Brief synopsis of the readings: Today’s first reading takes us to the prophet Jeremiah. Here God warns shepherds who mislead and scatter his sheep and not care for them. God will punish that shepherd and gather a remnant and return them where they will thrive. God will then appoint good shepherds so they will no longer fear. The days are coming where God will “raise up a righteous shoot to David. This king will rule wisely. “The Lord is our justice.” In Mark’s Gospel Jesus gathered his apostles and invited them to go with him to a “deserted place and rest a while.” The crowds pressed on them so they went by boat to a deserted place. When Jesus saw the crowd he was moved with pity as they were like “sheep without a shepherd” and he began to teach them.

Thirty five years ago I entered the novitiate, the first year of seminary. As we gathered for the first few days we spoke about this first year as a time to go off together. It was a year devoted to prayer, discernment and living in community. And we read this gospel. The seven of us came from Montana, Ontario, California, New York, Texas, Arizona and California; we came with a variety of backgrounds and experiences and it was not lost on us that within a few years we would be priests sent out to different parishes.

And that brings our first reading into greater focus. As I’ve said previously, no sane person would ever want to be a prophet because prophets always swim upstream. Sometimes they give messages of comfort to those who feel hopeless and they can be seen as unrealistic dreamers. But more often, as was the case last week and is here, the prophet warns powerful people that they need to change their ways or else and it generally doesn’t go well for the prophet.

Being a shepherd wasn’t much better. This was a profession, not a calling from God, but nobody went into it for the fame and glory. It was a hard life and most shepherds didn’t have much choice. And that raises the question: why would some shepherds do such a poor job when losing sheep was economically devastating? Obviously there were some who just weren’t up to the job and there were some who simply didn’t care for sheep and would have been selfish and lazy no matter what they did.

But I think there’s a larger issue here, both for Jeremiah and for us. Some shepherds begin with good intentions and think of themselves as good shepherds but fall victim to inertia or just run out of gas. Normally at this time I’ll talk about our families or our workplaces because that’s where we spend most of our time and have the most effectiveness. If we’re not priests we often don’t think about our ability to make a difference in our churches or worship communities and that sells us short. I have an interesting perspective on this as I’ve been on both sides and I have to confess a certain amount of frustration that many of our churches have become more scatterers than welcomers.

Please understand I’m not thinking of things as dire as Jeremiah did and I don’t think God will punish anyone for their evil deeds. On the other hand my years with hospice gave me troubling examples of dying patients who asked for sacramental anointing (sometimes called “last rites” or “extreme unction”) only to be told that “father is too busy.” I always wondered what father did that was more important than visiting the sick and celebrating the sacraments.

But there is much we can do. I’ve belonged to several parishes that take a few minutes before mass to ask if there are any visitors or people there for the first time. Obviously not everyone who is new will be brave enough to raise their hands but oftentimes there are some who do. But I’ve never belonged to a parish that designated someone to come up to them after mass, welcome them, and invite them back the next week. There’s certainly no downside to this.

Othertimes I think we’re not as welcoming to groups that may perceive themselves as unwelcome. I once belonged to a parish that included a small group of gay members. When I suggested to the pastor that we may want to approach them and make a point of telling them that we were glad to see them he responded: “I’m not interested in you becoming the guru for Queer Nation.” Suffice it to say that was my last suggestion to the pastor.

And yet, so often I hear good Catholics complain that “nobody goes to mass anymore.” Unfortunately too often we scapegoat others: “It’s the Millenials. They just want to play video games.” “People are too lazy to get out of bed on Sundays.”

I just don’t think that’s true. From our earliest days as humans we have looked beyond ourselves and searched for meaning in our lives. We’ve gathered to share experiences and ponder what we can’t see. As Christians we have coalesced around the belief that an all loving God sent his Son to us for our salvation. And the further we wander away from that the worse we get.

When we talk about shepherds and sheep I think most of us squirm a little thinking of ourselves as sheep. But today’s Gospel recognizes that we are also shepherds regardless of whether or not we are ordained. We all have the ability to be good shepherds in that we can welcome new sheep and remind current sheep that they belong and enrich our communities. Sometimes that may call us to be the prophetic voice to the priests. We may see needs that don’t occur to them and we shouldn’t stop at our first no.

As I said at the beginning, 35 years ago seven of us gathered to begin a new adventure. Alas, only one of us is still an active priest and I’ve lost touch with the other five. But I like to think that all of us, wherever we are, have taken those lessons and are still a welcoming presence.