The king of love, my shepherd is

It is interesting to me that on the Solemnity of Christ the King, the readings this year have shepherding as their theme. I was particularly struck with the reading from Ezekiel; the image of the Lord as a shepherd tending his sheep, seeking out the lost, bringing back the strayed, binding the injured, and healing the sick. The really interesting thing is the way that the Lord has accomplished it. He has done so through his Son, Jesus, but also through the mission of the Church, the body of Christ. As Jesus healed the sick, so the Church in the Sacrament of Annointing of the Sick brings the healing power of God to those who are suffering. As Jesus brought back those who had strayed from the House of Israel (for example, the woman caught in adultery), so the Church brings back those who have strayed through the healing Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus tended his flock by feeding thousands on the loaves and fish; the Church feeds us with the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharistic banquet. The Sacraments prove to us the faithfulness of God, prove to us that God is indeed with us, tending us with his love through the gifts of the Sacraments, and prove to us that the prophetic words of Ezekiel have indeed come to pass:

I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.

Blessed be God, forever!