The Scandal of Division
April 22, 2026
Fr. John Riccardo
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel … The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. …
Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured. Ezekiel 34:1-2, 4-6, 11-16.
Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. … I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. … And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. ” John 10:1-4, 11, 16
Scandal is an often misunderstood word. One dictionary defines it as “a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions or disgraces those associated with it.” According to this definition, the harm is to the person or persons who did the action. That’s true, of course, but the biblical meaning of the word has a different emphasis. The Greek word skandalon is especially damaging to others. Scandal refers to a trap, that is, something used for catching someone or something alive. It can also mean an action or circumstance that leads one to act contrary to a proper course of action. In other words, our choices can cause others to hurt themselves in some way.
The night before Jesus entered into His passion, He fervently and repeatedly prayed to His Father for the unity of His disciples. His motive was twofold. First, the unity of Christians is to be a means by which the world will know that the Father sent the Son. Second, the unity of disciples is to be a means by which the world will know that the Father loves them — each and every person — even as He does the Son.
Our lack of unity in the Catholic Church is a scandal. Our lack of unity as Christians is a scandal. As a result of the division that exists within us as disciples of Jesus, those “sheep” who are living the nightmare that is life apart from God are hindered from knowing that God sent His Son out of love for us all, and hindered from knowing their true identity as beloved sons and daughters of God. As such they are easy prey for the one Jesus calls “the thief,” who comes to steal, to kill and to destroy.
Some months ago I had the opportunity to gather together with various Christians, Catholic and non-Catholic, to pray, get to know each other, and talk with one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord. We were together for a single day, and yet it was a time of extraordinary grace for all of us. As we were praying the Lord gave me an image. The image was of countless sheep, scattered across a hillside. They were in various states of anguish. Some were bleeding badly from injuries, some were limping, some were even missing limbs. They were shaking, hungry, and thirsty. They were in desperate need of a shepherd, a safe place, nurturing and care. At the top of the hill, where there should have been a shepherd and a safe place, instead were many sheepfolds, all with their own shepherds. The shepherds, though, were all fighting with each other in one way or another. As a result, the anguished sheep down below never considered what they saw and heard “up there” as an option for shelter or care — let alone a better life. And so they stayed where they were.
This is what scandal does.
This is what our lack of unity causes.
Jesus identifies Himself in the Gospel this week as the Good Shepherd, the one who lays down His life for the sheep. In doing so, He is revealing Himself as the fulfillment of the promise God made through the prophet Ezekiel hundreds of years before. Shepherd, in fact, is a frequent way in which God refers to Himself in the Old Testament, with Psalm 23 being perhaps the most famous example. Though Jesus alone is the Good Shepherd, Peter reminds those who lead in the Church to give the flock a shepherd’s care, striving with God’s grace to show forth the love, mercy, compassion, truth and more of the One who lays down His life for the sheep (cf. 1 Peter 5:2).
At that gathering of disciples a few months back, one of the men there shared something I can’t get out of my mind. Shortly before we parted he rose and said, “I don’t see any way humanly speaking to end the division. We aren’t going to ‘figure this out.’ It all seems impossible. And it is. For us. But not for God. Nothing is impossible for God. God and God alone is able to do this. And He wants to do this. So let us pray that He will do it.”
Let us beg the Lord to forgive us for the times our words and actions have caused or furthered division within His Body. And let us fervently pray and work for ever greater unity — visible unity — among believers. This is what the Good Shepherd prayed for the night before He laid down His life for us. All of us.
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
April 2026
For the Church, rejoicing in the victory of Jesus over sin, death, hell and Satan, that she may be renewed in hope, bold and prophetic in witness, and radiant with the joy of the Resurrection.
For priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find accompaniment and that communities may support them with understanding and prayer.
For our time with the presbyterate in the Diocese of Gaylord, that the Holy Spirit would guide our ministry with them, deepen their unity as brothers, and reconfigure us ever more fully to the heart of Jesus for mission.
For our Board of Directors meeting, that the Lord would grant wisdom and clarity so that every decision made may serve His purposes and advance the Kingdom of God.
For all of our planning efforts around The Jesus Conference, that the Lord would go before us, preparing the hearts of those who will gather, and that this event would bear lasting fruit for the renewal and mobilization of the Church.
For our Episcopal Advisory Council, Board of Directors, partners, and all those who faithfully pray for us, that they may be strengthened by the gratitude and communion we share in the family of God.