In today’s scripture readings the “shepherd” metaphor is used to help us understand God’s loving involvement in our lives and the relationship that he offers us.

Psalm 23 is one of the most well known scripture passages, commonly invoked to provide comfort in time of death.  But this psalm provides much more than reassurance in the hour of death.  Psalm 23 tells us all about Jesus’ faithfulness to us, and our faithful response to him.  Psalm 23 tells us of Jesus’ love, kindness and concern for us, and it tells us how we can be confident and sure that Christ will provide for all our needs – how we can surrender ourselves to him in faith and trust.  Psalm 23 tells us how Jesus provides us with guidance, courage, and peace especially in the most difficult moments of our lives.  The message of this psalm need not be reserved exclusively for a time of grieving and death.  It can be applied to every day of our lives.

In the gospel (Mark 6:30-34) we hear of the “vast crowds” descending upon Jesus and his disciples.  Jesus’ observation can be reassuring for us.  Jesus characterizes the crowd as “sheep without a shepherd”, and as a result of this observation “his heart is moved to pity”.   Jesus is indeed the one true shepherd, a shepherd who loves every one of his flock, watches out for us, is dismayed when we fall away from him, and seeks us out when we find ourselves lost.

The Old Testament reading (Jeremiah 23:1-6) contrasts Jesus – the one true shepherd who gathers and cares for all of his flock – with those false shepherds who can “mislead and scatter”.

Every day of our lives we are presented with false shepherds – those dispositions of our hearts and minds that keep us from the one true Shepherd.  Misplaced priorities, worldly desires, over-emphasis on material things, self-centeredness, and close-mindedness – all those things that can cause us to fall off the Shepherd’s path and become lost.  Sometimes we quickly come to realize that we are falling off the path and seek the Shepherd’s help to get back.  Other times we might travel a long distance off the path over a long period of time until we hit rock bottom.  In all cases Christ is there for us, beckoning us, and waiting for us to turn back to him so he can help us dismiss those false shepherds and get back to him and the one true path.  

A while back I was fortunate to attend a baptism celebration at a local Protestant church.    Each person, prior to their baptism, provided a brief testimony.  Many spoke of their falling off the path and their days of following those false shepherds.   We heard people speak of the false shepherds of “misplaced pride”, “empty worldly philosophies”, and the “empty desires of a God-less heart”.  We heard people speak of the harsh conditions associated with straying from the one true path -”alienation”, “emptiness”, “loneliness”, “darkness”, and “fractured relationships”.   But we also heard how it felt to be drawn back to the path and back to Christ.  We heard people speak of “a longing satisfied”, “a void filled”, “a life resurrected from the ashes”, “a life becoming recognizable again”.   There was the individual who boldly proclaimed “with Jesus by my side, I can do anything”, and another – “Jesus is doing powerful and amazing work in my life”.   And then there was the individual who confidently stated – “I now realize that even while I was away, Jesus always had my back”.  And to me this is the bottom line, the most precious thought of all. Jesus never gives up on us – he does indeed always “have our backs”.  Our Good Shepherd is always there for us no matter how far we stray, no matter how many false shepherds we allow to infiltrate our hearts.  Jesus is watching and caring for us even when we don’t realize it, even when we choose to ignore him.  And Jesus has great joy when we return to him, when we come to once again acknowledge him as the Lord of our lives and our Savior.

With profound love and gratitude we can join in the prayer of one of those newly baptized –  “Thank you  Jesus for relentlessly pursuing me”.

One response to “

  1. Jim Zinsmeister

    Imperfect, but loved all the same!

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