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Several
years ago, Rupert Sheldrake published a study entitled Dogs That Know
When Their Owners Are Coming Home. Sheldrake’s research suggested
that pets begin waiting at the door as much as ten minutes
before their owners arrive home. Cats will sleep through just about
anything, but are wide awake when their owners arrive home. And, dogs will
go to the bus stop to wait for the kids to come home from school.
Although
Sheldrake’s research suggested no scientific explanation for
these and other behaviors, it does appears that pets are especially
attuned to the sound of their owner’s voice. You may have seen the
commercial recently where a fellow is talking to his dog, saying “Sit,
Rover. Down, Rover. I have some really food for you Rover.” But, what
Rover hears is his owner saying “Blah, Rover. Blah, blah, Rover. Blah,
blah, blah, Rover.” Gary Larson once published a similar cartoon in his
Far Side comic strip. The first frame, entitled “What we say to dogs,” the pet’s
owner says in a stern tone, “Okay, Ginger. I’ve had it! You stay out
of the garbage! Understand Ginger? Stay out of the garbage, or else!”
But, the second frame of the comic strip, entitled “What they hear,”
reads: “blah blah Ginger, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
Ginger, blah, blah, blah, blah…”
When a pet hears
its owner speak its name, the pet listens. But, what I’ve also learned is
that, if you watch very closely, a pet’s ears will also swivel and its
body will go “on alert” when its owner mentions the pet’s name.
I used to have a
cat named “Killer.” Family members and friends oftentimes remarked that
Killer was “a very unique cat.” Killer got the “very unique”
appellation for many reasons, the most obvious being the fact that Killer used to
take a shower every morning with me. Once I would get into the shower, all I
would have to do is yell out, “Time for your shower, Killer” and, within
a minute or so, Killer would appear on the ledge of the bathtub and
meow. He’d then jump down into the bathtub, let himself get good and
wet, and demand a rub down. Then, off Killer would go to the bedroom
where he would groom himself awaiting his favorite activity, towel dry
and spin cycle. Many people
thought that made Killer a “very unique” cat…and me “nuts.”
For me, Killer
was very unique because Killer believed he was a dog or, at least, acted
more like a lap dog than a red-blooded cat. Over the years, most cats
I’ve known could care less about their owners, with the exception, of
course, at meal time. Not so with Killer. He’d be waiting when I’d
arrive home at night. As soon as I’d walk through the front door,
Killer would make a mad dash across the living room and entryway and
jump up on my shoulder to be petted. Killer knew I had arrived home
because I’d see him on the look out peering from the second floor window, waiting for
my car to turn into the driveway.
Killer was also
unique because he loved to play games. One of his favorite games was
“hide and seek.” Killer would demand to be petted and then go and hide, usually underneath the
bed. Thinking I didn’t know where he was, when I’d walk around the
bed calling Killer’s name, he’d bolt out of the bedroom and into the
office and then bury himself behind the pillows on the couch thinking I
wouldn’t see him. I’d pelt Killer with the pillows and he’d roll
over, play dead, and purr. Killer also liked to play “untie my Master’s
shoelaces” (an obvious enough game) and “bombardier” (which meant
jumping up on the bed and running around beneath the
sheets and messing everything up as I would attempt to make my bed).
Most people who
own pets end up investing a great deal of time and money to ensure their
pets are healthy and happy. And, like Killer, their pets repay their
owners with loyalty, devotion, funny antics, and lots of affection.
Why? There is no scientific explanation. But, as Rupert Sheldrake’s
research does indicate, pets know their owner’s voice and respond to it.
In today’s
gospel, Jesus calls himself the “Good Shepherd” meaning the “true” and
“model” shepherd. In contrast to the hired hand, Jesus says the good shepherd is
completely and wholeheartedly dedicated to caring for his sheep and
assuring their welfare, even to the point of being willing to lay down
his life to protect the sheep from harm. When the good
shepherd speaks, his sheep not only recognize his voice but they also
follow wherever he leads them.
In our
competitive world characterized by relationships of power and
domination—where only strong and self-reliant individuals are believed
to thrive—the image of being a sheep and of obediently following a shepherd isn’t
one that we’d typically use to describe ourselves and how we view our
lives. We think ourselves so much more sophisticated and smarter than “dumb sheep”
in need of a
shepherd.
Yet, despite our
protestations to the contrary, we are in many ways just like sheep whose
lives are entirely dependent upon good shepherds.
