![\"Mountain](\"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/mountain_meadow-500x333.jpg\")
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Today\u2019s readings form a beautiful progression:
\nIn the first reading God makes a promise.
\nThe responsorial psalm responds to that promise.
\nThe Gospel shows the fulfillment of the promise.
\nAnd all three center on the figure of the shepherd.<\/p>\n
First, God promises.
\nDuring the time of the prophet Jeremiah,
\nthe people of God were scattered.
\nThey were beaten down.
\nThe Babylonians had laid siege to Jerusalem,
\nand had ultimately destroyed the Temple.
\nThe chosen people are in exile.
\nThe kings of Israel, who were supposed to shepherd the people,
\nhave given in to power, cowardice, and greed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoe to the shepherds,\u201d says Jeremiah.
\n\u201cYou have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
\nYou have not cared for them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
But God cares, says Jeremiah.
\n\u201cI myself will gather the remnant of my flock
\nfrom all the lands to which I have driven them
\nand bring them back to their meadow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t that a perfect image for summertime?
\nWe might imagine a mountain meadow,
\ngreen grass, a cool breeze, the blue sky.
\nThe meadow is empty,
\nbut soon people begin to trickle in one by one or two by two,
\nas the shepherd brings them back.
\nThey meet, shake hands or hug. It\u2019s like a big family reunion.
\nSlowly the meadow fills with people.<\/p>\n
This is God\u2019s promise:
\nto gather everyone together:
\n\u201cNone shall be missing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
So this is the promise:
\na shepherd who gathers.<\/p>\n
And after the promise comes the responsorial psalm,
\nour response to what we have heard.
\nWe just sang together,
\n\u201cThe Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the most beloved psalm in scripture, and for good reason.
\nThe psalmist has it right. The psalmist knows God, trusts God.
\n\u201cGod gives me repose.\u201d \u201cGod refreshes my soul.\u201d
\n\u201cGod guides me.\u201d \u201cI fear no evil.\u201d
\nThis is a psalm of trust.<\/p>\n
Our response to God\u2019s word from Jeremiah is to trust in the promise.
\nGod will send a shepherd to bring us to the meadow,
\nto gather us together and give us rest,
\nto guide us, to take away our fears.<\/p>\n
What am I most stressed out about today?
\nWhere do I need guidance?
\nWhat do I fear?
\nWhere am I falling apart?<\/p>\n
When we are scattered, the shepherd will gather.
\nGod will bring us to verdant pastures.
\nNot only will the shepherd lead us to rest,
\nbut he will also refresh our souls.<\/p>\n
And God will do something more.
\nThe second part of the psalm describes a God who nourishes.
\n\u201cYou spread the table before me in sight of my foes.\u201d
\nThe shepherd will not only guide and gather, but also feed his people.<\/p>\n
In that meadow that we\u2019ve been imagining
\nthere will be large banquet tables.
\nThe people will feast as they have never feasted before.
\nThe cups will overflow.<\/p>\n
God will do this. He has promised.
\nOur response is to believe it, to accept it, and to proclaim it out loud.
\n\u201cThe Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.\u201d<\/p>\n
How can we believe in this? How can we trust this?
\nHow can we know?
\nBecause it has already happened.
\nThe promise has been fulfilled
\nand is being fulfilled here today.<\/p>\n
Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise.
\nThe shepherd God promised has already come.
\nJesus sees the vast crowd in today\u2019s gospel
\nand his heart moves with pity.
\nHe doesn\u2019t send them away.
\nJesus doesn\u2019t scatter.
\nHe gathers.
\nHe preaches peace to those who were far off
\nand peace to those who are near.
\nJesus goes among prostitutes and tax collectors.
\nHe eats with sinners.
\nJesus seeks out the lost so that \u201cnone shall be missing.\u201d
\nHe leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI myself will gather the remnant of my flock
\nfrom all the lands to which I have driven them
\nand bring them back to their meadow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meadow is here, in this community of believers.
\nHere, we find repose.
\nHe leads us here, beside the restful waters of baptism.
\nHe refreshes our souls
\nin the sacraments of reconciliation and anointing.
\nWe walk in dark valleys,
\nbut here in this community
\nhe is at our side, so we fear no evil.<\/p>\n
And here at this altar
\nhe spreads the table of the Eucharist.
\nJesus our shepherd does more than prepare the banquet.
\nHe offers his body and blood as life-giving food.
\nHe gathers us around this table so that we can be nourished.<\/p>\n
Jesus is the shepherd we have been promised.<\/p>\n
But if the promise has been fulfilled,
\nthen why do we still want?
\nWhy are we still so restless?
\nWhy don\u2019t we feel more refreshed?
\nWhy do we still fear evil?<\/p>\n
That is a question each of us must ask ourselves individually.
\nThat is a question to meditate on, to pray about.<\/p>\n
There are six verses in Psalm 23.
\nOne for each day of the week, Monday through Saturday.<\/p>\n
On Monday we could take verse one,
\n\u201cThe Lord is my shepherd,
\nthere is nothing I shall want,\u201d
\nand think about that for a while.
\nDo I want God to be my shepherd?
\nOr would I rather be the master of my fate,
\nthe captain of my soul?
\nIt feels kind of insulting to be thought of as a sheep.
\nWhy do I feel that way?
\nAnd there are lots of things that I want.
\nWhy do I want so many things?
\nWe could spend five minutes or so thinking about that little verse.<\/p>\n
Then we could talk to Jesus about it, asking him questions,
\nfor about a minute.
\nJesus, if I let you shepherd me, what would happen?
\nWould I lose my freedom? Would I be happier?
\nJesus, I want to be guided by you, but I get so distracted.
\nCan you help me focus more on you?
\nI have lots of wants: I want a new job, I want friends,
\nI want help with this particular problem.
\nWe can just speak to Jesus as to a friend,
\nno longer than a minute.<\/p>\n
And then, we can simply rest in His presence.
\nWe can take about five minutes and let Jesus respond to us,
\nlistening in the silence for anything He might have to offer.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, verse two:
\n\u201cIn verdant pastures he gives me repose;
\nbeside restful waters he leads me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then on Wednesday:
\n\u201cHe refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths.\u201d<\/p>\n
It takes less than fifteen minutes to do this each day,
\nin the morning or in the evening,
\nor maybe on our lunch break.
\nWe can open up the Bible,
\nor pull up Psalm 23
\non our computers, smart phones, or tablets.<\/p>\n
And then read the verse slowly,
\nthink about it for five minutes,
\nspeak to Jesus for one minute,
\nlisten for five minutes.
\nOne verse for each day of the week.<\/p>\n
And by the end of the week
\nwe may be surprised by what we encounter.<\/p>\n
If we start on Monday and end on Saturday,
\nwe will reach the end of Psalm 23,
\nand hear God\u2019s promise to us one more time,
\na promise that has already been fulfilled in Jesus,
\nand one to which we hope to respond
\nwith full confidence and trust just
\nso we can say, just as the psalmist did:<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly goodness and kindness follow me
\nall the days of my life;
\nand I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
\nfor years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n