Some years ago, a great actor was asked at a gathering to recite for the pleasure of the other guests. He consented and asked if there was anything special the audience wanted to hear. After a minute’s pause, an elderly minister asked him to recite Psalm 23. The actor consented, provided the minister would also recite the psalm when he was done.
“Me?” asked the minister, somewhat surprised. “I am not an elocutionist, but if you insist, I shall do so.”
Impressively, the actor began reciting the psalm. His voice and intonation were perfect. He held the audience spellbound and when he was finished, everyone applauded. After they had quieted down, the minister rose and began to recite the same psalm. His voice was not remarkable, his tone was not faultless, but when he was finished, there was not a dry eye in the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the actor said in a quivering voice, “I reached your eyes and ears, but he reached your hearts. The difference is this: I know the psalm; he knows the shepherd.”
The actor raises a good question. How well do we know the shepherd? In the early days of the church, many Jews did not know Jesus, nor did they understand the role that he as the Messiah was to play in their lives. Because Jesus did not meet their expectations of what a Messiah should be, they showed little interest in getting to know him.
Today, the same reality persists. Many who are baptized cannot claim to really know who Jesus; otherwise, they would be with us today at this liturgy, hungering to better know the Lord. Some don’t even try as though Jesus did not meet their expectation of what a Messiah should be either.
Our first impression of this gospel passage is that the good shepherd is willing to die for those whose lives are entrusted to his care. However true that insight may be, that limits our understanding of what Jesus is trying to get across. The Greek word used to express “lay down” really means to give, to place, to put. In other words, Jesus is speaking of the depth of his commitment and love for us, much like a mother has for her children.
The better we know him, the more likely we can see why Peter calls him the cornerstone, the one who can carry us through the difficult times of life, just as our mothers often did when we were young. Unless we strive to know Jesus well, we could be duped into not really appreciating the very sacrament we are celebrating now, passing up the chance for the Lord to hold our lives together just as the cornerstone holds a building together.
So how might we better know him? there are many ways to do that, including prayer, reading scripture, spending time before the Blessed Sacrament, and/or coming to Mass at least once a week, but the best way is found in the example a mother provides for her child. Do what we can to love others fully and totally, just a mother would, even when such love may not be appreciated.
Christ calls on us to be good shepherds ourselves to all of God’s children, to enable them to move beyond their fears and doubts to become more fully human. One contemporary example would be by supporting this year’s Annual Catholic Appeal. Your support, as Bob Schoeler will soon explain, enables us to make Christ, our good shepherd, more apparent to those around us. On behalf of those whose lives you will touch, thank you for your generous response.