Advent: The coming of the Good Shepherd

These themes of the lost sheep and of the Good shepherd occur in Advent’s readings. They relate to Isaiah’s prophecy announcing the coming of the Lord (Is 40:1-11).  They remind me of a story that I heard on the radio on a bus from London of this kid who comes home from a Sunday school, running and shouting: ’Mummy, mummy: did you know that we are all sheep and God is our leopard?’ I am not sure I agree with this kid but what do I know about animals, anyway?

The lost sheep!

The story of the lost sheep tells us more about the shepherd who cares for the sheep, but we can say a few things about the sheep before we say some about the shepherd. So, how do the sheep get lost in the first place? Sometimes the sheep are lost or disappear because they want autonomy, sometimes because there is a wild animal that steals them… And sometimes, they just get lost and they have really not much to do with it, but they still face the consequences. If we apply this to believers, it is very difficult to explain how people get in the position of the lost sheep. Some people decide that the life in the flock is not good for them; they find it boring, demanding or unfair. Others grow up in circumstances that hardly help them to stay with the rest of the flock. Some people grow up to become evil and are hated by almost everyone. I remember when I started Grade 6 after the Rwandan genocide; some kids were brought into our classrooms: ex-child soldiers. We used to call them little monsters… We grew up thinking they were marked for good. Many of them are now good fathers and mothers in families. 

The same thing happens over and over everywhere in the world: some people, from all classes, all conditions of life, grow up in situations that might shape their character. Some of them grow up in abusive families, dangerous neighbourhoods, judgmental communities, money-worshiping families, and so on. That might give us a glimpse into why the shepherd still wants to go after them and bring them back. Indeed, the shepherd in this case is also their creator. He loves them dearly, more than the way the best parents in the world love their children, even if these happen to be the worst, most disrespectful children. God has the full picture of the lives. When we feel good for being better than a fellow human being, we forget that in the eyes of God we are all children; his little beloved children. 

How easily can we get discouraged facing someone who does not follow his/her way and went adrift, even condemn him/her forever because we lost all hope for him/her? We no longer have time; we are disappointed and perhaps exhausted because we do not see a way out. We do not understand, we no longer understand. We put barriers to protect ourselves. We become weak… And that is normal: we are just humans. But we should keep faith in God, the good shepherd. He will go after the lost person.

Second Week of Advent - Tuesday: it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.

Readings: Isaiah 40: 1-11; Psalm 95; Matthew 18: 12-14

We grow up as Christians with many images of God (and Christ) that we find in the Gospels and the Epistles relating God to the Church. Some of the most common ones are: the corner stone to the edifice, the vine and its branches and many others. One image of God that people might forget is the one of the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd attends to his flock (as a shepherdess does to hers). The First reading starts by these very encouraging words:”Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.” The Gospel is concluded by words even more consoling”…it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” What marvellous words to listen to during Advent! It is consoling to know that our God loves us and takes care of us. So, we should not fear God. It would be sad to spend our lives living in fear of a God who created us out of love.

Countless people in the Church are afraid of God because they see themselves as nothing else but sinners. This mind-set influences every action they perform. They would spend their entire life seeing sin and punishment everywhere. But as they would not be able to avoid sinning – in my mother tongue Kinyarwanda it is said that a saint sins seven times in one day – they would spend their whole life in terror and self-hatred. They forget that the God who will judge them is also a caring God, full of gentleness towards God’s people, just as a shepherd cares about the flock. Are usually children terrified by the idea that their caring parents are going to punish them? The fear of punishment might even lead to deceit and thus to more sins.

It happens that non-Christians accuse Christians of not being happy people. They experience that terror displayed by some Christians and rightfully make their conclusions. This is because some Christians expect the king who is to come to be merciless. Today’s readings remind us that our King is a Good Shepherd and is different from others kings. “That imagery [of kingship] is meant to keep the human kings in check” (Schneiders, S. God is more than two men and a bird. US Catholic, May 1990. 20, 22-27. p. 23). Christ who is being born on Christmas is gentle and humble. He chose to be born among sinners because he knew they needed someone to help them live their lives with the joy of knowing that he understands their limitations. That is why he gave us the image of a gentle and caring shepherd, who goes to look for the stray sheep.

Today, let us pray that we may understand that God is Love and that our lives are not a difficult course created by God to test our fidelity. May Christ, our expected king, bring us that hope and happiness he used to give to all those who met him.

And as we celebrate St Nicholas today, I would like to wish a happy feast to our brother Nicholas Crowe OP. May he continue to be inspired by the humble and generous saint.