Day 229: Shepherds of Israel
Jeremiah 6:1-30 With attack imminent, Jeremiah urged the tribe of Benjamin to hurry south, and he pleaded with Judah to repent or face immediate destruction. It was a threatening situation, given the sinful state of the population who in general refused any kind of moral reform.
Ezekiel 34:1-10 The term “shepherd” is often applied by the prophets to kings and priests, symbolic of their role as leaders among the Chosen People throughout their history. Nevertheless, Israel had its share of bad shepherds, some of whom actually participated in and encouraged idolatry, leading the people to infidelity. This is why Christ’s self-reference as the Good Shepherd is such a powerful image: he is the promised Messiah-King in the line of David who perfectly fulfills the leadership role of king and shepherd. (CCC 874, 1548)
Ch 34:11-31 The sheepfold is a common image of the Church, whose members follow the voice of Christ, the Good Shepherd, through his representatives, the bishops of the Church. The rational sheep, the People of God, are guided, protected, and nourished by Christ, who as Good Shepherd lays down his very life for his sheep and is ready to heal them through the Sacrament of Penance and nourish them with his Body and Blood through the Holy Eucharist. (CCC 754)
Ch 34:23 He shall feed...their shepherd: This prophecy points to Christ, who, after his Ascension into Heaven, delegates this role on earth to the head of the church and his bishops. In his command to St. Peter to “feed my sheep” (cf. Jn 21:15-19), Christ appointed St. Peter, and his successors, as supreme shepherd of the Church. (CCC 881, 936)
Ch 35:1-15 Edom, already condemned once, will be subject to severe punishment for its savagery toward the Jews and their flagrant blasphemies. The message here is that God sides with Israel.
(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)
GOSH YOU GUYS!
What an INCREDIBLE THEME to today’s readings
It’s maybe ACCIDENTAL
But maybe it’s more PROVIDENTIAL
Jeremiah 6, Ezekiel 34, Proverbs 14 are all connected in INCREDIBLE WAYS
Proverbs 14:28, “In a multitude of people is the glory of a king, but without people a prince is ruined.”
The role of the king, the role of the prince, the role of the one who is ENTRUSTED with the People of God
Without a people, there is DEVASTATION
Without a people, there is GREAT LOSS
BUT…
It is also possible to LOSE THE PEOPLE
It is also possible to LOSE GOD’S PEOPLE
And that is what happens in Ezekiel Ch 34
This is one of the sections of Scripture as priests they are invited to read and reflect on multiple times a year
IN FACT…
It comes around in the readings quite often
Those shepherds of Israel who have NOT been feeding or taking care of the sheep
Those shepherds of Israel who have NOT been seeking out the lost
Those shepherds of Israel who have NOT been binding up those who are sick or wounded
Those shepherds of Israel who have NOT been strengthening those who are strong
Those shepherds of Israel who have ONLY BEEN TAKING CARE OF THEMSELVES
GOSH YOU GUYS!!
Here we are journeying together for 229 days
In so many ways we kind of know each other
Fr. Mike knows you in the sense that he’s been praying for you
Some of you offer prayers and words of encouragement for Fr. Mike
This is who Fr. Mike is
Talking about the Word of the Lord
Talking about the Bible
Fr. Mike remembers as a teenager reading these words and NOT wanting to be the FALSE SHEPHERD
NOT wanting to be the shepherd who only cares about themselves
NOT wanting to be the shepherd that doesn’t care for the People of God, the sheep who are lost, the sheep who are strengthened
Every year, priests read from St. Augustine, especially in the Fall
St. Augustine has a massive reflection that lasts a week on the FALSE SHEPHERDS
St. Augustine says, “Ok priests here in the New Covenant, that’s you, you are the pastors of the people here. Um, of course Jesus himself is the great High Priest. He is the Good Shepherd. But here we have been put in this position and he asks that question, ‘Are you just feeding yourself? Are you just taking care of yourself? Or are you actually giving your life so that the sheep can have life?”
So that’s the conviction part in Ezekiel
Then there is also this consolation part
Ezekiel 34:7, “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts...therefore hear this...I am requiring much of you...therefore I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.”
In The Book of Ezekiel he is talking about the People of Israel
He is talking about those people who are still left in Jerusalem
He is talking about those people who WILL be exiled
He is talking about those people who are in Babylon still that are not being cared for
AND YET IN OUR DAY…
We recognize that here is God who says, “I myself will seek out my sheep.”
