Finding a Good Shepherd in Real Life
Did you know that sheep will follow each other into all kinds of trouble, even death?
I once lived on acreage that became pastureland for a handful of sheep. We were warned to make sure the fences were all rounded, because sheep will head to a corner and literally smother each other without knowing how to back out! Sheep don’t know how to recognize threats to their well-being. They don’t know how to ask for help. They just know how to follow. A good shepherd provides the basics that sheep need: space, sustenance, and safety. Sheep without a good shepherd will go astray at their own peril.
So. Do. We. Since the beginning of time humans have realized they need good, strong, faithful leadership. Isaiah 53:6 noted, “We all like sheep, have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way.” Jesus warned that there are a lot of thieves and bandits that try to steal sheep from the good shepherd, steal God’s people from God’s leadership. How can we tell the difference? Listen carefully, and look for the results. Is there space to allow us to be who we are created to be, sustenance to feed our physical and spiritual needs, and safety to protect us? Do we find joy and gratitude and eagerness to share, to give and to receive in mutual respect and affection? Or is selfish ambition, greed, and aggression for the purpose of protecting material or social status the real end game?
Jesus preached that his flock knows his voice and follows him — not the enemy. How did his contemporaries know, and how do we? We know by associating the voice of leadership with good food for body and soul. Here’s an example: When I was growing up, our neighborhood was populated with kids from several blocks, and we played with abandon, late into the afternoon. Our moms had a tough time getting us home at the end of the day — there were no cell phones! So the parents got together and agreed to each get a big bell secured on our back porches. Each family had a specific “ring,” so we knew when the bell was tolling for us or for someone else. We got home in time for supper, where we found space — a place at the table, sustenance to answer our need for food and belonging, and safety from the outside world.
On some level, we all need this space to feel included. We need sustenance for body and soul, and for emotional if not physical safety. This is what Jesus offers, and his followers know it. They recognize his voice, so to speak, by experiencing his kind of love in Scriptures, Sacrament, and self-giving love. Jesus’ first Baptismal Promise is what we hear in Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.“
It’s tempting to follow the leaders who promise “the good life,” but they may be leading us astray! Let us listen instead for the leaders who promise food for our souls, not just for our egos. Let us find meaning in caring about the well-being of all people, and not just about self-gratification. Let us find the joy of sharing mutual respect, protection, care and love with those we meet.
This is what Jesus offers. This is abundant life, which is so much more powerful, hopeful, and eternal than “the good life.” Those of us who follow Jesus, the Good Shepherd, are assured that we, too, will not want, will have rest and sustenance, will belong, will be comforted in adversity, blessed before our enemies, anointed with oil of gladness, and have mercy and goodness as our lifelong companions.
Amen.
