that leads to hope:
“The true shepherd is one who knows even the path that passes through the valley of death; one who walks with me even on the path of final solitude, where no one can accompany me, guiding through: he himself has walked this path, he has descended into the kingdom of death, he has conquered death, and he has returned to accompany us now and to give us the certainty that, together with him, we can find a way through. The realization that there is One who even in death accompanies me, and with his ‘rod and his staff comforts me’, so that ‘I fear no evil’ (cf. Ps 23:4) — this was the new ‘hope’ that arose over the life of believers (Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, #6).
As one of my seminary professors said in the shortest homily I have ever heard, “Don’t be a stupid sheep. Follow the Shepherd!”
