In Your Dreams

Being a good shepherd to others

02/04/2023

Mk 6:30-34 The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

I have some wonderful news to share with you today! I received a call from the Apostolic Nuncio tell me that I am going to become a bishop! And then I woke up from my dream. It’s like we might say as a small child, “I am going to become a bishop one day!” Another child replies sarcastically: “In your dreams!” Well that is exactly what happened. Last night I dreamt that the Apostolic Nuncio called me and said, “Fr. John, Pope Francis wants you to become a bishop.” And I was so excited.

As you know, in our dream things don’t unfold in logical or chronological order, and doesn’t make sense when we try to remember it. But the Apostolic Nuncio did not explain anything about my new assignment. So I decided to talk to Bishop Taylor about my new appointment and perhaps he would have some details. He was very happy for me and encouraged me, but he did not give me any details either.

Then I went to talk to Fr. John Connell, the vicar general of the diocese, who is like the vice president or second—in-command of the diocese. And he gave me a little more information. He said that would become not a full bishop but an auxiliary bishop. An auxiliary bishop would be like an associate pastor of a parish, not the full pastor. So I was a little disappointed about that: who wants to be a mere auxiliary bishop?

Then Fr. Connell added: “Since you’re from India, so you are doing to Indiana as a bishop.” Then I asked, “What am I going to do in Indiana?” He answered, “You’re going to be an auxiliary bishop in charge of an all-boys school in Indiana.” You see how in dreams nothing really makes much sense? So, that’s where I am going to be bishop in my dreams: an auxiliary bishop of an all-boys school in Indiana.

I mention all this business about becoming a bishop because a bishop really is a shepherd. The word pastor comes from the Latin word meaning to shepherd, and one who shepherds the sheep. All three of our Scripture readings today speak about a shepherd taking care of the sheep, namely, Jesus. We hear from the very last chapter Hebrews, “May the God of peace who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant.”

Hebrews is talking about Jesus, who shed his blood and died, in order to save us. That is one of the characteristics of a good shepherd. He lays down his life for the sheep. If someone is to be a good bishop, he should be ready to die for the people entrusted to his care. By the way, that does not just include the Catholics, but for all the people in his diocese. Every soul in the state of Arkansas – Catholic, non-Catholic, Christian, non-Christian – every living human being is entrusted to the care of Bishop Anthony Taylor. He should be ready to shed his blood, like Jesus the Good Shepherd, for his sheep. And so maybe it’s better to be a bishop in my dreams!

We also heard from Psalm 23, and who can forget Psalm 23, the masterful hymn about how “the Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want”? And the shepherd always leads the sheep into green pastures. There are not greener pastures than right here at the Eucharist, the greenest pasture of all. Recently, we received the statistics about Mass attendance, from 2010 to 2022. How many Catholics are going to Mass every Sunday?

From 2010 to 2019, that number was increasing and more Catholics were coming to the green pastures of the Eucharist. Then the pandemic hit, and many people stopped going to Mass, and those Sunday Mass attendance numbers have plummeted, since 2019. So, that is our job as shepherds, to bring the sheep to the green pastures of the Eucharist. For a while, the sheep were eager to come. But now the sheep are looking for greener pastures elsewhere to be fed. But here at the Eucharist are the greenest pastures of all.

And finally, from Mark 6, yet another instance in which the image of Jesus the shepherd is placed before our eyes. We read: “When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like a sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.” That is another way a shepherd, guide, nurtures and rears the sheep: by teaching, imparting the truth, communicating the richness of our faith. Never stop teaching the fullness of the Catholic faith. Why? Because that is what the sheep ultimately are hungry for.

Sometimes the sheep, like human beings, fill ourselves on junk food, what society gives us. And thus we lose our appetite for healthy food. The Eucharist is healthy food, and the fullness of the Catholic faith. And that is what Jesus the Good Shepherd never stops doing, even though he is tired. His heart is moved with pity for us, for he knows what we really need is the rich food of the Catholic faith.

In other words, our three Scriptures speak powerfully about Jesus the Good Shepherd. Of course the application to all of us is that we too have been entrusted with sheep: in our own families, in our own lives, that we are to be shepherds for. We, too, should sacrifice ourselves for our sheep, like Jesus in the letter to the Hebrews. We should lead them to green pastures, like to the Eucharist in Psalm 23. We should teach them like Jesus in Mark 6.

Who are the sheep entrusted to our care? Our families, our children, our grandchildren, they are the ones we sacrifice for, leading them to Mass, teaching them about the Catholic faith. Even all creation is entrusted to our care, like sheep entrusted to the care of shepherds. I think about this every time I take care of my dog Apollo. Taking care of creation, our pets, the world in which we live, is not an extra in our faith.

Caring for creation is part and parcel of what it means to be a Catholic Christian. Why? Because it says in 2 Peter 3 and then in Rev. 21, there will be a heavens and a new earth. When we take care of creation, when we care for our pets and care for nature, we are contributing that new heavens and earth that God will bring about in the end. And that, too, is a way of being a good shepherd. I will only be a bishop in my dreams, but we are all called to be good shepherds, and care for the sheep entrusted to our care.

Praised be Jesus Christ!