by Pam Tinsley

Over the past several weeks I’ve been reflecting on the post-resurrection conversation between Jesus and Peter at the end of John’s gospel. Peter and some of the disciples had left the upper room in Jerusalem where Jesus had breathed the Spirit upon them, empowering and sending them to continue his ministry. But they don’t seem to have done so. Instead, they’ve returned to their former occupations as fishermen.

So, Jesus appears on the beach, makes them breakfast, and reminds Peter that it’s time for him – and the others – to do what he has sent them to do: to feed and tend his sheep.

Feeding and tending Jesus’ sheep – God’s sheep – are what all of us as Jesus’ disciples are called to do. But what does this mean today?

We’re to feed and tend the sheep Jesus puts in our path: the marginalized; the hungry; the fearful; the unloved; and refugees, to name only a few.

Certainly, we’re called to feed them in the literal sense of the word. Especially today, as food insecurity is aggravated by severe cuts to programs that provide food benefits. Food banks and school lunch programs are already experiencing severe shortages.

Yet, we’re called to feed others spiritually as well. We do this whenever we root ourselves in Christ – treating others with the respect and dignity that Jesus teaches. We feed others when we, ourselves, are fed spiritually at the eucharistic table so that we can seek and serve Christ in the world. We feed others when we invite them to join us in spiritual community.

Tending God’s sheep calls us to do more, to put ourselves between our sheep and the wolves, to stand up for the weak and vulnerable, the voiceless – or those whose voices have been silenced. We tend God’s sheep when we stand up to unjust power structures – those power structures that divide, separate, and dehumanize God’s children. We tend God’s sheep when we openly claim and proclaim the goodness that God infuses into all of creation, into all of God’s creatures and creation itself.

How will you feed and tend the sheep Jesus places in your path today?