16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we are presented in our readings with the metaphor of the shepherd.

            First, the prophet Jeremiah uses this image as a warning: “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD.”

            Second, a fact: “The Lord is my shepherd.”

            Finally, we hear in the Gospel of Mark this same metaphor used to describe Jesus’ pity on the crowds who found Him and His disciples when they were on “vacation”: When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd…”

            I have never been a shepherd, and outside of the spiritual “shepherding of souls” I don’t plan on ever being one.  Yet I do know that a shepherd does at least three things for his flock: he feeds them, guides them and protects them.

            Really, these three are one and the same.  By keeping his flock together, a good shepherd leads them to pasture in order to eat and to water in order to drink.  He prevents sheep from straying to protect them from predators.

            This image is a metaphor for God.  God, and specifically Jesus Christ, is our shepherd.  He feeds us, guides us and protects us.

            An essential question in our faith is to ask—“Who is your shepherd?”  Now, none of us can answer in complete truth, “The Lord is my shepherd,” because we are all sinners.  But on the day-to-day level, is the Lord your shepherd?  Is it the Lord who feeds, guides and protects you?

            If it isn’t, who, or what, is?  Is it your spouse?  Your family?  Your career?  Sports?  Money or material possessions?  If our shepherd is not the Lord, we are nothing more than a sheep following another sheep.  That results in a mutton dinner for the wolf!

            This is a difficult question to ponder, especially if you admit you answer in a way you don’t like at this moment.  But self-assessment with such a question is an example of the stuff of which holiness and our faith is made.  And we are always invited to turn back to the true shepherd.  

            Today, recommit yourself to letting the Lord be THE shepherd in your life.  Allow Him to feed you with His Body and Blood, as well as His grace and mercy in Confession.  Let Him guide you in your day-to-day decision-making.  And follow His lead to be protected from evil and sin.

            Recommit yourself in the words of the Psalmist, “The Lord is my shepherd…” because it is only then we can conclude, “I shall not want.”