Scripture is filled with concrete and memorable images that vividly illustrate the most difficult of divine concepts. Biblical authors have used such images to communicate their experiences of God that dramatically and powerfully connect divine ideas with everyday familiar images. Today’s Gospel relates the constancy of God’s love and concern for us by using perhaps the most popular of all images of Jesus, the “Good Shepherd.” This image is found in eight books in the New Testament, and was used often in the Hebrew Scriptures as well. The Good Shepherd image has appeared in a variety of artistic forms, but to 21st century Christians, sheep and shepherd references do little to image the bond between Jesus and those who consider themselves his followers.
The ever-popular Good Shepherd image created a leadership style that reflected the love that exists between Jesus and his flock. Through this view, the flock came to know God and God came to know and care for them. Part of the Good Shepherd image included the shadow of the cross, the greatest act of obedience, and the greatest expression of love. In living his life and in giving of his love, Jesus imaged a shepherd’s love, a lifestyle that remains the model for all entrusted with the care of others. Spiritual writer Raymond Foley explains that to envision Jesus “as the ideal shepherd, is to reflect a true sense of service when it is convenient or inconvenient. …Good Shepherds take to heart the triple-directive with which the risen Jesus challenged Peter---‘Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep.’”
Peter’s challenge is our challenge. That challenge is to understand the call to intimacy to which we are all summoned. That intimacy invites us to become not only “Children of God,” but to embrace the same love relationship that Jesus shares with his Father. His invitation invites us to know him as he knows us, and as he and the Father know one another. We are being invited into a unity more profound than any human relationship. It is that unity that urges sheep to become shepherds!
As the church spread throughout the world, Jesus’ sheep have taken on many different identities. They are both rich and poor---the prominent and the marginalized. They have always included in a special way the unwanted, the needy, the homeless, and the refugees. They represent the unwelcome immigrants of every ethnic and racial background for whom Jesus willingly died. His willingness to embrace the cross is underscored by the surprising way that Jesus speaks of his saving action on behalf of all his sheep: “I lay it [my life] down to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.”
As unfamiliar as this Good Shepherd image may seem, current disciples of Jesus can identify themselves as the sheep following the shepherd---Jesus. However, they are also called to be shepherds themselves. In all relationships within families, friends, neighborhoods and workplaces, they are placed in shepherd-leadership roles. They are called to lay down their time, energy, treasure, and sometimes their lives for others.
21st century shepherds work toward a more humane world. They promote justice, seek peace, and reach out to others in need. They preach the gospel with love and back it up with action. Day-by-day, they open their hearts humbly to God’s love so they can make Jesus’ presence known to the world. Good shepherds know their sheep, are aware of their needs, and respond to them. How good a shepherd are you? We need to ask because we live in a world in great need of good shepherds.
----Deacon Wilson Shierk