St. Maximos' Hut

It's Lent and I've been derelict in posting here. The Gospel reading from last Friday's Presanctified Liturgy hit an economic theme, however, and that reminded me to post.

We read from St. John's Gospel (10:9-16) the following:

At that time the Lord said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My Own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one Shepherd."

My thought, upon hearing this was that Christ used this analogy to reach his audience - and it is an analogy built on economics. This suggests to me that economic reasoning is both natural and, at the very least, "not bad." Shepherds care for their flocks because their flocks belong to them; hirelings will not sacrifice for their flocks because the flocks do not belong to them. What better illustration of the value of property rights in encouraging stewardship could there be?

My other thought is that I'd really, really like to eat some lamb and that it is still two weeks until Pascha. I am sure it will build character to wait, but I can almost smell it cooking, with garlic & rosemary & basted with vermouth......