Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This Sunday is known as Good Shepherd Sunday and these words console me a lot, especially the words of the psalm: you are at my side, your rod and our staff give me courage; restful waters refresh my soul. The Eucharist is a consolation; it is a reassurance. There is silence in the Eucharist, and it helps me. I don’t think one can experience this over the internet; it is something that happens in person.
What is the silence in the Mass? It is the cross of Christ that we have here today. The cross has always impressed me, and the crucified Christ helps me enormously. Maybe it sounds silly to you but when I see a crucified Christ on the cross, I thank God because Christ is still there, nailed to the cross. At times I think about the day when Christ will no longer be nailed to it, and I tremble because it means the Lord is fed up with me. But look, he is not fed up with me yet and I don’t think it will ever happen. Looking at the cross with Christ there quietly is telling me that he accepts my sins and my weaknesses, without judging me. He really is the Good Shepherd.
Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd, I am suffering for you, patient with you. When a lost sheep returns to him, he does not kick him or call her stupid and ask why did you get lost? He picks it up with love. He is very happy to have found her. He picks it up with love and puts her on his shoulders and takes her back to the fold. And if she is wounded, he heals her. When a priest sits in the confessional, he is not the one forgiving sins; it is the Lord; it is Christ; it is the Good Shepherd who forgives.
When I look at the cross, I see such a great love that God has for me. That is why I can rest in the Eucharist. For me the Eucharist is restful no matter how many sins I have. The Lord has this mission and he’s not going to stop fulfilling it and it is he that saves you. He is the one who finds you and brings you back to the fold. And each Eucharist brings us back to Christ. He carries you on his shoulders and he says: I love you.
I was wondering if there are some good pastors because I know that there are some bad ones. Let’s not fool ourselves, there is only one Good Shepherd. The rest can be bad and take advantage of us. There are shepherds who take away our happiness, or our sleep, or lead us to an abyss, or lead us to death. We could ask ourselves which shepherd are you following? Because we are sheep and we let ourselves be guided by a shepherd. Who is guiding you? Is it the desire for money, for health, for vanity or political ideology? Is there someone or something you put above absolutely everything? Are you letting yourself be guided by your idea, or by the love of Christ?
Jesus says, I am the gate for the sheep. This is very profound because the sheepfold was a square or rectangular or circular enclosure that had one little part of it that was open and did not have a door. There was a hole in the middle of the stone wall through which the sheep entered and exited. When the shepherd had already put all the sheep in the fold how would he make sure that none of the sheep got out? He would stand or sit at the opening. He would sleep there also at night so a wolf or a thief could not enter or if he did get in, he could not get out. The door for the sheep to enter or to leave is me.
The Lord is my shepherd and there is nothing that I shall want. In green pastures he gives me repose; besides restful waters he leads me, and it refreshes my soul. All this the Lord does for you, and this cannot be done by our own efforts. We cannot find green pasture nor restful waters. We lack many things without him. Everything is missing without him. When the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. If Christ is your shepherd, you do not lack anything, neither joy nor peace nor money nor anything. That is why he invites us to let ourselves be led by him. It is beautiful because when we let ourselves be led by him will lose ourselves and are found by him. He will look for you calmly. That is why this is a Eucharist of mercy, of help.
Even if I walk in dark valleys, I fear no evil for you are at my side. What are these dark valleys? They are our sins. Even though I am in the midst of my sins, I fear nothing because you go with me, you have experienced that Christ goes with you when you are going to sin and that he is with you when you sin. And he gives you the Holy Spirit in order to know that you have sinned so you can repent and return to him. It is a wonderful conversion.
You spread a table before me in the sight of my foes of my enemies. The eucharist is this table in front of me. And who is my enemy? It is the devil and that is why he’s angry because the Eucharist gives us rest. It gives us peace. It exhorts us and tells us that Christ loves us. A eucharist is not all boring with long sermons, no, no, it is an experience of the love of God for you. That Christ alone is enough for you that he loves you profoundly. If you hear this your life will change, if you really listen with your heart. If you think you deserve the love of the Lord, or you deserve to be in front of this table, or you deserve to have Christ as your shepherd, then you are a spoiled brat, or a Pharisee and your life doesn’t change.
Well, courage, brothers and sisters, the Lord is truly our shepherd. Let us think this week, these days, that he is guiding our lives. Let’s be honest and not fool ourselves because we want to be led by Christ. Perhaps it is not Christ who is guiding our life. What do you spend your time thinking about all day? Your comfort, or your money, or your sexual pleasure, or having a better job or position; then this is your shepherd! What a shame this would be. When Christ is our true shepherd there is nothing that we lack.