The wolves at the door, the thieves inside
Dom Brendan Thomas • May 3, 2020
Can we live this crisis well?
It was quite fascinating when travelling with a pilgrim group through the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, on our way to the extraordinary temple of Baalbeck, to see little stone circles on the hillside with small entrances. It confirmed what I had read about in scripture commentaries, that shepherds would lead their flocks to where the grass was green, would gather some rocks and make a sort of makeshift pen to protect them from the wild animals. The gate was not of wood or iron, but just an opening in the rock walls because the shepherd himself would lie across the opening and keep them safe.
And that’s why Jesus can say “I am the gate.” The Good Shepherd himself becomes the gate to the sheep pen. He is the protector of the flock against the wolves that roam outside, the security against thieves and robbers who want to get in to kill, steal, or destroy the flock. In these little rock corrals on the mountainside the flocks would be safe inside. “They do not hurt, nor harm, on all my holy mountain” Isaiah 11:9.
We learn of two threats in the Gospel today. Jesus is concerned to protect his flock from threats
on the outside
– the wolves at the door, and the
threats on the inside
– the brigands and thieves
that have crept over the wall.
1) So first, the shepherd is one who protects his flock from the wolves that stand threatening at the gate.
We don’t have to search too far to see how this Gospel image is a present reality in our day. It has been a very hard decision of bishops and parish priests to close their church doors, but in the context of today’s pandemic they are simply being Christlike in taking the measures they deem necessary to stop the coronavirus wolf attacking the flock. It is hard because the flock is fearful, penned in their homes, and not free to graze on the green pastures that would most give strength, the sacraments of the Church, the banquet that is laid before us in the Eucharist.
But we have to remember that if Christ is the Gate then each of us is Christlike when we are like bouncers at the door, keeping each other safe from harm. Even if it is disagreeable or even uncomfortable to be penned in and have our life restricted we can thank God for the spiritual resources that we do have. We are not separated from Christ or from his Church which goes far beyond the walls of a building.
________________________
In the
Rule of St Benedict
the
Porter
of the monastery is such a beautiful figure, an elderly man standing at the door of the monastery, a source of blessing for all who pass by, another ‘Benedict’, if you like, whose name from bene ('good') and dicte ('speak'), literally means one who speaks well, who gives a blessing. The porter guards the door to make sure the community is safe and protected from unwanted visitors, but he is also the conduit that passes the blessings of the monastery out to whomsoever he meets. Many people are using this opportunity to reach out to friends and neighbours, to give a kind word and check that they are okay.
We haven’t got a Porter at Belmont. Rather each of us in different ways, according to our different tasks, are to become a channel of peace and goodwill to those outside. And perhaps to those inside too.
________________________
2) Which brings me to the second key concern of Christ that we be protected from thieves and brigands within the fold. Who are they? They are the ones who have crept in by any other way than Christ himself. They are ones with counterfeit voices, who try to deceive and lead the flock astray.
The truth is that all of us are sometimes thieves and brigands to each other when within the fold we reveal ourselves to be people who do not listen to the voice of the true Shepherd, and not hearing him fail to live in imitation of him. And let’s face it, sometimes we do not, even as monks. The thief steals and kills and destroys. Sometimes we rob each other of joy when we are disagreeable, bad-tempered, angry. We kill each other’s reputation when we back-stab and gossip and damage another’s good name. We destroy the life of the flock when we live counter to Christ and his values, when we give bad witness, when we suck the oxygen from the air and put ourselves at the centre of the world. We maim, we wound, and imperceptibly we kill.
But an alternative is set before us as we read the Acts of the Apostles in these days of Eastertide. To be the flock that listens to the voice of Christ and generous with what we have. We are asked to reflect in this Easter season what it means to be a community animated by the Spirit of the Risen Christ, a community that attracts, is generous, open and welcoming.
There is a time to close the gates, but there will be a time to open them again.
The present situation is taxing for many people in different ways. But if we, as a monastic community, live this life of lockdown well, we may have more to offer those currently left outside the gate, who long to be back here again to experience the goodness and kindness that flows from this altar and wants to flow from us too as channels of God’s goodness.
Our present situation might seem like a curse, but it could become for each of us a blessing if we can learn and grow from this experience, find the fullness of life that the Shepherd brings. And then we can become, each of us, porters, carriers of that blessing to the outside world.
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Good Shepherd, Good Priest “I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed; I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” Those words, spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Ezekiel, describe the heart of God, the Good Shepherd — but they also describe the life and ministry of a good monk and priest. They could well be written of Fr Stephen’s years of service as a pastor in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford, and Weobley. In each of those places, he shared in the Shepherd’s work: seeking out the lost, binding up the wounded, strengthening the weary, and leading God’s people with quiet faithfulness. And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who came close to his people, Fr Stephen did not serve from a distance. He knew his people; he was among them. He shared their sorrows and their joys, their hopes and their disappointments. He bore their burdens with prayer and patience he brought the joy of the Gospel and the grace of the Sacraments. His mission amongst us is complete. He has served God’s good purpose. So today we ask Christ the Good Shepherd to take Stephen on his sacred shoulders and carry him home to the house of the Father. Bind up his wounds, give him eternal rest and lead him at last to the green pastures and still waters of eternal life.