20220601 PROTECTING THE FLOCK OF GOD
01 June, 2022, Wednesday, 7th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 20:28-38 © |
I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, and its power
Paul addressed these words to the elders of the church of Ephesus:
‘Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his own blood. I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock. Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them. So be on your guard, remembering how night and day for three years I never failed to keep you right, shedding tears over each one of you. And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace that has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance among all the sanctified.
‘I have never asked anyone for money or clothes; you know for yourselves that the work I did earned enough to meet my needs and those of my companions. I did this to show you that this is how we must exert ourselves to support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who himself said, “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”’
When he had finished speaking he knelt down with them all and prayed. By now they were all in tears; they put their arms round Paul’s neck and kissed him; what saddened them most was his saying they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 67(68):29-30,33-36 © |
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
Show forth, O God, show forth your might,
your might, O God, which you have shown for us.
For the sake of your temple high in Jerusalem
may kings come to you bringing their tribute.
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord
who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens.
He thunders his voice, his mighty voice.
Come, acknowledge the power of God.
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
His glory is on Israel; his might is in the skies.
God is to be feared in his holy place.
He is the Lord, Israel’s God.
He gives strength and power to his people.
Blessed be God!
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Mt28:19,20 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Go, make disciples of all the nations.
I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn17:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 17:11-19 © |
Father, keep those you have given me true to your name
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Holy Father,
keep those you have given me true to your name,
so that they may be one like us.
While I was with them,
I kept those you had given me true to your name.
I have watched over them
and not one is lost
except the one who chose to be lost,
and this was to fulfil the scriptures.
But now I am coming to you
and while still in the world I say these things
to share my joy with them to the full.
I passed your word on to them,
and the world hated them,
because they belong to the world
no more than I belong to the world.
I am not asking you to remove them from the world,
but to protect them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth;
your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world,
and for their sake I consecrate myself
so that they too may be consecrated in truth.’
PROTECTING THE FLOCK OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 20:28-38; PS 68:29-30,33-36; JOHN 17:11-19]
Leaders and all those in position of authority have the responsibility of protecting those under their charge. Regardless whether it is at work, at home, in organizations or in the Christian community, leaders must always remember that we have a grave duty to look after the sheep of God entrusted to our care. One of the most important tasks is to protect them. When we read of parents, guardians, teachers or those in position of authority abusing those under their care, whether physically, emotionally or sexually, we cannot but filled with grief, anger and sadness at how the vulnerable are treated. In both scripture readings today, St Paul and our Lord show us what it takes to be a shepherd to those under our charge.
Before we can be good shepherds, the first duty of shepherds is to take care of their own souls. St Paul reminds us, “Be on your guard for yourselves.” Indeed, leaders often make this critical mistake. We want to help others and form them. We give our time to our members and community, counselling them and collaborating with them. We are tired out and exhausted, but we have no time for ourselves. We even forget our need to rest and often do not take care of our health. Lesser still, we often neglect our spiritual life because this seems to be the most intangible area which we think is not obvious to anyone. Yet, when our spiritual life suffers, all areas of our lives will suffer eventually because we lack direction, self-control, wisdom and compassion in what we do.
For this reason, before we take care of others, we must first take care of ourselves. It is just like when we are on a plane, we must put on the oxygen mask for ourselves first before we can take care of the children and the elderly. We must guard ourselves from falling into sin and a worldly life. We must guard ourselves from the indoctrination of the world. Most of all, we must guard ourselves from the Devil because, as St Peter warns us, “Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.” (1 Pt 5:8-10) We cannot care for others unless we first protect ourselves.
After which, shepherds must guard “the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the overseers, to feed the Church of God.” In this one sentence, there are a few things we must pay attention to. Firstly, we are reminded that the Holy Spirit has made us “overseers”, that is to oversee the flock under our care. Shepherds are appointed to look after the flock of God, not their own. The flock, as the author mentions, is the Church of God of which we have been tasked to look after. Knowing that the flock belongs to God, all the more, we must not abuse them or fail in looking after them because they belong to God. When someone important entrusts us with a task, we will do it with devotion.
But it is not enough to care for the Church of God by nurturing and feeding it; the shepherds must also be watchful for the wolves that would attack the flock of God. St Paul was referring to the false teachers. He warned the Christians that after his departure, “fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock.” Indeed, false teachers come not from just without but from within, which is even more insidious. Our Catholics today absorb the values of the secular, individualistic and materialistic world. They live only for this world with hardly any conviction of a world beyond this world of pleasure and fun.
But the most dangerous of false teachers are those who are wolves from within. Jesus warned us of the false prophets, which he called, “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” St Paul said, “Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them.” These are found within the Church, liberal theologians, including bishops and priests as well. There is so much confusion within the church because there are so many views and everyone has their way to explain the faith or explain away the faith. So much so, even priests and bishops are not too sure exactly where the Church stands on some doctrinal and moral issues.
Clearly, therefore the shepherds of Christ’s flock have a double duty to feed the sheep by nurturing them in the truth, forming them in the faith, in right doctrines. (Titus 1:2) But equally, shepherds must protect them from the wolves that confuse our Catholics and even the world with ambiguous and false teachings. The Church, especially the Magisterium, plays the role of safeguarding the deposit of faith in the Church. St Paul said, “He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.” (Tit 1:9) This is why shepherds must establish their faith in the Word of grace, the word of God. “And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace that has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance among all the sanctified.” Christian doctrines must ultimately be rooted in the Word of God as expounded not by theologians but by the Magisterium in accordance with the Tradition of the Church. Indeed, because shepherds lack foundation in the Word of God as taught in scripture and tradition guided by the magisterium, they fall into the novelties of the world’s views on God and morality.
St Paul warns us that “all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:12-17) Instead, “proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. (2 Tim 4:2-4) Refuting errors is not something most of us do today. Most of us would be silent or sit idly by and do nothing for fear of retaliation.
Most of all, as shepherds, we must realize that this Church of God was purchased not with gold or silver but with the precious blood of our Lord. We too must suffer. The flock of God is very precious to God, otherwise He would not have paid the price with the blood of His only Son to save us all. With these thoughts in mind, we must therefore give ourselves completely to the care and protection of the flock of God. In His priestly prayer, Jesus said, “Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except the one who chose to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures.”
Because Christ offered Himself as a vicarious sacrifice for the Church, shepherds too must offer themselves as a vicarious sacrifice for the People of God. St Peter wrote, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” (1 Pt 2:24) St Paul interiorized this example of our Lord when he wrote, “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” (Col 1:24) As shepherds, we too must suffer unjustly and innocently for the sake of the gospel and for the sins of our people, our clergy, our children and of the world. Indeed, St Peter said, “If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.” (1 Pt 2:20-23)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
