Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent
I was given a great opportunity to take a course in biblical archeology in Israel. This trip had a lot of great things, but the best experience for me was meeting groups of shepherds. This experience put a number of statements Jesus made in a clearer context. Let me explain. One day I was honored to meet this guy who had been a Bedouin shepherd his whole life. We were talking about what his life was like and different experiences he had while we were standing on a hill. In the valley below, there were approximately 200 sheep. While we were speaking, one of the sheep began to walk away from the larger group. Without skipping a beat in our conversation, the shepherd noticed this wandering little animal, bent over to pick up a large stone, and hurled it at least a couple hundred yards to land smack in front of the wandering sheep’s path, alerting it to turn around and join the rest of the crowd. My immediate response was to consider how we could get this guy back to sign for the NFL! This very gentle-spirited person, who was willing to welcome me and all my goofy questions about his life, had obviously worked for years very diligently to gain strength, pinpoint accuracy, and skill.
This experience came immediately to mind as I read about Jesus’ image of going after one lost sheep. I have tended to imagine the event of a wandering sheep as being once in a great while. But, if the experience of my new friend the shepherd is true, this is a regular occurrence that takes practice and skill development to keep all the sheep united. It is not just a once a year event. If we see Christ as the shepherd, then we know he is constantly looking out for us to remain part of his flock. He is rejoicing daily when we return from our wanderings to find our way back to him!
In our Christian heritage, we have a tendency to think of the invitation to rejoicing to be held to once a year. We all sing of joy and peace during the Advent and Christmas seasons and are often caught flat footed the rest of the year. Let’s reflect on the joy of Christ the shepherd is part of our daily, in fact, moment by moment happiness of our participation in his life of grace.
As the director of a Catholic Charities agency for years, I often looked to that one time of the year that we could capitalize on the generosity of others to support our work. You and I, as workers in this field, know that the work of charity is a year round, daily, moment by moment endeavor. Like the shepherd I met in a faraway place, let’s take this time to remember our year round duty to work hard and rejoice in the opportunity to serve those who need it the most to find their way.
Fr. Ragan Schriver directs the MSSW program at the University of Tennesee, Knoxville, and is a consultant with Catholic Charities USA.
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