Be Agents of the Shepherd

Many years ago, I had to take one of the young adults to whom I ministered to a job interview at one of our local private universities. This was when I worked in Chelsea, MA. Chelsea is a wonderful immigrant city and once the home of people like Donnie Osmond, when he was doing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Boston. Chelsea also had its issues at the time with crime in its more downtown neighborhood, where I lived and served as a priest.

The man had worked as a cook at a restaurant at Logan Airport. He ended up leaving after 9/11 so affected was he by the connection between Logan and the horrors of 9/11.

He grew up in a part of neighboring East Boston as well and had some problems with the law. Nothing really serious but it was on his Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI). He asked me to drive him to a local university immediately west of Boston looking for a job as a cook, they told him because of his CORI, they could not hire him. It is a world class university, one that many people pay large sums from all over the world to attend and they could not hire someone who had any kind of a criminal background regardless how slight it might be.

When I dropped him off for the interview I then visited a local church. There was a window there of some sheep with the line under it, they were like sheep without a shepherd. I thought of this man and his friends and all their struggles.

He was disappointed he could not be hired and so was I. Especially when you see those students protesting for justice and realize it was an empty gesture considering the policy of the university.

Jesus looked at those who struggled so much and saw how much they needed a shepherd. In fact, as much as we focus on liberty, we do need a shepherd, everyone does and that is why Jesus gives us a shepherd at home in the family, at church and other places to lead us to live as God calls us to live.

When there are no shepherds, we like sheep, get into trouble and even the wolves come and lead us astray. We can see that happening in our country today.

This past week, we saw the trial of a young black man convicted of murder of a young white man. Some people celebrated the verdict and others rejected it and much of it fell across racial lines. However, if we take race out of it, we see two promising lives and those connected to them destroyed or severely damaged by what transpired.

Yet, how much was this like watching sheep without a shepherd. We are the body of Christ and we have a call to live our lives in ways that lead to the shepherd. When we see disasters, such as this crime and fallout, we can see what happens when there is no shepherd.

The young man who was convicted had no one as a character witness except his mother. The family of the man murdered lost a loved one and had to watch as the anger against the verdict grew around them.

Many people at this time will ask What Would Jesus Do? The real question is what lesson will you take from this incident and what will you do?

The past several weeks, there have been shootings in this city. Obviously, young teens who probably have no clue how to use a gun except what they see on TV. Is there anyone there to show to them the truth. Too many times in our faith, we focus on leading people away from sin. However, the message of the Apostles was a new hope for eternal life for all. It was a life changing message. Are we living and preaching that message?

That message has a radical dimension seeking to live as Christ calls us. We can live the message simply in our lives that any fool can carry a knife or a gun and use it for protection or for violence but one truly committed to Christ will carry neither and trust him for protection and mission.

Our faith calls us to have a totally different vision than the world around us portrays. One understands the warning of Ben Franklin, granted not a Christian figure. Those who exchange liberty for safety deserve neither. The shepherd will do what he can to protect his sheep from the wolf. Christ calls us as church to be that shepherd and we are part of his team. When we approach a volatile situation, like all situations we need to approach it within the wisdom of God as disciples of Christ.

I believe if something ends up in court that means there was a failure somewhere along the lines. Something failed.

In this situation, everyone focuses on the trial and the murder. Instead, teach your children and yourselves a simple rule. If someone is somewhere where they don’t belong and they appear aggressive, don’t touch them. The same goes for animals, and I am not calling the now convicted teen an animal. Make sure you teach your children if an animal is where it does not belong, especially if it is out during the day and it is a nocturnal animal. Don’t touch it. The same applies for humans. What Austin did was not morally wrong but it was unwise and incorrect. Remember, our focus is not on morality, it is on wisdom and the wisdom feeds morality. Many will say that Austin acted morally; he did not act wisely, however.

Look what is happening now, friends of the convicted teen are getting angry and harassing friends of the murdered teen and they are getting arrested. Who is in charge of their prosecutions, the same office that just prosecuted the convicted teen. In the Navy, we called that winning the battle and losing the war.

We, as Church, have a mission to act as shepherds and we have to teach our children and teens and others’ children and teens the wisdom of God. It begins with understanding that Jesus died for everyone and acting accordingly.

Then we live powerfully. It is always time for us to act in a way that reflects not our values but our vision. Our vision begins with understanding that Jesus died for all and we must treat everyone in that truth acting in true wisdom that seeks the most blessed outcome.

Fr. Robert J Carr is chaplain for two hospitals in Brockton, Massachusetts

His Patreon Page is patreon.com/catholicaudiomedia

He is the author of several books including: Christ in Your Humanity