By Fr. Glenn Jones:
There was a heart-touching story the other day about a sheepdog who fought off a pack of coyotes to protect his flock, in the process “dispatching” eight of them. That’s a tough and dedicated dog! While his breed is mentioned in the article, he looks like a Great Pyrenees, which is a powerful breed often sought for its powerful protective instinct when protecting its charges.
Begging the question: What makes a good protector or provider? Is it not one who cares for one’s charges as one’s own, with the same care with which the owner of the flock would give?
As we progress in this Advent season towards Christmas, we read the Gospel accounts of John the Baptist—the forerunner of Jesus who “Prepares the way of the Lord and makes straight His paths.” (Mark 1:3). How does John prepare and make straight? Perhaps by preaching roses and rainbows? “I’m okay, you’re okay, we’re ALL okay”?
Not hardly.
First of all, John admonishes his listeners with a strong “Repent!” theme, warning them not to rest on the laurels of heritage or the past, but rather that each will be called to account for his own actions—those who refuse to turn from doing wrong and evil to be “thrown into the fire.” The attentive reader of the Gospels will note that this is the very same first theme of Jesus—often glossed over in our day by preachers and teachers because we naturally prefer sociable and amicable relations with others and to avoid conflict; to upset apple carts—as good intentioned as it might be—generally produces the opposite result. Yet John wasn’t worried about losing audience. Jesus neither. Theirs was the “This is God’s truth; accept it or not” challenge to the world.
John would then—as Jesus would also—urge: “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance … every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 7:19) Not exactly “I’m okay, you’re okay…” Jesus also warns through the Gospels of “the fire”, “the hell of fire”, “the lake of fire”—the consequences of divine and absolute justice when refusing to do good, which He later punctuates: “… the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13)
Some respond: “That’s terrible! Why be a believer if that’s what is taught!” But refusing to believe in something doesn’t make it not exist. And if justice is not eternally balanced, then God is unjust and thereby would not be God, for God must be justice itself for justice to even exist.
These days it’s common to hear: “I’m spiritual but not religious.” But what does that mean? If it means following my own personal standard of behavior alone is what I consider good, then everyone’s “good” is just “good as anyone else’s”. Usually it seems to mean not having to adhere to any definitive standard—even to the modern: “Your truth is not my truth”, essentially negating-or rather dismissing—the very definition of “truth”.
John certainly believed in a truth—the truth of the scriptures, which he believed were inspired by God, else he wouldn’t have been such a fearless preacher. Then Jesus comes AS the truth—the Word of God—establishing His “bona fides” by His works and word: “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:37-38) …works attested to by the apostles even to their deaths.
But from what are we to repent, as both Jesus and John enjoin their hearers? Simply from doing wrongs to one another, and especially from doing wrong to the One who created us and sustains us in being. But more than that, we are to be actively kind to, and caring toward, one another. Moses gave us the Ten Commandments—a definitive list of “Though shalt nots”; Jesus reemphasizes these, but then expands them into a list of active virtues—peacemaking, being poor in spirit, humility, kindness, mercy, holding steadfast in the face of persecution while doing the good. The “Thou shalt nots” are no longer good enough; the Christian—and really, the human—obligation expands to “Thou shall…” … do those and other good works.
One can perceive, then, that we are created with inherent obligation—to do good whenever and wherever we can. After all, we read in in scripture: “God is love”, and being made in the image of God, we are to reflect that love of God to those around us. After all, a mirror is crafted to reflect one’s image clearly—the best mirrors doing so the most perfectly. When not reflecting God and His love, we resign ourselves to be defective mirrors, muddied waters unable to reflect that which is worthy. But God commands through Moses: “…be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45), which Jesus echoes: “… he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do…” (John 14:12).
Yes, the good sheepdog observes and assists the shepherd in guiding and protecting the shepherd’s—the Master’s—flock, attendant to the Master’s every signal. Christians are called to shepherd not only fellow believers, but perhaps even more so non-believers—those who have not yet recognized the path to the good and true pasture that we have found. So, O Christian, fend off the wolves attacking the flock by mirroring Our Lord—manifesting love and kindness, yet teaching truth and providing hope in gentle words and actions. Let every word and deed be centered in the hope of hearing one day: “Well done, good and faithful servant; come share your Master’s joy.”
Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.
