“I am sending you like lambs among wolves…” Not a happy-go-lucky line from Jesus,
but one that is important to consider in our Christian journey. This week I have been reflecting on
this potent image of being lambs among wolves.
First,
I thought about how completely helpless lambs are. They must be fed, watered and protected by their
shepherd. If a lamb says to
itself, “I know we’ll get water in an hour, but I want some now,” and then
leaves, a wolf gets dinner. So
too, if it says, “I want to explore that hill over there,” and walks away from
the herd, that, too, is a dead lamb.
To thrive, sheep must follow closely their shepherd and he ensures they
are nourished and guarded. As
followers of our Good Shepherd, we must do the same. We need to allow Christ to feed, water and protect us in
order to excel in life.
Second,
we face a few dangerous wolves in our
own lives. Unlike sheep, who clearly
see their would-be attackers, the dangers we face are more difficult to
spot. In our country we are not
being arrested, tortured or killed.
Yet we face several wolves
that are more subtle and reside in the field of ideas. The most destructive one in our society
is what Pope Benedict called the tyranny
of relativism. Relativism is a
philosophy that says, “What is true for me is true for me. What is true for you is true for
you.” This philosophy is
false. One and one make two, no
matter what any individual thinks.
Truth is not what I make it, but what it is.
No
one in his or her daily life lives with this attitude. For example, if little Johnny or Suzy
says to their parents, “What is truly good for me is candy for breakfast, ice
cream for lunch and pop for dinner,” would their parents agree? So too, if a football player tells his
coach he doesn’t need to practice because he watches football on TV and plays
football on video games (while eating chips and drinking Mountain Dew), would
his coach ever let him play? A
responsible parent teaches his children to eat well in order to live well. So, too, a good coach exhorts his
players to work hard in order for them to excel in athletics.
As
part of his role as Good Shepherd, Jesus gave us his Church. This Church isn’t a master who orders
servants around. She is our
Mother, guide and coach who leads us into holiness and excellence. Through Christ she feeds and nourishes
us, all the while protecting us from the wolves
of our society.
A
second wolf goes hand in hand with
the first. We live in a country
that encourages radical independence.
Freedom is a good thing—as we celebrated on the 4th of
July—but ought not be taken to an extreme. In a sense many Catholics act like teenagers, rebelling
against Church teaching like a junior high student might rebel against her
parents. Rather than seeing the
wisdom in Christ’s Church many see our moral teaching as an oppressive system
of rules that limit freedom.
I
challenge you to believe in the fullness of Catholic Church teaching. Don’t just believe in what is easy or
what makes sense to you—there is hardly faith in that. Have faith that the Church wants what
is best for humanity, societies, families and individuals in their walk with
God.
Third,
lambs have in important role in salvation history. These animals were the primary sacrifice offered to God in
the Old Testament. In a mysterious
way, our Good Shepherd became the Lamb of God to be offered for our sins. Since then many saints and martyrs have
followed the Lamb by offering their own lives for the sake of God’s
mission.
St.
Paul reports to the Galatians, “From now
on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.” St. Paul was arrested, stoned, beaten
several times and eventually killed.
He suffered such not only because he preached Christ, but he preached
the fullness of the Gospel. He
spoke against idolatry, adultery, same-sex unions, greed and the like. He spoke against the pagan and Jewish norms in order to proclaim the Good News
of Jesus—and to preach it in its entirety, not just what was comfortable.
We,
too, are called to be lambs of sacrifice in our culture. Whenever we face persecution,
belittling or suffering for our beliefs, we join with Jesus, St. Paul and
millions more in being faithful lambs.
I pray you have the courage to do so well—to believe and preach the
Gospel in its entirety.
May
we have the courage to be led by the Good Shepherd, especially through the
Catholic Church. May He protect us
from the wolves of our own time and help us to be good lambs.
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