Each culture has a distinct way of raising their children so
that what is essential is passed on to the next generation. In some aboriginal
cultures of the Kimberley, boys are left with their mothers to be nurtured
until puberty, at which time they are given to their maternal uncles to be formed,
taught and guided into being men. The desert people even have a word for it, kaninyirnpa, which roughly translates as
‘holding’. The boy is ‘held’ (supported, encouraged, taught) by his uncles
until he is ready to take his place in society as a man.
Israelite society was similar. Boys were exclusively nurtured
by their mothers until puberty, and then the Father would take over and
introduce the boy into the harsh realities of Mediterranean life. By the
process of obedience and stoicism in the face of punishment, ideally conducted
with respect and care, the boy and the father would bond deeply.
The gospel presents us with a true image of a perfect Mediterranean
father-son relationship. Nurturing and union in the face of adversity produce a
deep and lasting bond. This bond results in a oneness of purpose and outlook. The
son can understand and continue the work of the father: after all, that is the
task of a Mediterranean son. Reginald Fuller puts it this way:
The Father and the Son
are one because of the Father’s call of the Son and the Son's response in
history, resulting in a complete alignment of the words and acts of the Father
and the Son.[i]
John takes time to describe this relationship in depth
because it describes the relationship he wants us to have with God. The apostles
experience this through their relationship with Jesus to the extent that they
were able to persevere even though others stirred
up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their
territory. In the face of persecution the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
As members of the church, we have been called and formed in
our faith. We have experienced the nurturing as well as the testing. From that base,
our task is twofold: to bear witness ourselves; and to form the next generation
to do the same.
Pope Francis calls us to a great
insight into the first.
The Church cannot
be merely “a babysitter who takes care of the child just to get him to sleep”.
If she were this, hers would be a “slumbering church”. Whoever knows Jesus has
the strength and the
courage to proclaim him. And whoever has received baptism has the strength to
walk, to go forward, to evangelize and “when we do this the Church becomes a
mother who generates children” capable of bring Christ to the world. [ii]
The church is capable of bringing Christ to the world. Today,
Good Shepherd Sunday, we acknowledge that we need to be shepherds to each
other, but also that we need to call forth from our ranks those who can lead us
into a deeper relationship with God. We need priests. If we are to have enough
priests we have to ask God for them, and they will come from our own families.
The Good Shepherd guides
and protects us, and gathers us together and leads us toward him. May we
continue to respond generously to build up his church.
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