We are the Good Shepherds; We are the Sheep
In today’s gospel, Jesus famously proclaims “I am the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep”. We are, perhaps, so familiar with this image of Jesus that it doesn’t make much of an impact. However, if we consider who Jesus is, and who we are, it provides a powerful image of God’s love for us.
Shepherds not only watch over the flock, they share the pasture and the danger of being attacked by predators; they live with the sheep. We “like sheep have gone astray”(Is.53:6), but our shepherd is the one who will “lay down his life”. God is chasing us all over this world in the person of Christ through the Holy Spirit. This may sound a bit ephemeral—being looked over by the Holy Spirit—-but the Spirit makes her dwelling where the name of Jesus is invoked, and we, the faithful, are each of us both shepherd and sheep.
The power of Jesus’ name lives in each of the faithful, and we share in the relationship of God’s divinity. Our salvation is, in the Greek word for salvation, “being made whole” is not being rescued from a fiery pit and enjoying a bacchanal in heaven, but sharing in the life of the Trinity, as members of His family. As St. Peter affirms, “There is no salvation through anyone else….” In no other religious belief or philosophy does God seek out the “lost sheep” and invite the sheep to share the life of the shepherd. Christian salvation is being invited to enter the life of the Triune God and share in the intimacy of this relationship. Each of us has been called by our true name (Is.43:1) uttered by Christ, God’s Word to humanity.
Following Christ, we find fellowship and communion with one another; we speak the language of God to one another. We seek out the lost sheep because we are all of us “found sheep”, and through Christ, have become shepherds living with the sheep for whom we will lay down our lives.
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