AND WE KNOW THAT JESUS CHRIST HAS FULFILLED THAT PROMISE!!
Especially when he reminds us that HE IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD!!
He not only takes care of his sheep
He says, “I am the Good Shepherd and I will LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR MY SHEEP.”
AAHHH SO GOOD!!
There is that conviction for all of us that have been given a role of authority
Whether it be a PRIEST
Whether it be a PARENT
Whether it be a TEACHER
We just feed ourselves and we live ourselves
You know how good that goes if you are a parent and you just live for yourself
IT DOES NOT GO VERY WELL
Same thing for a priest and you live just for yourself
IT DOES NOT GO VERY WELL
But we are still given that word of consolation
Here is God who says, “Even in the midst of these people living for themselves, I myself will seek out my sheep. I myself will give them pasture. I myself will rescue them.”
This is SO IMPORTANT
Because as we mentioned yesterday, this time of Ezekiel, but especially this time of Jeremiah has been MARKED BY FALSE PROPHETS
FALSE SHEPHERDS AND FALSE PROPHETS
Now on to Jeremiah
The DESTRUCTION of Jerusalem is not going to happen for a while yet
BUT…
There are still false prophets
Jeremiah 6:13, “‘For from the least to the greatest of them, every one is greedy for unjust gain; and from the prophet to priest, every one deals falsely.”
This is a connection between what Ezekiel was talking about when it came to the FALSE SHEPHERDS
EVERY ONE OF THEM FROM THE PROPHET TO THE PRIEST DEALS FALSELY
THEY JUST TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES
THEY ARE NOT LIVING AS TRUE PRIESTS
THEY ARE NOT LIVING AS TRUE PROPHETS
THEY ARE DEALING FALSELY
THIS IS HOW BAD THINGS HAVE GOTTEN
THIS IS HOW IT GOES SO OFTEN
WHERE OUR LEADERSHIP GOES, THE REST OF US FOLLOW
WHERE THOSE WHO ARE ENTRUSTED TO THEM, THE REST OF US CAN FOLLOW
PARENTS
TEACHERS
COUNSELORS
PRIESTS
PASTORS
ALL OF THESE ROLES
POLITICIANS
THESE ROLES OF AUTHORITY THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GIVEN
IF THEY FALL, IT IS SO HARD FOR THE PEOPLE UNDER THEM TO STAND UP RIGHT
Jeremiah 6:14, “They have healed the wound of my people lightly…”
What does that mean?
Fr. Mike heard someone say, “When you’re a kid, you might fall down and scrape your knee. Maybe your mom comes up to you and kisses your booboo and makes it all better. It’s fine. You’re not really healing anything. It’s not that big of a wound. But imagine you have a compound fracture and your mom says, ‘Let me give it a kiss’”
That’s what Jeremiah is talking about
“They have healed the wound of my people lightly…”
They basically said, “Yeah I know things are bad, but like, how about this. Throw them a bone. Here is a word of consolation.”
Jeremiah 6:14, “They have healed the would of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.”
This is the FALSE PROPHETS
They are prophesying that, “No no no. Listen, God is going to bring us peace. Don’t worry about this. We are living in a time of peace. Peace is coming. Um we might be difficult right now, but this is going to be over in a heartbeat.”
THAT IS NOT TRUE!!
Saying, ‘Peace, peace’ when there IS NO PEACE
WE CAN LIE TO OURSELVES
WE CAN LIE TO EACH OTHER
WE CAN SAY THINGS ARE FINE WHEN THEY ARE NOT FINE
But it takes a great deal of courage to be able to TELL THE TRUTH
Jeremiah is calling out ALL OF US
ALL THE PROPHETS
ALL THE PRIESTS
ALL THOSE WHO SPEAK AT ALL
TO NOT LIE TO OURSELVES
TO NOT LIE TO EACH OTHER
Especially if we find ourselves in this moment where, “You know actually I have been lying to myself. I have been saying things are fine and things are not fine. I actually need help. I actually need help.”
Maybe that’s YOU today
This is a LARGE COMMUNITY of people journeying through the Bible
Maybe this is a day where, “No you don’t lie to a lot of people. You have a lot of virtue in you. BUT you have been lying to yourself, about your need for assistance, about your need for someone else to come along and say, ‘Hey! Let me walk with you!’”
To be able to ASK FOR HELP
Instead of just KIDDING OURSELVES
OR…
KIDDING THE PEOPLE AROUND US
Jeremiah 6:15, “Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush.”
There is something about...um...sigh
How to say this?
