Back in the days when we still had our flock
of sheep, Father Robert, who was the shepherd, asked me if I would go down to
the barn and feed the sheep in the morning because he had an early appointment.
I said sure. I had seen him do it many times so I knew what to do. The next
morning as I made my way over the barn I could hear the sheep bleating. When I
opened the door and walked in the sheep froze, the bleating stopped and they
all stared at me, as if I was an alien from another planet. I think I felt more
uncomfortable than the sheep did. I went and got a bale of hay, cut the ropes
and started to put the hay in their feeding troughs. Nothing happened. I tried
to coax them to come and get the hay but they just stood there. There was some
grain there that Fr. Robert used to give them for a treat so I poured some of
it over the hay. Nothing happened. They just stood there and looked at me. I
figured they are not going to eat while I’m there so I left. The next day I
went down with Fr. Robert to see how he did it. When we got close to the barn he
started call to them with a loud sing-song voice. They knew his voice. When
we entered the barn all the sheep came running to the fence to be near him,
sounding very happy. Then he did his roll call and called out their names –
Margaret, Sally, Betty, and as they heard their name each one made a sound as
if to acknowledge that they heard their name. Then Robert opened the gates to
take them out to the pasture. He walked in front of them and they all followed.
They won’t follow anyone else. It was then that the gospel story of the Good
Shepherd became real for me.
The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is
one of the most often used and beloved images of Christ in Christian art. Some of
the earliest depictions of Jesus are found in the Catacombs. He is shown as a young
shepherd with a sheep around his shoulders. This image of the shepherd is woven
into the very language of the Bible. In Matthew and Luke Jesus is the Good Shepherd who will risk his life
to save the one straying sheep. In Mark, Jesus is deeply
moved with compassion for the crowds that come to him and calls them, “sheep
without a shepherd.” In both the Old and New Testament, the religious
leaders of the people are referred to as ‘shepherds’ and the people are the ‘flock’.
The shepherd of the biblical Middle East had
an intimate relationship with his flock. He would lead them out to pasture
every day and remain with them. In the evening he would lead them back to the
barn where they would be safe from predators. He knew each one individually and
would notice immediately if one of them was missing. Jesus’ parable of the
‘lost sheep’ would have resonated perfectly with his hearers.
