Sunday HomilyMay 15- Fourth Sunday of Easter 2011 |
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As we come together today to celebrate the Eucharist on this
Fourth Sunday of Easter, we hear Jesus talking about shepherds
and sheep. As a result, this Sunday is also called Good Shepherd
Sunday. The Catholic Church has named this World Day of Prayer
for Vocations. And although all Christians have vocations or
callings, the Church asks us to pray especially for those called
to be shepherds: priests and bishops. In the Catholic Church, ordained priests who head up parishes are called pastors. In this role, they are called to exercise the ministry of the word, the ministry of sacraments, and the ministry of community leadership. As shepherds, they are not only called upon to love and care for their flock, the sheep, but they are called to always be on the lookout for dangers that could harm the flock. To prepare men for ordination, the Church requires a very rigorous course of study that takes, at a bare minimum, eight years of full-time academic study after graduation from high school. Most men study much longer than that before ordination. Although we could talk about any of the various roles the pastor has, today I want to talk about the role of protecting the flock from harm. Specifically, I wish to talk about the harm that can come from within the community in people that might be called “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” This image comes from the following tale from the Greek storyteller, Aesop. There was once a wolf who very much wanted to get some sheep to eat. Unfortunately for the wolf, though the sheep were protected by a very vigilant shepherd and his dogs. One day, however, the wolf found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and discarded. So, the wolf put the sheep’s skin over itself and walked among the sheep. The little lamb that belonged to the sheep whose skin the wolf was wearing soon began to follow the wolf wherever it went. Soon the wolf led the little lamb away from the other sheep. When the little lamb and wolf were out of sight of the other sheep, the wolf had a delicious meal of lamb chops. The wolf continued deceiving other sheep and lambs, leading them away from the herd and then eating them. The moral of the story is, of course, that appearances are deceiving. Now in parish life, there are all kinds of dangers that can endanger a flock. Financial problems, internal dissent, inter-parish rivalry, poor pastoral leadership, and runaway gossip are just some examples of dangers that can threaten a parish. One of the worst kinds of dangers, though, is that of what I call the “wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing” syndrome. In this scenario, there is a person who comes into the parish community, often with great fanfare. Such people try to get into leadership positions in established ministries and, little by little, try to get the members of the ministry to follow them outside the parish structure. If members of the ministry refuse to follow them, they leave the established ministry and try to establish ministries outside the parish structure. These “wolves in sheep’s clothing” usually have certain characteristics. Very commonly they are people who believe they have special powers or insights that others do not have. They often preach that God has chosen them to lead others as spiritual gurus. Usually these people do not have academic qualifications to make such claims, and often they give themselves titles such as “Brother,” “Sister,” or “Mother” even though they are not members of Religious Orders. They feel that they do not need to have academic preparation to be a leader, or to endure the discipline of a Religious Order, because the Holy Spirit has directly infused them with special gifts that others do not have. They often see themselves as holier than other people, and they frequently become very angry when they are challenged. As they “pick off” members of the parish community to follow them, they begin establishing little groups that meet in houses or garages. They usually operate in secret and are known for badmouthing pastors or other parish leaders. Frequently they engage in practices that the Catholic Church would not approve them doing, things such as “exorcising demons” from people they believe are on the wrong spiritual path. What confuses members of the flock the most is that such leaders often say very orthodox things such as: “join the parish,” “go to Communion,” “have your marriage blessed by the Church,” and other good things. Because such leaders say good things, their followers often begin developing such a strong trust in them that they fail to recognize harmful things the leader says. People who have encountered such “wolves in sheep’s clothing” frequently report that in time, they begin to feel badly. They often are sick to their stomach or have headaches. They feel a lack of joy in their lives, and they realize their spiritual life is suffering. Eventually, they realize they have been duped and that the person who they thought was a genuine spiritual leader was actually a charlatan. If you wonder about the person who is encouraging you to join groups outside the parish structure have the endorsement of the Catholic Church via the parish, please come and see me. Though these “wolves in sheep’s clothing” have been able to sew seeds of confusion and division through the centuries, the good news is that the shepherds have always been able to shine the light on them and end their twisted work. On this World Day of Prayer for Vocations, let us pray that we will always have good shepherds for our parishes to protect the flock from all harm. And that is the good news I have for you on this Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, 2011. |