[A Homily of Fr. Matthew Kelty, O.C.S.O. for the 16th Sunday of the Year (B) (Mk 6:30-34)]
 

The Cowboy and The Shepherd




If I understood aright, the Marlboro Man will soon disappear from the American scene. At  least,  that is the plan. The Marlboro Man is undoubtedly a work of advertising genius. For the cowboy is a major icon of our national life, heavy with many layers of meaning. He has nothing to do with cigarettes, but by dint of unrelenting association, a tobacco company was able to promote a brand with phenomenal success. They might have chosen any one of many: the sailor, the marine, the fireman, the lobster fisherman, the prairie farmer — all can be rendered in classic form. But the cowboy is exceptional and known over all the world, now forever associated with Marlboro country.

The shepherd is an older symbol and far more widespread, usually with sheep rather than cattle or horses. And runs as a constant through the Scriptures. And is with us to this day. Old Testament David proved his mettle in killing a lion and a bear in guarding his flock. Yahweh is Israel's shepherd and led His people out of Egypt. Poor, negligent shepherds are rebuked and shown as poor examples to be avoided. God promises His people a good shepherd who will lead His people. And best of all, Christ applies the term to Himself, as one who leads His flock, seeks out the lost, gives His life for His sheep. In the service of His people, shepherds are bidden to be generous, unselfish, dedicated. "Feed My lambs. Feed My sheep."

Even though we are remote from sheep, from shepherds, our bishops still carry the shepherd's crook, as does every abbot and abbess. And the term is aptly applied to those who would serve others: Good Shepherd Sisters, House of the Good Shepherd, Good Shepherd Hospital.

There are those who resent being called sheep or who do not relish being a flock cared for and watched over. I do not know as one should make too much of that. Some people are born resentful. For all that, one need not drive the metaphor into the ground. But most can see the points of the comparison, else the usage would long since have been dropped.

For the image is of great power. And there is some reason for seeing people as sheep: lost, confused, mixed up, wandering, in grave danger. Like all sheep, they look for greener pastures, but alas for their choices. Unhappy sheep are everywhere and often enough unhappy by their own doing.

So it is good to keep love for Peter warm, the Good Shepherd Christ appointed to guard His Church. It is fitting to love your bishop, your abbot, your pastor. It is a very shrewd response to reality. We can all be as innocent and as naive as any lamb, taken in by the latest fashion, wandering far from truth in pursuit of fables.

It is very dangerous to make general statements. But perhaps it could be ventured that though the Spirit of God is patently at work in the world and with astonishing results, there is a certain disenchantment with the Church and with Church teaching today here and everywhere. Disenchantment with shepherds is a perilous attitude for sheep. It may be characteristic of them. Maybe we are more like sheep than we care to admit.

I believe the answer is prayer. Pray for your shepherd. That will help him and will surely help his flock.

I do consider that a certain compassion for Christ the Good Shepherd is called for. See what humankind has done to His Church — His one fold under one shepherd. What a mess. What a heartbreak. What further stimulus do we need to pray for a good Shepherd who will lead His flock together again, that all will recognize His voice and heed it.

I went 12 years to public schools. They were more religious then than now. We prayed the Our Father every day, sang a hymn, read some Scripture, and said the 23rd Psalm. Here it is in the King James Version:

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