I Myself Will Look After and Tend My Sheep

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Memorial of Saint Bernard

By Melanie Rigney

Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. (Ezekiel 34:11)

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. In green pastures you let me graze; to safe waters you lead me; you restore my strength. You guide me along the right path for the sake of your name. (Psalms 23: 1-3)

“… Are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15)

Piety

Thank you, O Shepherd, for your tender mercies. May I accept that your generosity is available to all, whether they find you early or late in their day.

Study

Today's Readings

World Youth Day Opening Mass

“Where do you stand?” the Archbishop of Sydney, George Cardinal Pell, challenged the crowd at the opening Mass for World Youth Day in Sydney last month.

Today’s beautiful readings present comfort or challenge, depending on where we stand or the progress we’ve made on our particular journey. Ezekiel shows us a Father angry with the leaders of Israel. “You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured,” the Lord storms. “You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost, but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.” As a result, God says, “I myself will look after and tend my sheep.” Comforting words to those who feel abused or misused by a source of authority; discomforting to those who are in power, perhaps.

The Gospel reading tells the story of the vineyard owner who paid both the early and latecomers the same agreed-upon daily wage. When the workers who had arrived early protested, the owner reminds them that they were paid what had been promised. Then the owner asks, “Are you envious because I am generous?” Comforting words to those who found the Lord after a struggle; discomforting to those who measure piety in years served, perhaps.

In the opening lines of the Twenty-Third Psalm, David shows supreme confidence in God, saying His followers will want for nothing and need fear no evil. Comforting words when our challenges seem manageable; discomforting words to those struggling in uncharted waters, perhaps.

We all mess up, as the leaders of Israel did. We all exhibit envy, as the vineyard workers did. We all have those dark moments where even as we believe, we wonder how even God can possibly help us.

Cardinal Pell identified the root of the problem and the solution in his homily that day in Sydney:

Young or old, woman or man, Christ is still calling those who are suffering to come to him for healing, as he has for two thousand years. The causes of the wounds are quite secondary, whether they be drugs or alcohol, family breakups, the lusts of the flesh, loneliness or a death. Perhaps even the emptiness of success.

Our task is to be open to the power of the Spirit, to allow the God of surprises to act through us. Human motivation is complex and mysterious, because sometimes very strong Catholics, and other strong Christians, can be prayerful and regularly good, but also very determined not to take even one further step. On the other hand, some followers of Christ can be much less zealous and faithful, but open to development, to change for the better because they realize their unworthiness and their ignorance. Where do you stand?

The archbishop went on to encourage prayer for an openness of heart, even when we are fearful. “If we take God’s hand, He will do the rest,” he said. “Trust is the key. God will not fail us.”

Action

Where do you stand? Sign up for time on the palanca clock for the 127^th Women’s Cursillo Weekend that begins Thursday, and use part of the time to pray that the team and candidates find the trust needed to take God’s hand on issues that have been troubling them.