We are all called to be shepherds

By Mary Regina Morrell
©Catholic Online 2005

"Listening is a difficult and sometimes tedious art. It is so much easier to tell people what to do. But to capture their desires, with an open and free heart, requires a real conversion, a "metanoia", a change of attitude. To listen to someone means to become open and vulnerable to him/her and to allow them to disturb us, to change our habits and our ways of thinking and seeing things." -- Letters of L'Arche

Recently, while visiting a nearby parish, I watched the efforts of a young mother who was attempting to correct her mentally challenged son as he repeatedly spoke out loud during Mass. For a time her efforts were met with an increasingly audible spilling-out of words, but eventually, taking his hand and stroking his face as she firmly corrected him, he turned his attention to her. The calling out ended and they sat, hand in hand, in the pew until Mass was over.

In watching the exchange I was reminded of a story relayed by Jean Vanier in his book, The Scandal of Service: Jesus Washes Our Feet. Vanier, who was the founder of L'Arche (the Ark) communities for mentally handicapped persons, relayed the story of Peter, a difficult man who absolutely refused to communicate with anyone. He was completely closed up in himself. One day it was discovered that Peter had athlete's foot and so, each day, it became necessary for someone to bath his feet three times a day and apply a medication.

Vanier continued, "From the day we started to touch and bath his feet, Peter began to open up. His whole attitude towards us changed. This showed us once again the importance of the washing of the feet," adding that over time he became more aware of the importance of Paul's words: "Do you not realize that you are a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you and whom you received from God in you? . . . So use your body for the glory of God" (1Corin. 6:19) "If the body is truly the dwelling-place of God, a holy ground, than all our relationships are transformed," wrote Vanier. "When we meet and touch others, we do so with even more respect as we realize their life is holy. When Jesus washes his disciples' feet and asks us to do the same, is he not showing us the importance of meeting each other, touching each other, with simplicity, gentleness and great respect, because each person is precious?"

Vanier asks another an important question, especially for those who carry the responsibility of Christian leadership: "How does Jesus want us to imitate him? Jesus is asking us to follow him on a path of littleness, forgiveness, trust, communion and vulnerability - without giving up, at other moments, our role of responsibility where we exercise authority with . . . justice, kindness and firmness."

It is interesting to note that the word "authority" comes from the Latin word "augere" which means to grow. And that is no accident, because all authority is intended to help people grow toward greater freedom, justice and truth. Unfortunately, positions of authority often become positions of power and privilege, doing more for the self-image of those who exercise it than for those whom they serve.

That is why the image of the Good Shepherd, or of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, is so powerful - it reminds us that Jesus calls us to exercise authority humbly, as a service; to be constructive not destructive. This is a call to littleness.

The image of the shepherd is also a powerful one to emphasize the importance of trust. Jesus said, "I know my sheep and my sheep know me." He was speaking of the depth of the shepherd's care and the trusting relationship that develops through an expression of authentic, self-sacrificing love.

May this month be one of prayer for the shepherd in each of us.

Contact

Diocese of Metuchen
http://www.diometuchen.org NJ, US
Mary Regina Morrell - Associate Director, Office of Religious Educationp, 732 562.1990

Email

mreginam@aol.com

Keywords

shepherds, trust, respect

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