Good Shepherd

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11

Grace and peace to you on this beautiful spring week. The azaleas have blossomed with great flair. What beauty!

Tomorrow is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. On this Sunday each year we hear from Chapter 10 of the gospel of John where Jesus speaks about himself as the good shepherd. See, for example, the quote at the top of this newsletter!

When’s the last time you met a shepherd in person? Not many of us have. Because of our relative unfamiliarity with shepherds, the image we typically have is much different than the one that Jesus, or his listeners, would have imagined for a shepherd. For us, images of a tidied-up Jesus looking wistfully up to heaven, while holding a white, fluffy, and sedate sheep arise. The shepherd that Jesus had in mind would have been much more rugged-looking, wrangling a wiggly and muddy sheep.

Charged with protecting the flock from predators, shepherds lived outdoors 24/7 with their herd. They endured the heat of the beating sun in a parched land for much of the year. When not hot, they were cold and wet. The shepherd put his life at stake for the sake of the herd.

This image is critical to understand Jesus as the Good Shepherd — God will go where ever we go to find and take care of us. God will get into the thick of it all … into the ditches of life and put God’s very life on the line for us.

Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.”

What good news for those of us who wander, those who are tempted toward dangerous paths, and those who are hurt by the chances and changes of this life. No matter who we are, what we do, or where we go, we are never lost to God. The Good Shepherd will find us and carry us home.

This is the good shepherd I need. How about you?