Shepherd of peace and justice

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary are a guide to the culture of the Kingdom where Jesus, her Son, is the Shepherd.

Shepherd the community

The Prophet Ezekiel declares that God will shepherd the exiles of Jerusalem in the wake of the failure of the leaders of the people to be their shepherd.

* [34:2] Shepherds: the leaders of the people. A frequent title for kings and deities in the ancient Near East; the ideal ruler took care of his subjects and anticipated their needs. Ezekiel’s oracle broadens the reference to include the whole class of Jerusalem’s leaders (v. 17). The prophet assures his audience, the exiles in Babylon, that God holds these leaders responsible for what has happened to Jerusalem and will give Israel a new shepherd worthy of the title

Psalm 23 paints a concentrated picture of how the True Shepherd leads, comforts and protects His people.

* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10).

The Gospel from Matthew describes the concern of the true shepherd for the welfare of all and alerts us to our difficulty with envy.

* [20:14–15] The owner’s conduct involves no violation of justice (Mt 20:4, 13), and that all the workers receive the same wage is due only to his generosity to the latest arrivals; the resentment of the first comes from envy.

Luis Rodriguez, S.J. characterizes Christ’s reign as a two-dimensional concept.

Objectively, it refers to Christ’s dignity and power. Subjectively, it refers to acceptance on our side, to our recognition of his values and priorities as the rule of our lives. Without our acceptance Christ’s kingdom remains incomplete in us.
Mary’s queenship shares in this two-dimensional nature. Objectively, it refers to Mary’s dignity as Mother of Christ King. Subjectively, it refers to acceptance on our side, to our recognition of her life as exemplar for our own lives. Without such acceptance Mary’s queenship remains incomplete in us and we would be making Mary Queen for a Day, for this one day.

Don Schwager asks “What can work and wages, welfare and the unemployed tell us about the kingdom of God”?

In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard we see the extraordinary generosity and compassion of God (Matthew 20:1-16). There is great tragedy in unemployment, the loss of work, and the inability to earn enough to live and support oneself or one's family. In Jesus' times laborers had to wait each day in the marketplace until someone hired them for a day's job. No work that day usually meant no food on the family table. The laborers who worked all day and received their payment complain that the master pays the late afternoon laborers the same wage. The master, undoubtedly, hired them in the late afternoon so they wouldn't go home payless and hungry.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 20:1-16 comments that today’s parable presents a situation involving an impossibly generous landowner.

we know that God cannot be outmatched in generosity. He even gave us his only Son, and that is a gift we could never earn. No matter what any of us do for the Lord, whether we follow him perfectly, make huge charitable donations, or sacrifice our lives as martyrs, it still wouldn’t be enough to merit such a priceless gift. The love behind such generosity can be hard to grasp, but that only makes it all the more appealing.

Friar Jude Winkler provides background to the actions of religious and civil leaders who are condemned by the Prophet Ezekiel and the link to Jesus and Feast of Dedication. At the last judgement the reward is the same; Life with God. Matthew uses this parable as one that points to the end time.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, guides us to teaching by Paul Knitter, who explains that Buddhism can help Christians to be mystical Christians, and James Finley who shares thoughts of Catholic priest, Romano Guardini (1885-1968) and Christian mystic Thomas Merton who realized that people of different religions are not other.

“Although I am not God, I am not other than God either.” [4] He says the direct intuitive realization that although I am not God, I am not other than God either, fans out in all directions. Although I am not you, I am not other than you either. Although I am not the earth, I am not other than the earth, either. As this soaks into me, what are the implications of this in the way I act in the world, in relationships with other people?

One of passages today leads to contemplation of ideas that contradict some common notions about the relationship of God and work and how Unitive Consciousness may resolve issues of difference and the duality of winners and losers.

References

(n.d.). Ezekiel chapter 34 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 22, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/34
(n.d.). Psalms chapter 23 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 22, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23:1
(n.d.). Matthew chapter 20 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 22, 2018, from http://usccb.org/bible/matthew/20
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved August 22, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 22, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Memorial) - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved August 22, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 22, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/