By Father Greg Friedman, OFM
One of my seminary classmates has always
reacted when the story of the Good Shepherd was read:
Jesus said:
"I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father."
"I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father."
“I don’t like
being compared to sheep!” he said. “They’re dumb, and smelly, too!”
I
grew up in the city, so my experience with sheep is limited. But I do
know that shepherding was an important part of the life for the people
of biblical times. It’s the relationship between shepherd and sheep that
makes Jesus’ comparison work.
The shepherds of Jesus’ time herded their
flocks through wilderness, ready to defend them from attack by wild
animals. In a crowded sheepfold at night, shepherds of several flocks
herded together could identify their own sheep—and vice versa! Jesus’
listeners would have understood the economic interdependence of shepherd
and sheep—a truly good shepherd would value each and every individual
in his flock.
The relationship Jesus offers us is one
characterized by the dignity and worth he sees in each of us. He knows
each of us by name, with an intimacy he shares with us from the Father,
whom Jesus knows with the intimacy of a Divine Son. And the bottom line:
Jesus gives his life for us, his flock.
My classmate and I still chuckle about his
reaction to being “herded together” in this biblical image. But we both
agree: We want to be counted among the Lord’s flock!
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