The Good Shepherd

In calling himself the Good Shepherd, Jesus was defining his rose in God’s plan for the human family. The traditional biblical imagery of shepherd probably derives from Israel’s earliest years of nomadic existence. From the very beginning the first two brothers, Cain and Abel, the farmer and the shepherd, with their different work and values, are seen as rivals.

For the Chosen People the shepherd is a heroic image. The Shepherd knew his flock, loved, cared and sacrificed for them. The people to whom Jesus spoke understood the meaning of the Good Shepherd. That image was very much part of their lives as a nomadic people. While that image projected an attitude of knowledge, caring and sacrifice, it changed when the people settled and developed an urban and agricultural life. The image of the shepherd was no longer as popular as in the early times of the Chosen People.

The lives of the people in the desert and the popularity of “Shepherds” gave rise to the image of God as their shepherd and protector. [Genesis 48:15; 49:54] God’s devotion and loyalty of the individual sheep is celebrated in the Shepherd Psalm – 23. Israel’s leaders were often called Shepherds. Thus: Moses, Saul and David. The role of such shepherds as leaders is described in the Book of Ezekiel 34, where the prophet uses the evil shepherd to illustrate the failure of leadership. When the people God had chosen to be shepherds failed to protect and care for the people, God promised that he himself would be their Shepherd. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God said that he would Shepherd his sheep – strengthen the weak, nourish the hungry, and bind up the wounds of those who were suffering.

All these powerful images of love, care and compassion were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who said: “I am the Good Shepherd.” Jesus spoke of his kind of Leadership. It was not a leadership of domination, but of love, service and sacrifice. He would seek out the lost. He would protect them from the wolves; he would lay down his life for the sheep. Even those who do not know him as their shepherd – would be called and welcomed to his fold. For Jesus, there is no such thing as cutting ones losses and running. There is no one beyond help!

The gospel today reminds us that we are in good hands. As the Shepherd Psalm says: “Even though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are at my side, with your rod and your staff that give me courage.” [Psalm 23]

Today we are challenged not to leave other people for lost. After all, we are our brother’s and sister’s keepers. We too are called in our families, work places, social activities, and in our communities to be ‘shepherds.’ The Good Shepherd challenges us not to leave anyone for lost. We all know of some people who have wandered away from the Church, who have lost their sense of belonging, who feel they have no community to belong to. How will they know that they are welcome back to the fold if no one invites them? How will they be helped BACK if no one OFFERS to make the JOURNEY with them!