I we are caught into this mystery EXCERPTS FROM THE WRITINGS AND REFLECTIONS OF BARBARA DAVIS, RGS II What I offer is the fruit of my own learning, reflection and living. It is not something that I present and you receive. Rather, I hope that it can be an invitation for you to get in touch with your own wisdom and insights. - Sr. Barbara Davis, RGS III Contents Foreword V List of images VI The Good Shepherd in the Old and the New Testament VII The biblical call to shepherding 3 Knowing and making new 4 The Good Shepherd - metaphor and image 8 The pilgrimage of Jacob and Rachel 12 Shepherding and the Exodus 20 Moses and Miriam 22 Ruth and David 27 David and Abigail 32 The Prophets - pastoral imagery 37 Amos 38 Ezechiel 40 Shepherding: power as a form of caring 43 The New Testament and the call to shepherding 49 A good shepherd? 49 The Gospel of Luke 50 The Gospel of Matthew 54 The Gospel of John 58 Blessing in the shepherd's life and mission 68 The history of blessing 68 Expressions of blessing 71 Shepherding and the whole of life 74 A reflection on Psalm 23 74 Related readings/reflections 79 IV Some Personal Reflections on the Good Shepherdess 82 The nomadic life of a shepherdess 85 The justice of a shepherdess 88 Two Good Shepherd Women 91 St Mary Euphrasia 93 Primary source documents 93 A present day view: leadership for mission 100 Barbara Davis RGS - a tribute 104 Bibliography 110 Editors' note: The interleaved images, suggested exercises, poem by John Kibira and story by Lilian Jackson Kisanga are not from Barbara's notes, but are included here in juxtaposition to her writings. They invite reflection and may provide ways of enabling readers to move differently with their own experience. V Foreword Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd Rome, 15 December 2001 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; He makes me lie down in green pastures. Ps. 23:1-2 This book is a precious legacy left to us by Barbara Davis. With her passion for the Good Shepherd and for shepherdesses especially, she resounded anew the message of the Word of God. Her reading of the texts was like a spark stimulating our zeal and commitment to the poor and the marginalized. Her reflections shared in sessions, retreats or informal encounters integrated also what she learned from others. She knew well how to inspire us to bring forth new understandings. Always a true educator, she helped us discover that we are at the same time both sheep and shepherdesses. Many women in the Bible became more alive for us. They became models of tenderness and compassion, daring to give life in order to preserve it. Weaving the biblical stories of shepherds and shepherdesses, Barbara has given us a new tapestry. She has brought to our times ancient beauty that is ever fresh and ever new. Her research represents a seed of life for our Congregation, our associates and collaborators, as well as all the readers. Our gratitude is expressed in hope for a better world. Together we commit ourselves to build a world where justice, peace and love reign, so there shall be one flock, one shepherd (Jn. 10:16). The members of the General Council who have journeyed with Barbara thank the Province of Australia/Aotearoa/New Zealand for this initiative. Journeying with the Shepherd, Liliane Tauvette Superior General VI WE ARE CAUGHT INTO THIS MYSTERY List of images Cover Maison-Mere du Bon-Pasteur d'Angers Page 7 Young Arab shepherd, Jerusalem Page 28 Desert Arab women in Beer-Sheba Page 57 Jerusalem, early one morning Page 73 There shall be one flock, one shepherd (Jn.l0:16) Page 78 Good Shepherd calling - Barbara Davis Page 84 Shoes that trod the path Page 92 St Mary Euphrasia Page 96 St Mary Euphrasia Page 104 Barbara Davis as we remember her VII WE ARE CAUGHT INTO THIS MYSTERY THE GOOD SHEPHERD IN THE OLD AND THE NEW TESTAMENT [Barbara created much of the material in this section as a resource for a seven-day retreat.] VIII The Biblical Call To Shepherding Prelude: About knowing ... A story is told about a soiree given in London. Present were diplomats, members of government, directors of banks and business, various artists and some others who were friends of the more "famous" people present. From time to time one of the artists would perform - an aria, a violin solo, a piano recital - and there was an opportunity to make a request. Present in the company was an elderly parish priest invited as a friend and he asked a very well known Shakespearean actor to recite Psalm 23. The actor agreed, provided the priest would say it after him. As you can imagine, the priest felt rather embarrassed, but could only agree. The actor recited the Psalm with wonderful resonance and clarity and at the end there was a spontaneous ovation. The priest felt even more reluctant as the actor indicated it was his turn. He said Psalm 23, one of his favourites and when he concluded there was silence ... The actor then said, You see, I know the words, he knows the Shepherd! 