Shame gets such a bad rap in our world today because we only imagine shame to be TOXIC SHAME
BUT…
Not all shame is TOXIC
There is such a thing as TOXIC SHAME and it keeps us hidden in the darkness
It is shame that keeps us from STEPPING INTO THE LIGHT OF GOD’S MERCY
It is shame that keeps us from REALLY REVEALING OUR HEARTS AND OUR WOUNDS TO THE PEOPLE AROUND US THAT WE CAN TRUST
THAT IS THE TOXIC KIND OF SHAME
BUT…
There is a GOOD kind of shame
It points out that WE ARE MADE FOR DIGNITY
IN FACT…
St. John Paul II talks about the discovery of SHAME in Genesis Ch 3
“Here is the man and woman, Adam and Eve, who were naked but KNEW NO SHAME at the end of Genesis Ch 2. But then they eat from the fruit of the tree and their eyes are opened and they covered themselves.”
It was what St. John Paul II called the INTRODUCTION OF SHAME into the life of humanity in that sense of “I need to cover up myself.”
BUT…
There is a POSITIVE ELEMENT to shame here
That POSITIVE ELEMENT is that YOU ARE WORTH COVERING
The NEGATIVE ELEMENT is, “Oh my gosh I need to cover because there is something SHAMEFUL here.”
BUT…
The POSITIVE ELEMENT is that there is a GOODNESS here that NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED
I recognize in someone else’s eyes that they want to USE ME in my VULNERABILITY
Someone else wants to USE ME in my BROKENNESS
Someone else sees that WOUNDEDNESS
They see that that that mmmmm whatever that is (That’s all, folks 🤪)
The WOUNDEDNESS, the VULNERABILITY, and they want to USE IT AGAINST ME
BUT…
There is a POSITIVE NOTE when it comes to SHAME
My desire to cover up
My desire to hide in some ways indicates and reveals and affirms the fact that YOU ARE WORTH PROTECTING
This is something GOOD that is WORTH HIDING
There is something VULNERABLE that ought not be VIOLATED
And so what we see here in Jeremiah Ch 6 is that there are people who are NOT ASHAMED
THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO BLUSH!!
They have forgotten the GOODNESS OF THEIR HEARTS
Even if their hearts are broken, they forgot the fact that THEY WERE MADE FOR MORE THAN THIS
Think about how much we have to be WOUNDED if we become SHAMELESS
Think of how WOUNDED we must be if no matter what we do, or no matter how someone might use us or hurt us, we are not even ASHAMED of that in the sense of we just have forgotten the innate and intrinsic GOODNESS
Big Community
A lot of people walking with us
Your DIGNITY has been wounded by others
Your DIGNITY has been violated by others
Your VULNERABILITY or your WOUNDEDNESS has been trampled upon by others
SIGH
First, don’t be afraid to STEP INTO THE LIGHT OF JESUS, THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
LET YOURSELF BE SEEN
LET YOURSELF BE KNOWN
LET YOURSELF BE LOVED
Second, if there are people around you that you can TRUST don’t be afraid to step into the light of THEIR TRUST so that you can be SEEN, KNOWN and LOVED by THAT PERSON YOU CAN TRUST
BUT ALSO…
Even in the midst of that pain of SHAME
To recognize, “Wait a second, the only reason I feel pain is because something GOOD in me has been WOUNDED.”
THERE IS STILL GOOD IN YOU!! (Just like there was STILL GOOD in Darth Vader 🤓😁)
THERE IS STILL SO MUCH GOOD IN YOU!!
If we feel this experience of SHAME where we BLUSH where we SUFFER
THAT IS JUST A GREAT IN ALMOST LIKE JUST REFLEXIVE INSTINCTIVE REMINDER OF THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS
YOU ARE STILL BEAUTIFUL!!
YOU ARE STILL WORTHY!!
YOU ARE STILL FULL OF LOVE!!
YOU ARE STILL WORTH LOVING!!
SIGH
FR. MIKE IS PRAYING FOR YOU
PRAY FOR FR. MIKE
ALL OF US FIND OURSELVES IN THAT POSITION
ALL OF US NEED NOT ONLY THE LORD
WE ALSO NEED EACH OTHER SO PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
WHAT A GIFT FROM THE LORD!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and glory. We thank you so much. And thank you for, gosh, Lord. These prophets have just called us, called me to repentance and called me to just want to belong to you with everything I am, with everything we are. Help us. Help us to please turn to you completely, to belong to you fully, to be yours now and forever. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”