Feeding all the flock

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary resonate with the experience of salvation from exile.


The Prophet in Deutero-Isaiah describes the comfort God is faithfully extending to the exiles in Babylon.

* [40:3–5] A description of the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem (Zion). The language used here figuratively describes the way the exiles will take. The Lord leads them, so their way lies straight across the wilderness rather than along the well-watered routes usually followed from Mesopotamia to Israel. Mt 3:3 and gospel parallels adapt these verses to the witness of John the Baptizer to Jesus.

The image of Jesus as the Shepherd who prioritizes the care of the lost and little ones is revealed in the Gospel of Matthew.

* [18:10–14] The first and last verses are peculiar to Matthew. The parable itself comes from Q; see Lk 15:3–7. In Luke it serves as justification for Jesus’ table-companionship with sinners; here, it is an exhortation for the disciples to seek out fellow disciples who have gone astray. Not only must no one cause a fellow disciple to sin, but those who have strayed must be sought out and, if possible, brought back to the community. The joy of the shepherd on finding the sheep, though not absent in Mt 18:13 is more emphasized in Luke. By his addition of Mt 18:10, 14 Matthew has drawn out explicitly the application of the parable to the care of the little ones.

Andy Alexander, S.J., on this day in 2002, commented that we use the "journey" language a lot during Advent.  It is a fitting image because we often find ourselves "in exile," at some distance from our home with God.

When we get in touch with our experience now, we discover that the place we find ourselves in is "separated."  We are too often dis-connected with our family and friends. We can feel alienated from our faith tradition, either by our own sin or the sin of others.  At times we are completely insulated from hearing the cry of the poor, or even those hurting around us. And, in too many parts of our life, there is a divide between us as believers and us as professionals.  We feel dull - not seeing clearly, not hearing the Word clearly, being paralyzed and handicapped for any effort to move out of our situation. In our fear and anxiety, we are easy prey to nasty jackal-like temptations.  Even though we might recognize this as being in a land "foreign" to where we truly belong, we have become comfortable and "at home" in our exile here.

Don Schwager quotes “A small seed produces a great tree,”  by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).

"Do you see in how many ways he leads us to care for our worthless brothers? Don’t therefore say, 'The fellow's a smith, a cobbler, a farmer; he's stupid,' so that you despise him. In case you suffer the same, see in how many ways the Lord urges you to be moderate and enjoins you to care for these little ones. He placed a little child in the midst and said, 'Become like children,, and, 'Whoever receives one such child, receives me.' But 'whoever causes one of these to sin' will suffer the worst fate. And he was not even satisfied with the example of the millstone, but he also added his curse and told us to cut off such people, even though they are like a hand or eye to us. And again, through the angels to whom these small brothers are handed over, he urges that we value them, as he has valued them through his own will and passion. When Jesus says, 'The Son of man came to save the lost (Luke 19:10),' he points to the cross, just as Paul also says, writing about his brother for whom Christ died (Romans 14:15). It does not please the Father that anyone is lost. The shepherd leaves the ones that have been saved and seeks the one lost. And when he finds the one that has gone astray, he rejoices greatly at its discovery and at its safety." (excerpt from the  THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 59.4)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 18:12-14 notes that Jesus also wants to do for us what he was trying to do for Israel’s religious leaders when he first told this parable: he wants to turn our vision upside down in order to teach us how to value what he values.

This call to care for those who are wandering often requires two shifts in our perspective. First, we need to take on Jesus’ vision so that we actually “see” people who have strayed. It’s easy to live in a world of our own making, safely cut off from anyone who is different from us. How can we care for someone if we don’t notice them?
Second, we need to take on Jesus’ heart by moving from judgment to compassion. We can be tempted to look at those wandering and search for character flaws that may have caused them to take a wrong turn. But unless we replace our judgmental attitudes with respect and goodwill, we won’t be able to help them or lead them back to the Lord.

Friar Jude Winkler places the text from Isaiah in the time of the Exile in Babylon. The image of God in Isaiah as faithful like a shepherd Who feeds His flock leads to Matthew’s Gospel on the Lost Sheep. Friar Jude exhorts us to see a pattern for ministry that sees the outcast and does not condemn but works to bring them home.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, cites Thomas Keating, Vincent Pizzuto, Meister Eckhart, and concludes the reflection today on relationship quoting contemporary theologian Beverly Lanzetta.

In nondual contemplation, the person’s being radiates the nirvanic, liberating state we think of as enlightenment. The soul becomes a source and fount of healing, wisdom, and transformation. Why? Our being and the divine being are consummated in such a way that the entire soul becomes a window into the holy. Contemplation is not something we do. It is a free gift of the spirit; all we can do is surrender and “let go.” Every excursion into openness is a flooding in of the true self, remembering that the Divine is already within, waiting.

The consolation offered by God as we struggle to live our True Self in open and loving relationship with all the lambs of the Shepherd is strength and encouragement for change.

References

1	(n.d.). Isaiah, chapter 40 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/40
2	(n.d.). Matthew chapter 18 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/18
3	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved December 11, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
4	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
5	(n.d.). 2nd Week of Advent - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations .... Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
6	(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/