Being a Good Shepherd

 Pope Francis often talks about the importance of pastors having the smell of sheep upon them. Having traveled the Camino to Santiago de Compostella there are several images that emphasize this insight. The first is the royal road that gives local shepherds priority in moving their flocks from one place to another. This allows people to see the importance of a person leading others to good pastures but also a community recognizing that this is a basic underpinning for society. We are called to be people who seek good pasture that allows a person to be provided with the basic necessities of life. 

The second reflection is that the shepherd shares his life in the middle of the sheep. This emphasizes a basic familiarity with the conditions in which they live. The shepherd goes out to the field and learns to listen to their smell and their voice. He starts to be able to be present to who they are and respond to their particular needs. This allows a person to be available and present to them as there are.

In our own age, we also need shepherds. There is a need for the basic priestly presence of people being present to others in their own square metre. The ability to mix with people in our own neighbourhood and our own environment. This familiarity allows us to read the signs of the times by seeking actions that respond to particular needs. It also broadens our sense of home to not being isolationist but being people who see that our action or inaction has an impact on others. The call to be good shepherds seeks to befriend others and to see Christ in them.

We also need pastors who provide the point of unity and enable us to recognize how Christ is at work in our midst. We know how easy it is to be concerned only about our own mob rather than noticing the interconnection between our common humanity. It also seeks to see whether we are coated in fear or in love. There is a seeking that seeks to proclaim life that may be lived to the full. We need to reach out to each other in a friendship that proclaims Christ in risen for all people and for the whole of creation.

Accompanying each other along the way

 Our ability to walk and talk can not only bring us closer together but can help us journey forward into an unknown future. Often in life, our markers are placed in the past and formed by the experience of what has happened. This can cause us to shape the future by predictions of what should happen rather than what is happening. The experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus helps us to see that we are all formed by our own interpretation of history. Yet in talking together about the Easter event our lives are reshaped by the person of Jesus that we encounter along the way. He listens to their story and their hopes but helps them to reimagine how the scriptures draw them to a deeper encounter with the Good News. He does not abandon us to our own devices but causes our hearts to burn within us as we meet at the Eucharist.

In our own age, we accompany each other into a future that is not our own. It calls us to the heart of creation in discovering the Word of God who walks with us still. That shares life through the Eucharist and enables us for our mission. As we walk with each other and listen for the voice of life that recreates and renews all things. We discover the promise that we journey to the heart of God. Each day we become people who build a communion of faith that seeks to witness how our lives matter to God.

God surrenders everything to us that we may surrender everything to God

Saint Matthew in his Gospel account of Jesus sums up his teaching as learning mercy not sacrifice. I believe this is important in the light of Jesus' invitation to Thomas to touch his wounds. I believe this is more that a casual touch but rather an embracing of his heart. We need to feel the rhythm of his life beat through our own. May we discover how God is present to us today!

Travelling together in Christ

 As we approach Easter there is a calling to walk with Christ. This invitation is pivotal in our Christian lives because it marks a transition from doing things for Him to being present with Him. We see this as we mark an important shift in the governance of our own hearts. We are called to recognize the face of Christ in every culture and every nation. This central principle of friendship allows us to discover that we are not alone on this journey. As we seek to accompany our local Church  to share the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office entrusted to us at baptism. With our Bishop, we seek to become servant leaders who seek to pray, study and act in a way that embodies the person of Christ in our own communities. As we enter the 50 days of Easter may we encounter the risen Christ who wells up within us for the good of God, the good of each other, and the good of all creation. May we discover as the disciples did on the road to Emmaus that our hearts burn with us as we talk along the way? That we notice Him whenever we break bread together and are drawn deeper into a communion that is His Body and Blood. May you experience the Easter blessings that surprise us with joy!

Walking with Jesus

As we went Holy Week there is a subtle but important change of pace. This is where we start to walk more closely with Jesus. We recognise how grief, disappointment and opposition can confront us in daily life. But as we see in the prophet Isaiah they do not crush his spirit. Rather he sets his face into the wind and seeks to be who he is called to be.  

In a similar way as walk with him we can discover someone who does not want us to be crushed by our suffering. Rather he seeks for us to be touched by a confidence of knowing how deeply we are loved by God. This is not just a call to buoyant optimism but rather a discovery of how God seeks out the best for us even in our greatest trials.

As we journey through this week may we discover how walking with Jesus we may encounter him more deeply.