Sheep or Shepherds

Is it our job to be like Jesus or to follow him?

So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. "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. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. -  John 10:7-17

If we want to be like Jesus, we would have to become shepherds. We would have to be willing to lay down our lives for our sheep.

But are they our sheep or His?

The problem with trying to be a shepherd like Jesus is that the sheep don't know your voice. And if they do come to know your voice, then whom are they following?

I believe we are called to be good sheep, not shepherds. Sure, some feel they are called to become priests or bishops, which are stand-ins for the Good Shepherd, Jesus, but that is simply what they are. They are not Him, but His deputies, so to speak.

Jesus gave us that model in the apostles, the twelve called to help spread the Word and heal the sick. He gave them the power to heal people of their sins, yet they couldn't always do it. They were extensions of his hands.

For most of us, though, the calling is merely to be present for one another. In a way, it is a stand-in role, an extra on the set of God. We are not gathering a flock, but tending to the one who is lost or alone, sick or weak, troubled or confused.

We are called to be good sheep-mates. One sheep nuzzled up to another to wait for the shepherd to bring us home together.

I like that image. It works for me. We don't need special training or authority to nuzzle. We know how to do it. 

I read recently that scientists have discovered that many of God's creatures care for one another and mourn when one dies. It's not just a human thing. It's a God thing.

Maybe we should stop seeing ourselves as so special in God's eyes and just be good sheep.

More to come...