The prophet Jeremiah lived an estimated 650 BC to 580 BC, around six centuries before Jesus, and his main ministry was in the capital of Judah, in Jerusalem. In Jeremiah’s time, there was political intrigue, backstabbing, plotting, and overthrowing. When he is speaking in the first reading, a good king has been overthrown in Jerusalem and a bad king has taken his place, making allegiances with Egypt. Even the prophets of the court were against Jeremiah and supporting this king in this betrayal. Jeremiah speaks with words of challenging about them: Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.
And, in shining hope, Jeremiah reveals how God plans to fix it:
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock.
Our heavenly Father knows that we need good shepherds. We see it in His desire to pasture His flock and show us the way, to the point of becoming Man.
Jesus compassionately sees the people “like sheep without a shepherd”; he even fears that his dying would be a cause for the flock will be scattered (Mk 14:27) and his prayer is for us to be one. The great miracle is that Jesus’s message lived on and endured.
By His resurrection, His message lived on. Through the unfaithfulness of His first followers, after the betrayal of Judas, after being denied by the first Pope, by Peter himself(!), His message lived on.
Have you thought about what would happen if there was an orchestrated, systemic attack, warranted or unwarranted, against the shepherds of the Church? Against the priests, like there has been in the past?Against bishops and cardinals, as is happening now?
What would happen if there was an attack against the pope? We’ve seen many throughout history. The message of Christ still endures and lives on, prevails through history.
car wash confrontation
Some of you may have already heard my car wash story:
I was at a car wash waiting for my car, going through Twitter and Facebook …millennial stuff…
I was wearing my Roman collar, which often draws weird looks. There was a couple who wouldn’t break their uncomfortable stare.
I stood up and moved.
They stood up and moved.
Are you a priest?
—I try to be! (Jokingly)
A CATHOLIC priest?
—yes
We used to be Catholic. Would you like to know why we left the Church?
—I really, really do
Her: We left because the choir was always out of tune, the Mass was boring, the homily was boring. Everything was just flat and DULL. Now we go to another church, and boy can I feel the FIRE of the Holy Spirit BURNING within me!
Husband: Want to know why I left the church? I was baptized, confirmed, and married in the same church by the same priest. There was always a rumor that Father So-and-So liked his martinis. I thought it was just hearsay, until I witnessed it and couldn’t take it. A man of GOD, a shepherd of the CHURCH, should NOT be behaving that way! Nah, I don’t believe in priests. That’s why I left the church. I don’t believe in priests…! But what do you think… ”FATHER”?
(I guess they sensed my uneasiness, to say the least. I don’t need much of a provocation to say what I think, so I responded…)
Me: Well, I don’t believe in priests, either. But don’t worry, it doesn’t sound like you lost a faith to begin with.
[stunned looks from the couple]
Me, to the wife: You fell in love with a feeling, an emotion, a choir, an experience. You didn’t have a Christian faith; you had a choir-y faith. And when you didn’t find that feeling, you looked for it elsewhere—Jesus as a feeling.
Me, to the husband: And you may not have had a Christian faith either. You put all your faith in a human being, a man, and when you saw that that man was as flawed as you are, you went elsewhere. You didn’t have a Christian faith; you had a priest-y faith.
Both: to have a true Christian faith is to have it in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior only. He is our Hope, He is our Peace, as Paul says in our second reading. He reveals Himself in His Holy Word, in the love of neighbor, in the sacraments, in the pastors of his flock, but He alone is our Peace. When we place our faith in anything less than God, it is already growing stale and corrupts.
They got called to pick up their car, and left.
out of the mouths of babes
A young pastor received a small parish for the first time and decided to stop by all the CCD classrooms and introduce himself. In one, they were studying Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.
The priest excitedly asked the kids, “And who is the shepherd of this community?”
One kid raised his hand: JESUS! Jesus is our shepherd!
Priest: Yes… you’re right! But, if Jesus is the shepherd, what does that make me?
Kid: I guess you’re…the sheepdog!
There is some truth to that, isn’t there? We must be careful of the celebrity culture of our times. We assign virtue to people who sing or act well or partake in politics, and we turn them into modern-day heroes. Then, when a scandal happens, they lose prestige and our respect. It seems that celebrity culture has also found its way into the Church. We celebrate the human talents of priests, bishops or nuns: their preaching, their knowledge, their coolness or media savviness; we give them human glory, exalt their virtuosity, and anchor our faith in them; and, if—when—we see their flaws, we end up disappointed and in danger of losing our humanized faith.
Our faith is in Christ alone. Jesus showed us this in the Gospel: People wanted to crown Him king, and He disappeared among them. He didn’t want that! And it could have been tempting for Him to accept that crown. He may have even thought of using that kingly position of influence to further the Kingdom of God, but He didn’t want human glory. If we want to see his triumph, his true glory and pride, we should look only at the cross. That is his glory, his throne, the reminder that love is sacrifice.
The spiritual life is very similar to the biological life. As children, we believe Mom and Dad are perfect in every way! Everything they say is faultless. They are great, beautiful, incredible…then puberty kicks in. Then it’s the opposite.
I hate you! You don’t understand me! You’re ruining my life! You’re a horrible human being!
Then a healthy, maturing adolescence helps us realize that Mom and Dad are as flawed and weak as we are, that they too are trying to make do with the circumstances they are in and what has been given to them. As hurt as we may have been, hopefully we come to see them with compassion and recognize their struggles.
Likewise, in the Church. We can think that the shepherds are pure and immaculate in very way, but then we come to recognize that they have their struggles. We need to see them with a compassionate gaze and but then refocus to our gaze on Jesus Christ, who is our Peace and pray for our pastors.
be the change
Some think that the best way to change a country is to change its leadership, its shepherds. That can work…for a while. If we change some politicians, it can provoke change with the people. But if we really want something to endure through time, it must be grassroots.
For example, in the conversion of Rome, Constantine’s conversion was the last thing that happened. People were already practicing the Christian, Catholic faith.
The defeat of communism.
The independence of the United States.
These were all grassroots movements which only actualized themselves politically after the fact.
So, if you and I want a holier church, if you and I desire holier shepherds, bold and courageous like Jeremiah, it begins with you and me. it begins with us, taking responsibility for our faith and reminding ourselves that our faith is centered in Christ, who is our Peace. The Heavenly Father knows that my weaknesses are patently obvious (and some are keen to remind me of them!). Our holiness is in Christ Jesus himself. We cannot place our faith in the human frailty of men and women. People who put their faith in anything less than God already start losing it.
In the Gospel, Jesus reminds His Apostles that they can only complete their mission if they remain with Him, and He calls them aside to rest with Him.
I would like to leave you with a small challenge. This is directed to the pastors of families, namely parents.
When was the last time you took responsibility for the spiritual life of your family? When it’s vacation time, some think that we should also take a vacation from our spiritual life, that when there’s no school or when we travel, we place our relationship with Christ in parentheses, suspended. Jesus calls us to rest in His presence, and true leisure, true rest can only be accomplished in the Peace who is Christ.
May Mary show us how to take responsibility for our faith. In our prayer life, in our participation in the sacramental life, in the study of our faith (active and disciplined), may we find that our faith is truly Christian when we focus on Christ. May she give us the courage and the boldness to preach our faith with words and action like Jeremiah.
This post is also available in: Spanish
