Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
In today’s first reading, the prophet Ezekiel writes of how the LORD God will gather the people of Israel together again from their exile. God promises to heal their divisions, to cleanse them from their sinfulness, and to help them obey His commands. He promises to set up make a new and eternal covenant with them. He promises to make a sanctuary, a place to worship Him properly, that will last forever. As Catholic Christians, although we would acknowledge that the Jewish people may have other legitimate ways that they would see a passage such as this fulfilled in their own history, we interpret this passage primarily as relating to the coming of Jesus and to the establishment of the Church. Much of the passage is understood metaphorically- we do not seek to control a particular piece of land upon the earth but instead to be united to God as one “People of God” who are spread out all over the earth. In our understanding, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist means that God dwells with us constantly in the tabernacles of our various Church communities.
Yet a new emphasis of this passage is revealed in the Psalm, for now we notice that the central figure of the first passage is that of the great Shepherd. In the first passage, the one “shepherd for them all” is called David, which evokes the idyllic view of David as the great king of Israel. But, as Christians, we understand this as an allusion to the eternal reign of Christ, who establishes a “new and everlasting covenant” and leads all of us from our earthly divisions into an ongoing relationship with our Heavenly Father. The second passage helps to reveal this to us, for as Christians we know that Jesus Christ is the great shepherd and that we are his sheep; we are the ones whom He “gathers,” “guards,” and “redeems” so that we may live forever with him. The Lord has chosen to “console and gladden” us by granting us with the gift of eternal life, so that all of us may “make merry and dance,” so that we may have joy in this life and eternal happiness in the life to come.
Perhaps to parallel this, our Gospel reading begins immediately after Jesus has actually restored earthly life to Lazaraus, the brother of Mary and Martha. This wonder has caused many people to believe in Him- and it has been reported to the relevant authorities. And then we see another shepherd- a bad shepherd named Caiaphas- who is prophesying that one shall die for the sake of many. This high priest has given a prophecy and is startling true; without knowing what he is saying, he has predicted exactly how Jesus will bestow eternal life upon us- in His act of self-sacrifice upon the Cross. As Caiaphas has declared, Jesus will die for the nation. But, as the author of the Gospel proclaims, “not only for that nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.” So, in His death, Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Ezekiel- He is the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for His Sheep- and gathers them together into an eternal covenant with God.
As we prepare ourselves for Palm Sunday and Holy Week, let us take a few moments to let the events of our Salvation touch our lives. Let us also resolve that we will participate in all the events - Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Services - so that we may indeed bear the fruit of the Good Shepherd saving action on our behalf.
- Matthew Minix