Be a Model for the Faithful
When the Lord had
explained what these bad shepherds seek, he also said what they neglect. The
defects of the sheep are widespread. There are a very few healthy, fat
sheep – that is, those that are made strong by feeding on the truth, by
God’s gift making good use of the pastures – but they are not safe from
the bad shepherds. Those shepherds not only do not look after the sick, the
weak, the wandering and the lost, but they do as much harm as they can to the
strong and sleek among the flock. Those sheep survive – by the mercy of
God they survive – but the bad shepherds do what they can to kill them.
You may ask how they
do this. By living badly, by setting a bad example. There was a reason why the
servants of God, eminent among shepherds, were told In
everything you do make yourself an example to them of working for good, and Be a model for the faithful. Often even a strong sheep, seeing its
leader living a wicked life, will turn from contemplation of the laws of the
Lord to the behaviour of the man and say to itself, “if my leader lives thus,
who am I that I should do things differently?” In that way the shepherd is
killing the strong sheep: and if the strong, then what of the rest? Even if
their strength did not come from his care – even if they were strong and
healthy before he saw them – still he is killing him by his evil life.
I say this to your
loving kindness, I say it again: even if the sheep are living strong in the
word of the Lord, even if they follow what their Lord has told them: Do
what they say; but what they do, do not do yourselves, whoever lives wickedly in the sight of
the people is a murderer in so far as he is able. Let him not flatter himself
that his victim is not dead. The victim is not dead but the man is still a
murderer. When a man lusts after a woman then even if she remains chaste he is
still an adulterer. The Lord’s judgement is clear and true: If
a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in
his heart. He has not come
to her in his bedroom but in the interior bedroom of his heart he is already in
the throes of passion with her.
And so it is that
anyone who lives wickedly in the sight of those over whom he has authority is
killing them, even the strong ones, as far as he is able. Whoever imitates him
dies and whoever does not imitate him lives, but as far as he himself is
concerned he is killing them all. As the Lord says, You
are killing the fattest sheep but you do not feed my flock.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
From a Sermon by Saint Augustine on Pastors
Image Credit Waiting for the Word
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