Sacred Heart of Jesus Yr C 2025

Title

The Shepherd Who Cares

Outline

Our Texts Talk About the Shepherd Who Cares

That is the picture of Ezekiel, the Shepherd is not one who does not care, for whom it is just a job, but one who cares and specifically about God as a shepherd who cares for his sheep, his people.

Jesus then uses that picture and depicts himself as a shepherd going after a single lost sheep, not reluctantly, but persistently until he finds it, apparently unable to walk home, so he carries it home. And then he does not say, “I’m glad that is done” and relax, but holds a party.

Finally Paul points to Jesus and God (and since they are one, there is in our sense one heart) going all the way to death for, not just a wandering sheep, but an enemy. And then not only rescues the sheep by his death, but also draws it/them into his life.

That calls for two things:

First, meditation on how much we are loved until his heart permeates our heart.

Second, joining him in going after the lost sheep, even his and our enemies. We can do that without going anywhere physical; we can do that with the chaplet of divine mercy replacing anger and upset right in our cell.

That shows that we have been drawn into the sacred heart of Jesus.