Fourth Sunday of Easter Ordinary Form 2015
The Song of the Shepherd
I would imagine from my time in this suburban parish that there are just a few of us who have lived for any period of time on a farm or ranch with sheep and wolves and coyotes. There are three principle characteristics of sheep and goats. They are defenseless, they are pretty stupid, and they smell bad. That’s a tempting trio for a hungry predator with a good nose. Imagine yourself being a lost sheep, out in the hill country all by yourself at midnight. And you hear all around you the howl of wolves or coyotes. You’d be pretty happy if you sensed someone approaching who picked you up, put you on his shoulders, and took you back to the flock. A flock of sheep needs, more than anything except something to eat, a good shepherd, strong and vigilant, with a well-trained dog.
We’re a lot like that, aren’t we, in matters of faith and morality and spiritual welfare? At least I am. Without Jesus, we are spiritually defenseless, epically stupid, and morally smelly. Moreover, if we have been around the track of life for many years, we have probably developed some self-destructive habits: pornography–which we defend as photographic art–or gossip–which we justify as sharing what’s going on. Or maybe contraception–which we claim enhances our marriage. Or cheating on our taxes, drinking in excess, using illegal drugs, cursing, pretending that a dollar a week in the collection basket is all we owe God. These vices ruin us and our families and our community. And, as Scripture constantly tells us, these bad habits make us targets ripe for attack by our adversary, the devil.
But Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for me, for you, for this flock. And He gave Himself up to death, so that we might live, when we were His enemies, when we had turned away from Him. Moreover, through the sacraments, His self-giving love makes us children of the Father, heirs to all that God has. By the name of Jesus we are saved. There is salvation in no one else. That is why we gather here. That is why we give thanks to the Lord. He is good, and His faithful love endures forever.
Now to return to our literal flock, what is the most important sound that we would hear as the shepherd and flock interact, as the shepherd takes care of the flock? Is it the baa-ing of the sheep or goats, or the voice of the shepherd himself? No question about it: the sheep are confident of their safety because they hear the voice of the one who cares for them. That is the critical sound of the encounter.
So also we must understand that the most important sound we hear as we gather as the flock of Jesus Christ, our shepherd, is the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God, and the words we hear from Sacred Scripture are a manifest presence of Jesus among us. There are many of these words apart from the three Lectionary readings. For one, much of the prayer we say and hear are directly from the Bible. The beautiful words in the canon, “from the rising of the sun to its setting” are taken from the psalms. The gradual after the first reading, and the responsorial psalm which usually takes its place, is a direct quotation from one of the 150 songs of David. In all of these we hear the Word of God, a word of comfort, of praise, of admonition, of direct communication between the heart of God and the mind and heart of us weak humans.
Vatican Council II was very direct in their words with respect to the Scriptures: “Sacred scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy. For it is from scripture that lessons are read and explained in the homily, and psalms are sung; the prayers, collects, and liturgical songs are scriptural in their inspiration and their force, and it is from the scriptures that actions and signs derive their meaning. Thus to achieve the restoration, progress, and adaptation of the sacred liturgy, it is essential to promote that warm and living love for scripture to which the venerable tradition of both eastern and western rites gives testimony. (Art. 24, Sacrosanctum Concilium).
There are three special places in the Mass in which Scripture is sung as an accompaniment to our movement, our procession. I’d like to take a moment to explain them, and perhaps give you a better idea of what I have been doing here at the 8 o’clock Mass when I serve as cantor. So far, I have re-introduced only two of these special sung Scriptures, but I hope to offer all three in the near future.
The Church seems to say that all our movement should be a procession in Christ toward the Father. Our movement, both in and out of Church, should be done in response to the invitation of the Father, especially what we hear in the Scriptures. The three processions of the Mass are the entrance procession, the offertory procession, and the communion procession. Each of these movements is toward the two tables prepared for us by the Father. As the ministers and priest enter, they move chiefly toward the table of the Word. That’s why the deacon carries the Book of the Gospels. The chant today, in one English translation, says “The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord, alleluia; by the word of the Lord, the heavens were established, alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! Praising befits those who are upright.” The words are from Psalm 33, and they lead right into our three proclamations from the Acts of the Apostles, John’s first letter, and his Gospel. This is a precious gift on which you might at least meditate before or during Mass.
The second gift is the chant sung during the Offertory procession. At this time the deacon is preparing the table of sacrifice and communion. We, represented by members of our parish family, are bringing forth our humble offerings of bread and wine as the collection of our tithes and offerings is taken up by our faithful ushers. Now the text of the Offertory chant does not appear either in the altar Missal or your pew missals–you’d have to ask the bishops why they omit it. But for today, here is the gift of prayer for this time: “O God, you are my God; at dawn I seek you; * for you my soul is thirsting. For you my flesh is pining, * like a dry, weary land without water. I have come before you in the sanctuary, * to behold your strength and your glory.” The prayer is from psalm 63, and could not be more fitting for us to pray, especially at this hour of the morning when we are needing the living bread, the Eucharist.
The third gift is given to us for communion. The rubrics tell us that the chant is to begin as the priest receives communion. In other words, as the priest, and then the rest of us, take the Word of God who is the Bread of Life, we are to hear the Word of God in our ears. These psalms are always the most appropriate words to hear as we communicate. Today the antiphon is “I am the Good Shepherd, alleluia. I know my sheep and my own know me, alleluia, alleluia.” The psalm, of course, is number 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; * there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures * where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me; *
he revives my soul.” He prepares a banquet for us in the sight of our enemies. By His action, only goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.
I requested the privilege of sharing these words with you on this Sunday so that you might better understand the purpose of the few changes I make to the music on those days I serve as cantor. But I have a longer-term purpose. What I would like to offer the parish is the chance to train a few cantors in leading liturgical chant and singing according to the directives given to us by the Council and bishops. God, in his mercy, has given me almost fifty years of this ministry; it would be my privilege to share it with a new generation of cantors whose hearts and voices will be completely in tune with the Church’s vision.
Why do we come together every Sunday? Is it principally to talk to God, or to hear His Word? Is it mostly to give to God, or to receive His gifts? As with most of our Catholic religion, the answer is “both. . .and.” Both to talk to God, and mostly to listen to His words of comfort, of admonition, of guidance, of encouragement. Both to give our praise and tithes and mostly to receive His grace, His very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. If we are to become the best version of ourselves, images of Jesus Christ, we’d better do both, so that the rest of our week will continue to be a walk in the presence of our Savior, our Good Shepherd.
