Come away with me

A young pastor was teaching the 23rd Psalm to the younger Religious Ed children in his parish. He told them that they were sheep who needed guidance. Then the priest asked, "If you are the sheep then who is the shepherd?” (Obviously meaning himself). The kids were silent for a few seconds. Then a young boy said, "Jesus. Jesus is the Shepherd." The young priest, caught by surprise, said to the boy, "Well then, who am I?" The boy frowned thoughtfully for a bit, and then said, “Father, I guess you must be a sheep dog."

The theme of shepherds, good and bad, weaves through our readings this morning. Jeremiah rails against the rulers and priests of the Jewish nation in the first reading - “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock…and bring them back to their meadow.” Jeremiah promises his audience that Yahweh would give them a new shepherd, a good shepherd who would exercise God’s care and concern for his children.

And of course our responsorial reading, the 23rd Psalm, is one most of us probably first learned as children - “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want…Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” In times of stress and sorrow, it’s a “go to” for many of us, a source of comfort and peace.

Finally, in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus, seeking to get away with his disciples for some much needed rest and recharge time, finds himself “moved with pity” for the vast crowd he encounters because “they were like sheep without a shepherd” lost and wandering in a wilderness.

Unfortunately the metaphor of sheep and their shepherd loses much of its power for us today. First century Jews knew that sheep without a shepherd were in serious danger of death. They can’t find their way to food, water, or shelter, and they have no protection from dangers that threaten them. Sheep passively and unquestioningly follow their shepherd - “my sheep know my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” But we’re NOT sheep - in fact, we tend to bristle at the metaphor. If someone calls you a sheep, you’re probably going to be offended. But maybe we need to step back a bit for another look, because maybe we’re closer to the untended flock than we care to believe.

We live in a culture with lots of noise, full of anger and acrimony. We profess to be the people of God, “one holy, catholic, and apostolic church.” And yet we struggle every day with what to believe. Rather than the people we are called to be, the “two made one” in the Body of Christ as Paul alludes in our second reading, we too often find ourselves separated, rather than united in the peace of Christ — different tribes based on the “talking heads” we follow in the echo chambers of our media streams and feeds. We’re separated by discord and “false prophets” leading us astray, sowing division and confusion among us — in our politics, our relationships with one another, and even in our Church. There are many people searching for truth today, people hungering for instruction, good people looking for direction — and many “shepherds” willing to lead them, to give them answers. So perhaps we haven’t evolved that far from Jeremiah and his people led astray and torn asunder by bad shepherds as we think, or the vast crowd on the shore of the lake. In our daily lives, all too often we too act like sheep wandering and confused, in need of the comfort, protection, and care of a Good Shepherd.

And that’s the good news of our readings today! We have such a shepherd, and he’s calling out to us. Just as Jesus was moved with pity for the vast crowd in the wilderness, so too he calls to us today to “Come away with me to a quiet place and rest awhile. ” Just as Christ was there for his disciples, so too is he present for us today, in the Eucharist, and in the grace he has bestowed on us through the sacraments. The Lord IS our shepherd. And he calls to us still. As we struggle with the challenges and frustration of our daily lives, we need to heed his call, to take the time to “come away to a quiet place and rest awhile.” For only in His presence will we find true peace and comfort. “Come away with me.” Spend some time with Christ in Eucharistic Adoration on Wednesday or First Friday. Spend a few minutes with Christ in front of the tabernacle between the Masses on Sunday morning, or before or after Mass. Or simply turn off your devices, steal away to a quiet room after the kids are in bed, and meditate on the crucifix on your wall. Christ is waiting for us, calling out to us: “Come away to a quiet place and rest awhile. “We need to answer his call.