3 THE GOOD SHEPHERD IN THE OLD AND THE NEW TESTAMENT Knowing and making new I | "To know something" - what does this actually mean? In the Bible knowing means much more than cognitive knowing. Very often biblical knowing amounts to what we would be likely to regard as experiencing personally and relationally. In this sense, knowledge is not some activity of the mind that is separated from the heart. Knowledge can result from and within many things, such as a particular experience, a tradition, a time of dissatisfaction, a stirring of imagination, the tug of a felt need, or the intrusion of the unexpected. Such knowledge can be expanded, framed or limited by its contexts -historical, social, religious, cultural, personal. Knowledge and the struggle to know are often linked with human efforts to orient oneself to the world. II | Living our knowledge We are a gathering of women who strive to know the Shepherd, and to live and love in this knowledge. Our task is to journey with the Shepherd in prayerful but eminently practical ways. We are women who have been attracted by the Shepherd to commit ourselves to our mission with all the faithed strength, passion, compassion, beauty, wisdom, and ability to stand with and to suffer with, that this call contains. It is from this experience and all that it contains that we might now reflect on our lives. We might ponder what is involved in our call as Sisters of the Good Shepherd, consider the Biblical image of shepherd and discover more of the foundation and inspiration that could inform our lives and charism (our method of holiness, our gift of God's Spirit in ministry). Rather than miring us in this past, the memories such reflection brings might also show us how every authentic encounter with the creative God is new. Our spirituality, mission and experience of God are never meant to be a mere repetition of what has gone before. Each of us brings to the world, to the Congregation, and to this group something never seen before. This is one of the things that makes the Bible quite different from all the other writings and traditions of the ancient world - this emphasis on newness and the need for a whole new world. 4 WE ARE CAUGHT INTO THIS MYSTERY III | The call to make all things new The word new appears again and again to describe what God wants and what God does: a new song, a new heart, a new spirit, a new person, a new life, a new creature, a new covenant, new wine in new wineskins, a new heaven and a new earth, a new Jerusalem. The truth of the matter is that the God of the Bible is a God of newness and change (cf. is. 43:18-19). What God stands for is a whole new world; it is God who wants to mAke all things new (Rev. 21:5). God is not saying to us: Remember the former retreats and consider the retreats of old. Behold I am doing the same old thing for you. Rather, God is saying to us: Behold I am doing a new thing in this time of discernment. God promises to make all things new for everyone. The temptation against which the Is 40:66 text (cf. Rev. 21:1-5) cautions is that of drifting into thinking yesterday, today and the same forever. For the community at large and for us as individuals the divine guarantee comes through clearly: I am doing a new thing, I am making all things new. However, the new Exodus or new heaven and new earth make no sense unless we recall the first Exodus and the old heaven and the old earth. God was faithful in the past and will be lovingly faithful in the future. God was inventive in the past and God will prove even more lovingly inventive and innovative in the future. The problem is that most of us do not want to change our personal lives. We can want many changes - political, social, economic, religious or congregational - but we do not want to introduce anything new into our personal lives. The world, Church and congregation cannot change very much more until people begin to change. To go further into the kind of newness that God wants, each one of us must look more deeply into our own need for change.