Parish Letter Fourth Sunday Easter A 2008
The Gate of the Sheepfold
In the Gospel today, St John presents Jesus’ teaching on authority. He uses the image of a shepherd. There are good shepherds and bad shepherds. In the words of Jesus, as preserved for us by John: “anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand.” In contradistinction: “The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock.” The legitimacy of the shepherd is evident in that, “the gate keeper lets him in,” and, “the sheep hear his voice.” The good shepherd has an intimate knowledge of, and bond with, his flock for, “one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out.” To his call, the sheep respond, “the sheep follow because they know his voice.”
The good shepherd is a model of legitimate authority. The word authority finds its root in the word author. An author is more than just someone who writes a book or originates a project. To be an author is to be a creator and to participate in the ongoing creative activity of God the Creator. So, genuine authorship mirrors, and flows from, the creativity of God. Similarly, authentic authority, radiates, and emanates from, the authority of God. A shepherd is good to the extents that he is a shepherd after the master’s heart, to the extent that his authority flows from that of God. The image of a shepherd is central to the biblical notion of legitimate authority. The Christian tradition that we have received espouses this idea of authority both in the church and in the state.
The opposite of authority is not simply bad authority – it is abandonment. The root meaning of abandon is; “to place under a ban or authority of another.” Abandon is the establishment of an attitude that anything goes which becomes destructive of a human and social fabric. It is the absence, or loss, of leadership that, in a former era, could have maintained a better cohesiveness in society, a cohesiveness of shared values, purposes, and dreams, even. In short, abandon represents a time of dehumanization, a culture of death, a spiritual helplessness. Abandon is the emptiness caused by the absence of a truly legitimate authority.
When the flock of sheep is without a shepherd it is abandoned. To be abandoned is, simply, to be forsaken entirely, and given up by anyone providing the basic needs for daily living. A field that is abandoned is quickly overrun with weeds and becomes unproductive. It appears useless. Likewise, a building that is abandoned ends up collapsing in ruins. A domestic animal that is not fed and cared for ends up dying. A human being uncared for and unloved becomes lonely, despairing, depressed, heartbroken, and suicidal or ultimately dies.
It is easy to imagine situations of abandonment, that is, places and people who no longer receive attention. Anything that is abandoned ceases to have value and meaning. It is fit only for the junkyard, rubbish heap, and the graveyard. Abandonment happens when authority is abdicated or usurped. Abandonment happens when someone other than the shepherd, in the words of Jesus; “enters the sheepfold in some other way” other than through the gate. When a shepherd focuses his attention on himself, at the expense of the sheep, he is abandoning them. He leaves the sheep in their sad state, discontinues feeling responsible, and ceases to have compassion, for them. We do not need to go into the specifics of abandonment and illegitimate authority in this bulletin.
Suffice it to say, again, that authority finds its root in an author, and God is the Author after whom all authors take. God is the Good Shepherd, in whose steps all shepherds must follow. Exercising authority ought to author life, give growth, increase value, engender hope, facilitate reconciliation, initiate healing, open up possibilities, and give reasons to rejoice. Those under authority need to flourish and to thrive; to actualize and to realize the liberating truth about who they truly are. Authority ennobles society and enhances humanity.
Let us pray for authority in our country, as we live through a rough patch of national history, replete with abandonment. Let us pray that God, the Author and Creator may give us leaders who participate in his creative authority. Let us pray that Our Lord Jesus, the Gate of the Sheepfold, may give us shepherds, in the church and in the country, who enter through the gate. Amen.
May God Bless You Always Fr. William Guri, C.Ss.R.
The Gate of the Sheepfold
In the Gospel today, St John presents Jesus’ teaching on authority. He uses the image of a shepherd. There are good shepherds and bad shepherds. In the words of Jesus, as preserved for us by John: “anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand.” In contradistinction: “The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock.” The legitimacy of the shepherd is evident in that, “the gate keeper lets him in,” and, “the sheep hear his voice.” The good shepherd has an intimate knowledge of, and bond with, his flock for, “one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out.” To his call, the sheep respond, “the sheep follow because they know his voice.”
The good shepherd is a model of legitimate authority. The word authority finds its root in the word author. An author is more than just someone who writes a book or originates a project. To be an author is to be a creator and to participate in the ongoing creative activity of God the Creator. So, genuine authorship mirrors, and flows from, the creativity of God. Similarly, authentic authority, radiates, and emanates from, the authority of God. A shepherd is good to the extents that he is a shepherd after the master’s heart, to the extent that his authority flows from that of God. The image of a shepherd is central to the biblical notion of legitimate authority. The Christian tradition that we have received espouses this idea of authority both in the church and in the state.
The opposite of authority is not simply bad authority – it is abandonment. The root meaning of abandon is; “to place under a ban or authority of another.” Abandon is the establishment of an attitude that anything goes which becomes destructive of a human and social fabric. It is the absence, or loss, of leadership that, in a former era, could have maintained a better cohesiveness in society, a cohesiveness of shared values, purposes, and dreams, even. In short, abandon represents a time of dehumanization, a culture of death, a spiritual helplessness. Abandon is the emptiness caused by the absence of a truly legitimate authority.
When the flock of sheep is without a shepherd it is abandoned. To be abandoned is, simply, to be forsaken entirely, and given up by anyone providing the basic needs for daily living. A field that is abandoned is quickly overrun with weeds and becomes unproductive. It appears useless. Likewise, a building that is abandoned ends up collapsing in ruins. A domestic animal that is not fed and cared for ends up dying. A human being uncared for and unloved becomes lonely, despairing, depressed, heartbroken, and suicidal or ultimately dies.
It is easy to imagine situations of abandonment, that is, places and people who no longer receive attention. Anything that is abandoned ceases to have value and meaning. It is fit only for the junkyard, rubbish heap, and the graveyard. Abandonment happens when authority is abdicated or usurped. Abandonment happens when someone other than the shepherd, in the words of Jesus; “enters the sheepfold in some other way” other than through the gate. When a shepherd focuses his attention on himself, at the expense of the sheep, he is abandoning them. He leaves the sheep in their sad state, discontinues feeling responsible, and ceases to have compassion, for them. We do not need to go into the specifics of abandonment and illegitimate authority in this bulletin.
Suffice it to say, again, that authority finds its root in an author, and God is the Author after whom all authors take. God is the Good Shepherd, in whose steps all shepherds must follow. Exercising authority ought to author life, give growth, increase value, engender hope, facilitate reconciliation, initiate healing, open up possibilities, and give reasons to rejoice. Those under authority need to flourish and to thrive; to actualize and to realize the liberating truth about who they truly are. Authority ennobles society and enhances humanity.
Let us pray for authority in our country, as we live through a rough patch of national history, replete with abandonment. Let us pray that God, the Author and Creator may give us leaders who participate in his creative authority. Let us pray that Our Lord Jesus, the Gate of the Sheepfold, may give us shepherds, in the church and in the country, who enter through the gate. Amen.
May God Bless You Always Fr. William Guri, C.Ss.R.
1 comment:
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