"Feed My Sheep"
John 21:15-19
Jesus and Peter
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
Pretty straight forward. Hey "Rocky, Feed my sheep!" (In Aramaic, Spanish, French, Greek etc Peter=Rocky) I love my iMacPro and iPhone as much as any priestly geek out there. And the death of Steve Jobs was a profound loss for someone who appreciates such brilliance. But the starvation of millions! Has anybody noticed? And nearer to home, the unemployed millions! Has anybody noticed? We are beginning to waken from slumber. Our occupation of Wall Street/Boston and Main Street is an attempt to put America on notice. We can do better than this.
We are the wealthiest nation on earth. Can we not "Feed God's Sheep"? Can we not put Americans to work? Or is it only Wall Street, Banks and GM that we want to save? Are we really a government of the 1%, for the 1% and by the 1%?
You and I can so something. We can give to Oxfam, or in the case of my own church we can give to Episcopal Relief and Development. Some have noticed, but only some and far too few. Millions are starving and the message is as old as Jesus' words to Rocky; "Feed my Sheep"!
AND we can take to the streets!
Fr. Paul
2 comments:
God's sheep are everyone, not just the followers of Christ. You may, by this simple act, bring them to Christ and they may lead others. These days, God's sheep are all around us and they desperately need our help.
Right you are. It was pretty clear from Jesus that his love was indeed for ALL and he certainly didn't check membership cards when he fed the multitudes on the hillsides of Galilee. As with all religions, it was his followers that screwed it all up with the exclusivity thing. So, in the immortal words of Jesus; "Feed my sheep".
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