attentiveness to the sheep - 16th SundayB

We continue our reflection on our first reading, this time from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.  In pronouncing judgement to the leaders of Judah, God said through the prophet Jeremiah, “You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.”  There is a word play here – you have not cared for them so I will take care of you to punish you.  You did not attend to them so I will attend to all your abuses.  The word play in a way also reveals the heart of the matter which will find its echo in our gospel today. 

So what is this heart of the matter?  The heart of the matter is this:  to take care, to attend, to look after, to be present, to accompany, to be mindful of, to be ready to serve, to listen, to take charge of, to be attentive  – this is where the leaders failed.  Probably they were busy making things more efficient, probably they were engrossed in systematizing the flow of work, probably they were busy updating the books, and in the process they forgot to take care, they neglected to listen, they did not care to accompany, they failed to look after, and they were too slow to respond to serve a need.  They were managers, they were CEO’s but they were not shepherds.

We can systematize work but we can never systematize attentiveness.  Attentiveness to the sheep demands attentiveness to God.  St. Bernard of Clairvaux had a disciple by the name of Peter Bernard of Pisa.  He would later become Pope Eugenius III.  St. Bernard having sensed the burden his disciple was going through because of his office wrote him a letter entitled “On Consideration”.   In it he impressed on Eugenius the many obligations of his sacred office, but he vehemently reminded him to reserve time every day for self-examination and contemplation, a duty more vital than any official business as pope - thus, the title “On Consideration” – self-examination, contemplation, silent reflection.  There was danger, Bernard wrote, of becoming so preoccupied with work as to fall into forgetfulness of God.  The lack of attentiveness is a forgetfulness of God who is in the midst of his flock, in the midst of his people.  Learning to listen therefore, learning to accompany others, taking care of others is first and foremost paying close attention to God.

And this is echoed in our gospel today.  There was an insistence on the need to be by themselves, there was an initial insistence on the need to rest from their labors but when Jesus saw the needs of the people, he was moved to compassion, and he had to put on hold the planned rest, the scheduled rest. The exercise of attentiveness is not something that goes along with our MBAs.  It is a spiritual formation that comes to us when we are attentive to God.