Pastor and author Tony Campolo loved to tell the story of a particular census taker who went to the home of a rather poor family in the mountains of West Virginia to collect information. When he asked the mother how many dependents she had, she began, “Well, there is Rosie, and the twins Billy and Betsy, there’s Susie, Harry, and Jeffrey. There’s Johnny, and Harvey, and our dog, Willie.” “No, ma’am, that’s not necessary. I only need the humans.” “Ah,” she said. “Well, there is Rosie, and the twins Billy and Betsy, and Susie”…At this the exasperated man said, “No, ma’am, you don’t seem to understand. I don’t need their names; I just need the numbers.” To which the confused woman threw up her arms and spoke slowly and plainly: “Sir, YOU don’t understand. I don’t know their numbers. I only know them by name.”
The two brief parables we have in this Gospel reveal Jesus as our unique means to salvation. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He is the “sheep gate,” the gateway to eternal life; the selfless, caring “shepherd” who provides protection and life itself. And, He knows us each by name! Although there may be several flocks sharing the same sheepfold, when a shepherd walks up to the gate and calls out names, each one of the sheep will instantly recognize the voice of their own shepherd. When Jesus calls His sheep will instinctively follow. They will ignore the voice of every other shepherd other than their own. We will hear many voices competing for attention, but there is a special note to the voice of Jesus that demands our immediate and full attention.
Hopefully we are like that because daily we make time and space in our lives to stay in touch with our Good Shepherd. Experience has taught us how to spot what is in harmony with the teachings of our Shepherd and what contradicts it. We won’t be led astray by the voice of riffraff, half-truths, or so-called sugarcoated false miracle-solutions to problems that can only be addressed with honest assessment of root causes, genuine compassion, and “across the aisle” collaboration.
In his latest book (Coenobium) the Cistercian monk, Michael Casey, writes this: “Each of us is called to hear what the Spirit has to say to the churches, and to us. We who live in community have the advantage of not only having personal designated times for prayer and lectio – anyone can set a self-made schedule. We’ve also made a free commitment to each other to gather as a community and to do personal lectio to enrich and enhance our personal and our communal prayer.” Participation in the Liturgy of the Hours begins (in Casey’s words) “when one sets aside whatever he or she is doing, puts the computer (tablet or TV) to sleep” and stands up ready to move, thus, creating a receptive space for whatever the coming liturgy will offer. Casey continues, “arriving late or out of breath can be a sign of willful disorganization, passive aggression, or spiritual upheaval.” [But, remember also what Benedict says in RB 43: “Better late than never!”] Lectio divina and Liturgy of the Hours are not intended simply as an exercise to give monastics something to do to keep them out of mischief. The primary purpose is to reconnect the pipeline to the spiritual world to sustain the person to live a life according to God. Our Shepherd assures us that He knows every single sheep by name! He’ll never come to the threshold and call out: “Hey you!” And, we will each recognize His voice. He has promised: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me!”
A man in Australia was arrested and charged with stealing a sheep. But he claimed emphatically that it was one of his own that had been missing for many days. When the case went to court, the judge was puzzled, not knowing how to decide the matter. At last, he asked that the sheep be brought into the courtroom. Then he ordered the plaintiff to step outside and call the animal. The sheep made no response except to raise its head and look frightened. The judge then instructed the defendant to go to the courtyard and call the sheep. When the accused man began to make his distinctive call, the sheep bounded toward the door. It was obvious that he recognized the familiar voice of his master. “His sheep knows him,” said the judge. “Case dismissed!”
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
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