“No! Don’t . . .” my words hung in the air as a tiny hand dragged the basket across the counter. A precariously perched knife toppled from atop the peanut butter jar to the floor (sticky-side down, of course). And a glass unseen by the possessor of the hand, rocked for a moment before also toppling to add to the disaster.
Realizing his mistake in ignoring my request to wait a moment until I could help, my young son turned and sobbed out, “But I didn’t know that would happen.”
This is me with God again and again: jumping into situations, thinking I know best, only to realize His knowledge goes far beyond mine.
In today’s readings, both in the first from Ezekiel and in the Psalm, the focus is on sheep. These woolly farm animals are often compared to us as followers of Jesus, the Shepherd.
But the First Reading comes with a warning, “The sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly . . . I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats” (Ezekiel 16-17). These sheep, set for destruction, are the ones who refuse to be shepherded.
What they lack is the virtue of docility, a willingness to be taught and to take correction peacefully. Instead they fight for their own way, persisting in pride or perhaps even laziness.
It’s easy to be docile when we are aware of our hopelessness in a situation, such as when we must rely on a doctor’s wisdom or a lawyer’s advice. But how can we practice docility in our whole life, especially in our faith?
It’s easy to be quick to judge a homily that didn’t "seem" Catholic enough or argue a Scripture teaching is "too" conservative or a Church doctrine "too" liberal. But are we projecting our own notions or letting the Holy Spirit stretch and mold us?
Are we digging into the teachings of Mother Church and aspiring to grow? Are we willing to change personal opinions and preferences to align more with the Truth?
His knowledge goes far beyond mine. // Sarah Ortiz Click to tweet
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Sarah Ortiz is a Catholic convert, wife, and mother to five boys while living in a 200-year-old farmhouse in Western New York. When not folding laundry, she can be found reading, experimenting in the kitchen, keeping the family library, or snagging amazing antique furniture deals. She was a contributing author to Set a Fire. Find out more about her here.
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