And this reference by Zephyrinus, so appropriate after this past Friday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and also for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, the Gospel of Christ the Good Shepherd, seeking out the lost and completely vulnerable sheep (Luke 15:1-8).
The observer here once lived in the Central Valley of California and often passed by a sheep farm during lambing season: the beauty, sheer joy, playfulness, and complete vulnerability of the lambs, and the evident “dumb animal trust” (“dumb” in the traditional sense of the word) in their shepherds, remains in this observer’s mind, so moving, so pathetic, so sweet. As everyone knows, sheep and even more so, lambs, are totally in the hands of their caretaker. Every predator is a risk to them—hawks, eagles, foxes, coyotes—even crows and ravens. And, like canines, they reward their master with total trust and pure affection.
It is a call-to-attention of the image of Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:29, Revelation 5:6), utterly sinless and without evil, the willing sacrifice for us careless, thoughtless, and often inconsiderate humans (speaking for oneself here), that such a sweet Lamb went to the altar of sacrifice for us. -Comment by Dante P.
Indeed, as Zephyrinus points out:
ReplyDeleteAnd this reference by Zephyrinus, so appropriate after this past Friday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and also for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, the Gospel of Christ the Good Shepherd, seeking out the lost and completely vulnerable sheep (Luke 15:1-8).
The observer here once lived in the Central Valley of California and often passed by a sheep farm during lambing season: the beauty, sheer joy, playfulness, and complete vulnerability of the lambs, and the evident “dumb animal trust” (“dumb” in the traditional sense of the word) in their shepherds, remains in this observer’s mind, so moving, so pathetic, so sweet. As everyone knows, sheep and even more so, lambs, are totally in the hands of their caretaker. Every predator is a risk to them—hawks, eagles, foxes, coyotes—even crows and ravens. And, like canines, they reward their master with total trust and pure affection.
It is a call-to-attention of the image of Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:29, Revelation 5:6), utterly sinless and without evil, the willing sacrifice for us careless, thoughtless, and often inconsiderate humans (speaking for oneself here), that such a sweet Lamb went to the altar of sacrifice for us. -Comment by Dante P.
What a magnificent contribution from our Liturgical Correspondent, Dante P, for which we are indebted. Many thanks, indeed.
DeleteIt is almost impossible, one thinks, to improve on the content of this lovely contribution.
A big Thank You.