The image of Jesus as the good shepherd is one of the oldest images of Christ in Christanity.
I remember seeing it in the catacombs of Rome…painted on the walls of ancient caverns by a people of faith from long ago. What is it about this image that has capvated the minds and hearts of Christians for centuries?
Surely for the postmodern, mostly urban culture of the West, this image may well seem a bit arcane and less accessible than it was to our ancestors. Jesus is depicted, through the use of this image, as a shepherd, who was, in that me and in that culture, a relatively unimportant, and certainly not powerful, figure.
The disciples and all those who followed Jesus around experienced Jesus as kind and gentle, like the “good” shepherd who watches over the sheep with great care and concern and even risks his/her own safety for the sake of the sheep.
And we as a church have, of course, just received a new “good shepherd,” with the elecon of Pope Leo XIV. He invoked this
image in his first words to the world:
“Peace be with you all!
Dear brothers and sisters, these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for God’s flock. I would like this greetng of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.
Peace be with you! It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A
peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.”
This image of God as a good shepherd, as a kind and gentle god, was somewhat unique in Jesus’ me, but then so was the idea of a god who would be willing to suffer and die for us.
I believe that this image of the Good Shepherd has endured precisely because of its radical departure of a more common
image of a distant and disinterested and sometimes even vengeful god. A reality that was much more common in the
religions of the ancient world.
The gods were deities to whom you made sacrifices to appease their anger and rage for any possible slights or missteps against them you may have made, and thus survive for another day.
This image of “the good shepherd” tells us that our God loves us and cares for us and journeys with us as we travel through the valleys and hills of our lives. Our God holds us in his hands!
But too, it may well speak to us of what we are called to be…in Christ’s image…“good shepherds” of the lost and vulnerable, of the poor and the forsaken. As disciples of Christ we are called to reach out to the poor; to reach out to the marginalized and the ones society and our new administration dismisses or demeans. As disciples we are called to stand up for them and
with them demanding justice and the protection of their rights.
And as we have just recently celebrated Earth Day, we recognize that truly “good shepherds” also recognize the importance of all of creation and the responsibility for our environment, for our sheep depend on a healthy ecosystem. So as “good shepherds” we are also called to care for creation, to be aware of how our lives impact the earth and the lives of all other living creatures.
And so we ask ourselves: how am I being called to be a “good shepherd”…in my family, in my school or place of work, in my
community, in my nation, and in the wider world? What am I willing to risk “as a good shepherd” for the sake of the flock…for the sake of creation…for building up of the Reign of God where all people are respected, valued and loved?
And special Easter blessings to all mothers and to all the women who “mother”, care for, protect, teach and mentor the young and not so young. Thank you! May the peace of the Risen Christ
be with you always!
Easter Blessing,
Fr. Tim
I remember seeing it in the catacombs of Rome…painted on the walls of ancient caverns by a people of faith from long ago. What is it about this image that has capvated the minds and hearts of Christians for centuries?
Surely for the postmodern, mostly urban culture of the West, this image may well seem a bit arcane and less accessible than it was to our ancestors. Jesus is depicted, through the use of this image, as a shepherd, who was, in that me and in that culture, a relatively unimportant, and certainly not powerful, figure.
The disciples and all those who followed Jesus around experienced Jesus as kind and gentle, like the “good” shepherd who watches over the sheep with great care and concern and even risks his/her own safety for the sake of the sheep.
And we as a church have, of course, just received a new “good shepherd,” with the elecon of Pope Leo XIV. He invoked this
image in his first words to the world:
“Peace be with you all!
Dear brothers and sisters, these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for God’s flock. I would like this greetng of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.
Peace be with you! It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A
peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.”
This image of God as a good shepherd, as a kind and gentle god, was somewhat unique in Jesus’ me, but then so was the idea of a god who would be willing to suffer and die for us.
I believe that this image of the Good Shepherd has endured precisely because of its radical departure of a more common
image of a distant and disinterested and sometimes even vengeful god. A reality that was much more common in the
religions of the ancient world.
The gods were deities to whom you made sacrifices to appease their anger and rage for any possible slights or missteps against them you may have made, and thus survive for another day.
This image of “the good shepherd” tells us that our God loves us and cares for us and journeys with us as we travel through the valleys and hills of our lives. Our God holds us in his hands!
But too, it may well speak to us of what we are called to be…in Christ’s image…“good shepherds” of the lost and vulnerable, of the poor and the forsaken. As disciples of Christ we are called to reach out to the poor; to reach out to the marginalized and the ones society and our new administration dismisses or demeans. As disciples we are called to stand up for them and
with them demanding justice and the protection of their rights.
And as we have just recently celebrated Earth Day, we recognize that truly “good shepherds” also recognize the importance of all of creation and the responsibility for our environment, for our sheep depend on a healthy ecosystem. So as “good shepherds” we are also called to care for creation, to be aware of how our lives impact the earth and the lives of all other living creatures.
And so we ask ourselves: how am I being called to be a “good shepherd”…in my family, in my school or place of work, in my
community, in my nation, and in the wider world? What am I willing to risk “as a good shepherd” for the sake of the flock…for the sake of creation…for building up of the Reign of God where all people are respected, valued and loved?
And special Easter blessings to all mothers and to all the women who “mother”, care for, protect, teach and mentor the young and not so young. Thank you! May the peace of the Risen Christ
be with you always!
Easter Blessing,
Fr. Tim
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