The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, June 15th: Exodus 19:2-6; Romans 5:6-11; Matthew 9:36-10:8)

TRUE SHEPHERDS IN SHORT SUPPLY

At the very beginning of this week’s Gospel reading, we hear these words: “At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”

I sometimes wonder if much has changed in 2,000 years. Our country is teeming with people who instinctively understand that they ought to know, love, and serve God. But the shepherds who should be teaching and preaching exactly how this can be accomplished unfortunately are few and far between.

There are plenty of highly educated people in the clergy profession, members of the lucrative “Religious Industrial Complex.” Many of these folks, however, do everything BUT shepherd the flock. They come in all sorts of styles. You have the Haters, like Rev. Jeremiah Wrong and his sidekick, Fr. Pfleger, whose main message is victimization cloaked in Gospel terminology. The last thing this type of “shepherd” wants is for the congregation to realize that Christ came to set them free. If people understood that Jesus wants them to live joyful, victorious lives—despite inevitable obstacles—rather than live in a perpetual state of resentment and anger, then they probably wouldn’t give Rev. Firebrand a $2 million home (in an exclusive white neighborhood, irony of ironies), nor a couple of high-end Mercedes to drive.

Then there are the Excusers, those clergypersons who focus on society’s sins—poverty and injustice—but who ignore personal sins. No, I take that back. They don’t ignore personal sins; they celebrate personal sins. They preach the gospel of “If it feels good, do it!” regardless of whether those particular behaviors happen to be destructive, unnatural, or clearly prohibited in Scripture. Hey, can’t let something old fashioned like the Word of God get in the way of boisterous “Keep Abortion Legal” and “Rainbow Pride” parades.

Next are the Duckers. These spiritual shepherds would rather gargle with razor blades than address a controversial subject. They duck every volatile topic. Each week they go through the motions—preaching sermons so bland and syrupy you’d swear they’re reciting from a pile of Hallmark cards—in the hopes that enough donations will trickle in to keep the operation afloat. But they never, ever will speak about uncomfortable issues—for example, most of the words that Jesus spoke.

Finally, there are the guys in my denomination, where there genuinely is a shortage of shepherds. In a typical year the Hartford Archdiocese experiences the following statistical reality: about 20 priests die, retire, or have nervous breakdowns because they’re overstressed and underappreciated; while no more than two new priests are ordained, usually young men from non-English-speaking parts of the globe. Right now we barely have one priest per parish, but it doesn’t take a math major to calculate that in a decade or so we’ll be lucky to have one priest per county. In 30 years I suppose we’ll have one priest to cover the whole state. Good luck trying to get him to return your phone call.

I wonder if right at this moment Jesus is having the same reaction He had in this week’s gospel reading. I wonder if His heart is moved with pity for the people sitting in the pews each week who are troubled and abandoned, sheep without shepherds.

Although in reality, we certainly are not without spiritual mentors. It’s just that the leaders we seem to be attracted to these days are actually wolves in shepherds’ clothing. We have plenty of spiritual guides: Oprah and her New Age nonsense; the advertising industry and its Gospel of gluttonous consumerism; and countless other molders of our cultural—the media, the entertainment industry, and the political and educational systems—all preaching a philosophy of vapid, self-centered, relentless pleasure-seeking.

Oh yeah, we have plenty of shepherds. It’s just that very few of them are preaching the Gospel of Christ: love the Lord, love your neighbor, and deny yourself and serve others to be truly joyful.

Ever wonder why a society that has achieved unprecedented material success—to the point where one of the major problems faced by poor people these days is obesity!—can possibly be so unhappy? As our prosperity has sky-rocketed in the last 50 years, so have the following problems: the use of anti-depressant drugs, suicide, divorce, substance abuse, child abuse, sexual assaults, insomnia, and road rage. Anybody see a major disconnect here?

We have become the most abundant and blessed society in the history of the planet. And at the same time we have become the most neurotic and frustrated society in the history of the planet. Why is that? It is because we have become sheep without shepherds. We are gaining the whole world and yet are losing our souls.

A little further on in this week’s gospel reading, after having pity on the shepherdless crowds, Jesus appointed His twelve disciples and commissioned them to be spiritual shepherds. As Scripture says, Jesus “gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out.”

We desperately need a new generation of shepherds, people willing to speak the truth and drive out all the “unclean spirits” that have enticed us away from the Lord. Until that happens, here’s a suggestion that will immediately drive out a major unclean spirit and increase your level of happiness: turn off the damn TV.

And with all the new free time you’ll have, crack open your dusty Bible and rekindle your prayer life. Give it a try. You have nothing to lose—other than your eternal soul, of course.

©2008