Homily - Sunday 2015/07/19 - Be a Shepherd

Homily - Sunday 

July 19, 2015

Be a shepherd

Mark 6:30-34
Deacon David Lewis

Saint Charles Catholic Church, Imperial Beach / San Diego, CA

Gospel Mk 6:30-34

The apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.
They hastened there on foot from all the towns
and arrived at the place before them.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.

            In the many years that I have been in the workplace, I have had the opportunity to be guided by a variety of different types of leaders assigned with the task of supervising me. There have been some that left me to my own, leaving me wondering what to do. Others would spell it out step by step, often interrupting my progress with excessive supervision. But the best supervisors, would give me objectives to meet, and the tools to accomplish them, and would be available to answer any questions I might have along the along the way.

            In life we are not only led by our supervisors at work, but by our parents, our friends, and other mentors in our lives. As a deacon, and Father, as a priest, we often are put into the role of leading others. We are often asked to teach classes, lead reflections, participate in retreats, and even counsel people. It is part of the responsibility of being ordained: to guide others to live holy virtuous lives pleasing to God.

            But a lot of what we learn as we go along, isn’t taught to us in a class, in a book, in a video, or even in a homily, it is taught to us by example. We watch and learn from others by how they do it. Father Jim, Father Burt, Father Arnold, Father Bill, and my fellow deacons, they have all played a role in my faith life, each quietly, perhaps without even knowing, have served as an example of prayerfulness, humility, faithfulness, and integrity.

            They each have their strengths, and weaknesses like we all do. Each has their own unique gifts that God has given them that they put to use, glorifying God.

(said with Fr Arnold Mass) Father Arnold for example has the biggest, kindest heart I know. He loves to serve our Church with a humility I continue to strive for, while leading me to be my best, by his example and guidance.

(said with Fr Bill’s Mass) Father Bill for example has a much nicer singing voice than most. If you were fortunate enough to have attended the last Easter Vigil, you may remember how he recited the Ex,ul,tet prayer at the beginning of the Mass so beautifully. I appreciate the beauty that he brings to the Mass through his singing, and how that elevates my experience with Christ whenever we serve together. But Father and I are not here alone to give example... We are surrounded by the altar servers, sacristans, ushers, choir, and you the parishioners.

Now I don’t know what brought you through the doors of our Church today, but I hope that you, like the many disciples in today’s Gospel reading, came to experience Jesus. I hope that in your heart you had an urge, a calling, or even a mustard-seed sized desire in your heart to hear the Word of Christ proclaimed, to see Him in the Eucharist, or to see him in the others here in the Church, brought to life through their example of being Christ-like.

Many of us come to Church to get something… to receive communion… to take a message home with us… or even just to get our obligation of attending Mass checked off the list. But if we truly follow Christ’s example of giving of self, we may realize that when we come into Church it is about giving as much as it is about receiving. We can give God our worries, concerns, and anxieties. We can give God our love through our conversations in our prayers. We can give to those in need through Caritas. Some of us give of our time and talents as we serve in the liturgy.

When we give at Mass, it deepens the experience. Imagine for moment going to a concert, listening to your favorite artist sing your most beloved music…. Nice right? Now imagine you have the moment, just a few seconds as that same performer walks past you returning backstage as he or she stops to greet you, and you have the opportunity to say how much you enjoyed the concert, or how meaningful their songs are to your life. That moment of giving those words to that artist will be something you will treasure. It is that experience I hope you get to enjoy at Mass, a moment when you get to encounter Christ and tell him how much you love him.

If only that could happen outside of Mass too… well it can!

Today’s world is the same world Jesus lived in 2000 years ago. People are still hungry for that encounter with Christ, still willing to go out of their way to meet him, still desiring a shepherd. We all have a God designed, built in desire, to love Him and to know Him. And with so many people out there who have not found a solution to that desire yet, we have the opportunity to be a shepherd, to bring people to God, to bring people to encounter Jesus. To help them figure out how it is that they can find happiness in giving themselves to God, how it is they can find peace in handing over their anxieties and concerns to a most powerful and loving God.

We as Christians need to realize that we don’t necessarily have to teach classes, write books, or create movies about God, although those things can be good, We simply need to be shepherds, to shepherd those with the faintest desire in their hearts to know God, guiding them toward Jesus, providing an all-important example, an example of how we live our lives trying to please God.

After we give of ourselves in Church today, let us continue to give of ourselves as we live our lives out there. Let us be examples to our families, neighbors, coworkers and even our enemies, of how to live life Christ-like. Lead them, not by walking away from them and leaving them alone, wondering where to go like a sheep without a shepherd, and don’t lead them by doing it all for them, forcing them to go towards Christ, jamming it down their throats if you will but lead them by letting them know about the path to Christ, invite them into the Church, to Mass, lead them through your own example of how to love and be loved by Christ, lead them like a shepherd leads his sheep.