Homily Sunday May 12, 2019 Mom's are Good Shepherds Too

Homily - Sunday 

May 12, 2019 

Mom's are Good Shepherds Too

John 10:27-30 (Readings) "My Sheep Hear My Voice.".

Deacon David Lewis

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

Today is good shepherd Sunday. The Good Shepherd is one of the earliest images of Christ, Jesus, there with the lamb over his shoulders and a shepherd’s hook in his hand.  It symbolizes the care that God has for us, that when things are difficult we have a God willing to help. That when we are unable to carry ourselves, we have a God willing to load us on to his shoulders and carry us. When we are down he lifts us up.

But also it paints a picture of us, that we are sheep, that we are part of a flock, a flock that is led by a shepherd. A shepherd that ultimately wants the best for us. A flock that if it follows the shepherd’s direction will come to realize its’ best life.

I grew up in a house of 6 kids, a small flock if you will, a very traditional household, where Mom stayed at home, and Dad went off and  worked a 9-5 Monday through Friday. Most of the day-to-day raising of us children was led by my Mom, what meals we ate, what clothes we wore, our schedule for the day, and the household rules, and of course the discipline, were all mandated by my mom. When we needed to go grocery shopping, Mom would often take us along. And as you could imagine with six of us, one or two of the flock would get distracted by the cereal aisle, or be drawn to the toy section, or one of us  inadvertently mistake a jacket similar to my mothers and followed after it thinking it was Mom. And When that happened Mom would often call out for us, and we knew right away it was her. We knew her voice apart all the other moms out there, you could say we know the voice of our shepherd. It was the same voice we heard when she called us for dinner each night, it was the same voice she guided us through our homework with, it was the same voice she scolded us with when we broke the rules. It was the same voice she comforted us with.

I would like to say that mom knew our voice equally well, but unfortunately I don’t know if she did; we were all taught that if we got lost, and called out “Mom” a couple times and got no response, the next call would be “Alice!” that always got my mom’s attention, because she knew it wasn’t the pestering  use of “Mom” asking her to get the box of sugary cereal she had already said no to ten times, or one of us fighting for her attention to ask for our favorite soda, calling by her first name meant we were in trouble.

 I imagine a shepherd, as he wanders through the countryside guiding his flock through the green pastures gets to know his sheep as well as his sheep get to know him. It is a relationship built by spending time together, a trust built as the shepherd continues to guide them from one meal to the next, as the shepherd protects them from predators, and as the sheep’s cries for help are heard and answered.

God is indeed a good shepherd. He knows us, but how are we doing on our end of things? Are we hearing his voice? Do we listen for God’s voice in prayer? Do we listen for His voice in scripture?

If it’s a been a while since you sat with the scripture outside of Mass, or if you have never done it at all, I challenge you to go home this week, find a Bible, dust it off, find a quiet corner in your home, turn off your cel phone, and then flip towards the back of the bible and find one of the Gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke, or John, and pick a paragraph or two to read. Imagine yourself in that scripture, imagine you are one of the characters, imagine yourself there with Jesus. Then give your self a few moments to reflect, listening for the voice of God in that silence.

If your prayer life is weak I encourage you to come on Friday during adoration, or visit one of the parishes with perpetual 24 hour adoration, like the small chapel next to the parish office at Precious Blood, it’s just on Fourth Ave near Palomar in Chula Vista. Sit in front of Jesus and pray for him to speak to you… and listen.

But with today being Mother’s day, I also encourage you to go home, for those of you whose Mom’s are still with us, listen to her voice… visit her, call her, talk to her… if you have never asked her about her story I encourage you to get to know your Mom better today. For those of you who are mothers I encourage you to speak to your flock, share the stories of your childhood, what it was like for you, let you children, and grandchildren if you are so blessed, know how it was for you “back in the day” Share the lessons you’ve learned,  the friend’s you’ve made, and the love you’ve witnessed.

Let us all remember the many times that out Mother’s have lifted us, and carried us during our times of need. The ways the they led us to make our lives better, the ways they showed us their love. But let us remember also our God who is our Good Shepherd.