Thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness…
34th Sunday in Ordinary Time
EZEKIEL 34:11-17
Thus says the Lord God:
I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.
Ezekiel lived between 600 – 550, though we cannot be more precise. These are the tragic years of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar (578). Ezekiel and Jeremiah are the two prophets who witnessed the fall of Jerusalem and the deportation to Babylon.
The first part of Ezekiel’s prophecy is contemporary with the last days of Judah, and it announces the fall of Jerusalem. The second part, already in exile, is dedicated to maintaining the hope of the people in the restoration, basing it on trust in God and therefore on the adherence of the people to the Lord, not on vain political hopes.
The text we read today corresponds to that second part. It is taken out of context, as almost always. The entire text is a violent diatribe against the bad shepherds. The misfortunes of the people are largely the responsibility of the bad leaders, who have not been shepherds but predators, who have not cared for the flock but have ruined it.
But the Lord himself will take the initiative and will be the shepherd of his people. The image is completed with the demand for accountability, in the form of judgment, between sheep and sheep. It is also a messianic and eschatological text, announcing a single future shepherd and a final settlement in the greenest pastures.
The text is included here as a magnificent complement to the “parable” of the Final Judgment that we read in the Gospel.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-28
Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
The two key phrases of this text, which include it well in today’s feast, are undoubtedly “Christ must reign” and “God will be all in all.”
Thus, an image of the outcome of human history is presented, interpreted as “the final triumph of Christ at the head of the entire humanity.” Christ triumphs over all his enemies. It is very significant that his greatest enemy is death. It is not a matter of Christ triumphing over people. Christ is never the enemy of people.
The enemies of Christ are the enemies of people; and the last enemy is death, which is presented here as a symbol of sin. The text is both symbolic and prophetic. The image of Adam, the man without God destined to death, is taken and contrasted with Christ, the man full of God, the source of life for all.
“Christ must reign” – “God will be all in all” is equivalent to “the kingdom of God will be realized,” the entire humanity will reach fullness in God, by the power of the Spirit of Christ. It is one of the most complete, most hopeful texts, that best reveal Paul’s overall thought regarding the role of Christ as Liberator of humanity.
José Enrique Galarreta, S.J.