Tag Archives: Good Shepherd

Misuse of Power

Living in the Spirit

July 26, 2021

Scripture Reading:
2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13a

But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meagre fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.’ Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ –2 Samuel 12:1-6

Of course, David was the man who took Bathsheba after having her husband killed in battle. Nathan used this story to tell a powerful man the reality he needed to face. There are many influential people in our world today running roughshod over anybody that gets in the way of their power or their greed. They, like David, have lost all sense of how their prestige and wealth have reshaped their view of themselves. It takes a child’s story to remind David what he had known all his life from his experience as a shepherd. Good shepherds, rather than taking advantage of their sheep, protect them from harm. Perhaps we all need to examine ourselves and see if there is a lesson here for all of us.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I forget to love my neighbor as I live myself. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Shepherd’s Roles

Living in the Spirit
July 21, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. – Mark 6:30-34

There is a scene in the musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, where Jesus is surrounded by people grabbing at him and holding on to him. It brought to life for me the life Jesus led during his ministry. We, today, are acquainted with seeing crowds surrounding superstars who are caught between the desire to please their fans and the desire for a life of their own. I wonder how many times Jesus’ memory flashed back to his odyssey in the desert following his baptism where he was confronted by the major temptations of life: greed, pride, and the lust for power, which were tempting him at every moment of his ministry.

We all face these and other temptations every day and we all must take some time to find a deserted place, rest for a while, and regain our focus and our purpose. Sometimes we must find our equivalent of a boat on the sea to make such a retreat a reality. The result is clarity of vision. We see people who long for a leader, a shepherd, and we too may experience the compassion for them that we need to keep us motivated in our work.

We are all called to care for each other to be a shepherd after the example of the Good Shepherd. The Bible provides role models for the various tasks needed to make our world a place of shalom, a place of peace and well-being and support for each other. After meeting Jesus, Andrew found his brother Peter and said you have got to meet this man. Barnabas not only financially supported Paul’s ministry but ran interference for him and was known as an enabler of the early church’s mission. Pheobe opened her heart and her home to leaders in the church and was entrusted to deliver Paul’s letter to the Romans. In that letter, Paul described Priscilla and Aquila as my helpers in Christ Jesus.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for all your shepherds as we strive together for shalom. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Overseen

The-Rescue_Nathan-GreeneEastertide
April 13, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
   for his name’s sake. –Psalm 23:1-3

Is the Lord our shepherd? Most animals that are overseen by a shepherd have no choice in the matter in whether they will be overseen or who the overseer is. I saw on the news recently where a goat farmer whose primary product was cheese, had so many baby goats that the family could not give then the loving attention they needed to turn them into quality milking goats. Goats, like people, can be very stubborn, even mean, if left to find their own way. So this farmer put out a plea for people to play with and pet the baby goats. He was overwhelmed with responders. The news showed many cute little goats being hugged and caressed by what appeared to be even more people. The reporter made the observation that he could not tell who was getting the most out of the process the baby goats or the people petting them*.

We, unlike the goats, have a choice in who will guide us down the path that is actually not only best for us but also best for the whole world. Our shepherd has more than enough loving attention for all of us. Even enough to empower our loving one another. We humans are also stubborn and like the one sheep, Jesus described in Luke 15 who chose to wander off, Jesus cares enough to go and search for us and bring us back into the fold, if we let him.

Our problem is we chase around hunting for a shepherd who will let us define the path while allowing us to be and do whatever we think will make us happy. It never works.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I wander off on my own, especially when I think I know your way better than you do. Amen.

*http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cuddlers-wanted-to-hang-out-with-baby-goats-on-virginia-farm/

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

The Good Shepherd

Good ShepherdEastertide
April 25, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 10:11-16

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.—John 10:11-15

The confidence and comfort in knowing that God through Jesus Christ, knows me and loves me completely, just as I am and as I am becoming through his love, enables everything that I do in Jesus’ name. To be known completely by God is a gift of grace that allows me to instantly come to God in prayer and be reformed. That is a gift we need to share with others but we must meet them where they are to share that gift.

 Do sheep all look the same to you? Could you readily tell one from another if you walked through a meadow where they were grazing?  What about their personalities: do you know the leaders, the aggressive ones, the sick ones? We should all be able to tell the black ones from white ones or spotted ones. Most I think could figure out which were males and which were females. A good shepherd would know all of these things and more.

Does it make a difference to you when you know someone when a prayer request is made for them as opposed to a stranger? I do pray for those whom I do not know, but when I hear a request for prayer for someone I do know, but did not know they were in trouble or ill, my concern level increases. I make the extra effort to inquire further, learn more, and perhaps offer assistance.

It is possible to live in a city and have one’s life tucked neatly into silos of isolation where we move and have our being among our home, work, church, and school, and never interact in any meaningful way with the multitudes we pass but about whom we know nothing. We are called to love these—love them enough to make sure they know the Good Shepherd, too.

Prayer: Lord, open opportunities for me to meet others who need to know you love them. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.