“The
LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” Both historically and in popular
devotion, there are few images of God and of Jesus that have as much
emotional appeal as the image of the Good Shepherd. Historically, the
oldest physical images of Jesus, found in Roman catacombs, present Jesus
as a shepherd, often with a lamb on his shoulders. The likeness was
drawn from the Greek tradition of the gods Apollo and Hermes. In popular
devotion, Jesus is often depicted as a shepherd with sheep or lambs,
seemingly intended to communicate the Lord’s gentle care for his
disciples, including his “little ones.” “I AM the good
shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10).
The evangelist John explicitly borrows language from God’s revelation
to Moses at the burning bush (I AM) with a theme developed in the
prophets, and especially in Ezekiel, in which God says “I myself will
shepherd my sheep.” In Ezekiel and in John, the point is made that
human shepherds--including political and religious leaders--have failed,
or not fulfilled their proper function. Shepherding by God and by
Christ in effect eclipses the work of human leaders who have not
protected, tended, nourished those in their care.
Several questions which may arise include the following: Who is actually the Good Shepherd, God or Jesus? The question itself points towards the Christian awareness that the unknown God presents Himself in and through Jesus Christ, who becomes the representative and agent of the God who Jesus calls “Abba,” Father. Hence, Jesus can say (in John’s Gospel), “He who has seen me has seen the Father,” and so on. Christ is the means through which God shepherds humankind. A second question arises: How does God, or God-in-Christ, shepherd humankind? What does this mean?
An inquiry into the meaning of God or Christ as “the good shepherd” ought to serve as the orienting question for this week-end’s homily. One meaning is clear and ought to be kept in mind at the outset: Not only did Christ reject for himself all political and religious authority/power, but he made himself utterly defenseless and powerless, and willingly “laid down his life for the sheep.” The self-sacrificial death of Christ to bring us into the life of God is the essential action of Christ as “the good shepherd.” The reign of God-Christ-the Spirit in the human soul, in the open heart, is the essential ground for the ongoing shepherding of God for His people. The Kingdom of God is not outward rule and power, but inward guidance, drawing, leading into true life.
Several questions which may arise include the following: Who is actually the Good Shepherd, God or Jesus? The question itself points towards the Christian awareness that the unknown God presents Himself in and through Jesus Christ, who becomes the representative and agent of the God who Jesus calls “Abba,” Father. Hence, Jesus can say (in John’s Gospel), “He who has seen me has seen the Father,” and so on. Christ is the means through which God shepherds humankind. A second question arises: How does God, or God-in-Christ, shepherd humankind? What does this mean?
An inquiry into the meaning of God or Christ as “the good shepherd” ought to serve as the orienting question for this week-end’s homily. One meaning is clear and ought to be kept in mind at the outset: Not only did Christ reject for himself all political and religious authority/power, but he made himself utterly defenseless and powerless, and willingly “laid down his life for the sheep.” The self-sacrificial death of Christ to bring us into the life of God is the essential action of Christ as “the good shepherd.” The reign of God-Christ-the Spirit in the human soul, in the open heart, is the essential ground for the ongoing shepherding of God for His people. The Kingdom of God is not outward rule and power, but inward guidance, drawing, leading into true life.