It’s so very easy
to see this in children and young people. Whatever they see on
television and in TV. commercials determines what they want, how they
adorn their body parts and dress, the “slanguage” they speak, as well as their attitudes and
behavior. Teenagers, in particular, are especially vulnerable in this
regard. Unfortunately, many teens are all too willing to sell their
character and virtue to be accepted by a peer group. “I’m expressing my individuality”
is their mantra. These young people will also tell you all about
“self-esteem” but are utterly blind to the fact that their sense of
self-esteem is being shaped from without—a matter of conforming
to the expectations of others—not from within—a matter of
personal character and true individuality. Tell these young
people, “You’re acting like ‘dumb sheep’ following ‘bad shepherds’ ”
and, in no short order, you’ll be told by chapter
and verse just how out of touch you really are. “You just gotta’
get with it, Uncle Rich,” is how my niece, Gretchen, put it those few
times I would be critical of something that was “all the rage” at the
time. “Outrageous as far as I am concerned, Gretchen.” Then,
I’d get the all-too-familiar roll of the eyes and the snort...evidencing
her mother’s genes.
The truth seems
so self-evident that it needn’t be mentioned. If only these dumb sheep
would only listen to the voice of good shepherds—people like their
parents, teachers, and uncles—the people who know where these bad shepherds are
seeking to lead their unsuspecting sheep, young people would avoid the
heartbreak will always results from listening to and following a bad shepherd. Why is
this so? The bad shepherd’s sole interest is oneself. Furthermore,
the bad shepherd could care less about the true good of his flock.
All too many
young adults today also are very resistant to thinking about themselves
as “dumb sheep” who need a “good shepherd.” The Nike commercial says
“Just do it…” and sure enough, many young people are doing it. Heeding
the voice of the bad shepherd, “Everybody else is doing it, so why don’t
you?”, many young people willingly press beyond the limits of the law and of
morality pretending there will be no consequences for heeding the
voice of this bad shepherd. And, when these consequences do come
as surely they will, the
bad shepherd offers all sorts of ways for young people to avoid bearing personal responsibility for the very bad choices they
have made.
Indeed, there is
nothing new in this. Mozart even wrote an opera that he entitled “Così
fan tutti,” that is, “Everybody does it.” The truth seems so
self-evident that it needn’t be mentioned. If only these dumb
sheep would listen to the voice of good shepherds—good friends,
pastors, scripture, and Church teaching—people know where these bad
shepherds are seeking to lead their unsuspecting sheep, young people
would avoid the heartbreak that is always the sure consequence of listening to
and following a bad shepherd whose only interest is oneself and could care less
about his flock’s true good.
And that’s to say
nothing about what all of those very bad shepherds like politicians and business
executives who tell us what to do irrespective of conscience, how we allow media commentators, editorial and
op-ed writers tell us what to think irrespective of morality, and how we
allow public opinion polls to shape the way we view important issues
even when proposed solutions go contrary to nature, scripture, and
Church teaching. Sadly, many adults are also like dumb sheep who follow
bad shepherds, allowing them to provide leadership and guidance when
making important decisions.
Why do we allow
these bad shepherds to treat us as if we are their pets? And why do
our ears swivel and we go on alert when these bad shepherds speak even
though we know they have no interest in us or our
well-being? These aren’t “Good Shepherds,” the kind of shepherd Jesus
calls himself.
“I know my sheep
and my sheep know me,” Jesus said in today’s gospel. Just as a cat or a
dog knows its owner’s voice, so too Jesus calls each of us by name and
he says “Follow me.” Do we know his voice? Furthermore, if we are to follow
our Good Shepherd, we have to be
attentive, listen to his voice, and be humble enough to
respond to his words despite how we may feel. When we hear the
voice of the Good Shepherd, we will know on a deep,
instinctive level just like a good pet that we are with someone who is totally dedicated to
caring for and protecting us, even to the point that he gave his life to
protect us from harm.
By their nature,
sheep are creatures that need leadership and guidance if they are to
survive and thrive. It’s quite likely when we look back and survey our lives and the choices we’ve made, we
will discover that something we are not proud to admit, namely, we are a very much like sheep—despite
our minds, our accomplishments, and all of our possessions—who need good
shepherds so that we might bring to completion our divine destiny.
Jesus is the
“Good Shepherd.” He doesn’t issue orders nor does he boss his sheep around.
Instead, Jesus calls each by name and invites them to be transformed by his
life and teaching. “Love one another as I have loved you!” this
Good Shepherd tells his sheep.
What this means
in terms of today’s gospel is that all of us, young and old alike, must
also be “good shepherds” to the point that we willingly lay down our lives
for others. This means dying to love of self, turning from sin, and
witnessing to our faith when we’d rather remain silent. This is
how we become the person God has created us to be, each in our own
unique richness and living out our unique and unrepeatable divine
destiny. This is what St. John meant when he wrote, “Beloved, now we
are children of God, though we do not yet know what we shall be.”
Listening to this Good Shepherd and allowing his life and teaching to
transform us not only makes us like him—“good shepherds”—but also
enables us to carry on his mission of caring for the good of the flock
he has entrusted to us in this generation.
A brief
commercial break...
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HOMILY
