2nd Sunday after Easter 5.5.19 The Good Shepherd
The Duke of Orleans in Shakespeare’s Henry V - in the midst of losing the battle of Agincourt - maintains
that the French could still win if only some order could be established. (Act
4, Scene 5). The French did not manage to get that order and so lost the
battle.
We are still fighting our battle, that of the Church, in
seeking to claim the world as our rightful territory, to win people over -
without swords and spears - to a joyful union with Christ our Saviour.
Our Lord, among his many titles is called the Good Shepherd.
In this role He gathers people around Him, protecting them from evil, forgiving
them. Eventually, when enough confidence has been restored, He will send them
out again to gather in others.
This process has been repeated ever since His Resurrection.
The lack of order, in our case, means that much of the time
the opposite is happening. People are moving away from the Good Shepherd,
deserting Him, and His Body, the Church.
The Church, it seems, has a revolving door; people come and
go at the same time. We want to keep them coming, but not going!
It is Christ who draws them; When I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself (Jn 12,32),
We are drawn to Him as we come to know Him better. We
cultivate an awareness of Him; we want to be near Him.
Those who leave the Church over one or other setback have
clearly not come to know Him.
If we know Him well enough we would never leave His side.
My sheep hear My voice…
it is a voice that offers every comfort (Jn 10,27).
Images are limited in their effectiveness; we do not really
sit on the grass around Jesus; that would be a lot easier than we have it.
In reality we live in a very complicated world, with things happening
at a great rate. It is hard to keep one’s balance in a world spinning wildly.
Part of the solution is to stay firmly within the Church as
a refuge of truth; here we find all that matters defined for us.
There is much we do not understand; but at least we have the
basics set out for us. The Church in this sense can be seen as a refuge, the
‘sheepfold’.
But there is more to come. We do not just stay in the
meadow, grazing comfortably. Now we see ourselves under another image: the harvest is rich, but the labourers are
few (Mt 9,35-38).
Now we are the labourers in the vineyard, whose work is to
bring in the harvest (people); or, we are fishers
of men (Mt 4,19).
Christ makes us one by drawing us to Himself; then He sends
us out to bring others in as well. The oneness of the flock is meant to take in
the whole world.
Christ gives us the power to do as He asks. We lack the strength
as individuals to change the way other people think; but we can at least
contribute to the process.
It is as if we faced a heavy door, and we were unable to
break it down by ourselves; but with the help of hundreds of others we can succeed.
Most of our problems are like that.
We can be discouraged; in which case we pray that others
will pray with us; then we will be strong enough; then we will have the ‘order’
needed to win the battle.
A small number can achieve much if the power of Heaven is
called upon.
God is not deaf, but some things need a lot more than one
prayer, or one person praying
We need to gather people in - for their own sake, but also
to help with the work.
Christ the Good Shepherd, continue to draw us to Thyself.
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