Before I begin my homily today, please join me in praying for the peoples of Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine; that they will know Christ Jesus who, as St. Paul said in the second reading today, preached peace to those who were far off and peace to those who are near. Let us call upon our Lady, Queen of peace, for all the war torn parts of this world that the hearts of all world leaders will be moved to peace as we pray Hail Mary….
Late one already too late night, I was disturbed. I could not find the peace of Christ that unites east and west, Gentile and Jew, sleep to the weary mind. I had trouble falling asleep with a multitude of thoughts on my mind. I thought about my friend who has stage four lymphoma and all the many treatments he will have to endure. I thought about my friend who will be headed to Iraq in a couple of months after having already spent a tour of duty in Afghanistan. I thought about the high speed rail project that I think we need to connect Des Moines, Ankeny, and Ames and who I need to contact about it. I thought about what life would be like if I were president and how I would change things. I also thought about a few things that I actually could accomplish. For instance, I thought about the projects from work that I didn’t get done that day. In fact, I was in the middle of convincing myself that I couldn’t telephone someone who had called to schedule a wedding that day when, at last, my brain could fight no more. I fell asleep at 2:00am. Forty five minutes later, my own phone rang. I looked at the clock and debated if I wanted the answering machine to take it but then I begrudgingly made my way to the telephone, (Pause) and boy am I glad I did.
It was a parishioner who was going through some very serious relationship problems with his wife. I believe I have met the man before but we were far from being well acquainted. After 45 minutes of listening and trying to help this lost sheep, I not only felt like I gave him peace-of-mind, but I hung up the phone, went directly to bed, shut my eyes, and got the best five hours of sleep that I’ve got in some time.
We probably all know what it’s like to have busy schedules. If you are a parent, I imagine you are incredibly well acquainted with this phenomenon. With the beginning of the school year just a few short weeks away, it’s good to sit and reflect on how we deal with the busy times of life. The disciples of Jesus are dealing with evangelical busy-ness for the first time in the gospel. Last week, Father Ev preached about how they were sent out on mission. Today, the disciples have come back from that mission of preaching, healing, and calling people to the mission of Jesus and not they need time to reflect on what has happened. In some ways, they have been wildly successful, perhaps even too successful because they find themselves overrun with people who need shepherding, people who need to be missioned. Despite their best efforts to get away, going even so far as to cross a lake, the crowds find them because these people feel lost, like sheep without a shepherd.
Sometimes we are the lost sheep who need good shepherds to lead us along the way. They may be counselors, health officials, priests in the sacrament of reconciliation, or a good friend. Sometimes we get to be the good shepherds who answer the call to listen and be God’s presence for someone whose life seems out of control. Yet, in truth, haven’t there been times in our lives when we have been God’s bad shepherds? Haven’t we all used excuses not to fulfill our call to service? Sometimes we say that we are too tired or overburdened to help someone. Sometimes we use racism, sexism, or other biases to substantiate selfishness. Sometimes the repeated demands of people and children weigh upon our last nerve until it seems we can take no longer. We probably all know people who are lost, people whose lives seem to be spinning out of control. Sometimes we are unable to help them because, unfortunately, some people like their lives to be totally out of control. But, how often do we not help people simply because we don’t feel like we have the time or energy. Sometimes we are authentically out of gas. We haven’t any more to give and we need our Sabbath rest to recharge and re-center our lives on what’s important. Yet, we can’t become like the bad shepherds from the first reading who have their leadership stripped from them by God. Despite our busy-ness, we remain on mission, spreading the word of God. We cannot retreat to deserted places as a way of escaping our call to mission. Do we take the time to be good shepherds or are we so single mindedly searching for deserted places that we don’t recognize our neighbor’s needs?
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