Most of you know that I grew up on a wheat / sheep farm in the Wimmera. With mixed feelings I remember droving sheep with my father and brother. We had to take the sheep to a farm where there was a facility to drench them. The time it took to get there seemed endless. It was hot and dusty, I was thirsty, the flies were incessant and it seemed like we were never going to arrive. The sheep were recalcitrant, and they just never seemed to do the right thing.
My father would be in the ute at the front leading the way and making sure that oncoming traffic was aware of the pandemonium that was following. My brother and I were behind the sheep testing out a new vocabulary on the straying sheep and I want to come back to this happy little bunch a bit later.
Often when we think of leadership, authority and Christ the good shepherd, we think of the father out the front berating and haranguing. Come along… This way folks. Tallyho!
And there is a place for the hard things to be said… graciously. There are occasions when the way forward must be cleared and a centennial or prophetic way of leadership is necessary.
There are times too, when the Master encourages and cajoles from behind. With compliments and Thankyous, the shepherd emboldens us to the new adventures that await us. Perhaps even this morning he is saying to you. “You can do this. I do believe in you”.
Now a point of clarification.
You could easily think that the church shepherds are just the deacons, priests and bishops. It certainly involves them, but it is not exclusive to them. You may not be aware of it but you have shepherded me beautifully since the whole covid 19 thing turned our lives upside down and round the wrong way. The way you have stepped up in your ministry is inspiring and exciting and moving. By your gestures of kindness, thoughtfulness, and good old fashioned pastoral care, you have said to me and to others…. (perhaps unwittingly)
“This is the way to do do things., This is how you care for people. This is how you show them what God is like.”
So what else is in the shepherd’s job description.
The good shepherd lays down his life of this sheep.
So Our spiritual leaders, both lay and ordained, priests and people are called to lay down their life for their sheep. In this day and age, and in our culture, it probably won’t equate to martyrdom but there is a very real sense in which we lay down our life across the years in the joyful service of all.
First and foremost laying down our lives for others means this. To make our own lives, our joys, our sorrows, our despair, our grief, our grumpiness, our hope, our isolation, our experience of intimacy, our friendship … to make all this available to other people as a source of replenishment and sustenance for them. To offer to all, the grist, our daily bread, our daily life, so that others might be fed and nurtured. And this is a risky, risky business. For like Our Lord we leave ourselves vulnerable and open to be pierced, ignored, denied, rejected, stomped and jumped upon.
As shepherds, the greatest gift you and I can offer the people we serve is… our very selves. We can offer consolation and comfort especially in times of confusion and uncertainty.
It is in these times, that we can say “Even though you walk through a very dark place, I am with you. See, I have walked this road before and I am walking it with you now and I will stay by your side. Watch out for that pot hole… mind the loose stone there. This bit is easier.” This is the way that we, you and I together, become Christ like shepherds. And it is a noble, exhilarating, heartbreaking and thrilling vocation.
Remember my flimsy adolescent attempt at droving. Another image of the good shepherd might be the shepherd that is walking right in the middle of his sheep. Walking with them, surrounded by the noise, and the heat, and the flies and the mess and the joy of knowing that we are all on our way together.
Christ the good shepherd. Not just at the front saying confronting things, not just at the back cajoling and rounding up, but also right in the muck and sparkle of our humanity. Enjoying it, relishing it, delighting in it and rejoicing in it.
This is Christ our good shepherd. He who spreads a table before us. This he who anoints our head with oil and fills our cup to overflowing.
This is the shepherd whose goodness and love will follow us all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of the Good Shepherd forever.