THE GOOD SHEPHERD

 

This Sunday is known as GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY because, in each year of the liturgical cycle on this 4th Sunday of Easter, the Gospel of  John  is read where Jesus speaks of Himself as the "Good Shepherd".

There is a wonderful story of a young Scottish clergyman who took the much-loved 23rd Psalm as the subject of a talk to a group of children. There was a lot they didn't know, he told them. In fact they were pretty much like sheep themselves and, of course, sheep need a shepherd. He then asked the children who they thought the shepherd was, and after thinking about it a little while, one lad piped up, "Jesus is the shepherd." The young minister looked taken aback. "Then who am I?", he asked the child. "Oh, you're the sheep-dog; there's only one shepherd."

The Ancient Israelites were a pastoral people and there were many shepherds among them.  Many Old Testament heroes were shepherds, among them the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob, the twelve tribes,  Moses, and King David. In the New Testament, angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds, not to any of the rulers, religious leaders or rich people.

Where did Jesus get this notion of Good Shepherd?  'Look, I myself shall take care of my flock and look after it.  As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is with his scattered sheep, so shall I look after my sheep.  I shall raise up one shepherd, my servant David, and put him in charge of them to pasture them; he will pasture them and be their shepherd.    Ezekiel 34:11-12 & 23

 While sheep have many positive qualities, they also have a bad reputation for being rather stupid  because of their tendency to follow each other in what seems like pointless wandering.  Sheep  actually  have about the same intelligence as  cows and just a little less smarter than pigs, who we know are smarter than most dogs. Sheep group together because they are social animals and they can protect themselves better when they stick together.  They’re not really dumb, they just have a hard time protecting themselves without a shepherd.

It often amazes me when I hear bishops and priests giving homilies about sheep and shepherds. Believe me, they are clueless about these beasties as is anyone who has not had the joy (and pains) of raising them. The good shepherd knows his sheep and they know him. I can be away for some days and the Community never hears the sheep, but when I step out of the car and call, they all bleat.

I have often thought it amazing  that Jesus who called Himself our Good Shepherd became the Lamb of God.  "The good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep."

Now may the God of peace–who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood– may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.(Hebrews 13:20-21)

All images  are by one of my favorite artists,  Sadao Watanabe  a Japanese printmaker (1913-1996). He was famous for his biblical prints rendered in the mingei (folk art) tradition of Japan. His father died when he was ten years old. He dropped out of school at an early age and became an apprentice in a dyer's shop. A Christian woman in his neighborhood invited the fatherless boy to attend church with her. At the age of seventeen, Sadao was baptized. 

Sadao used kozo paper (from mulberry tree) and momigami (kneaded paper). The momigami paper was crumpled by hand, squeezed and wrinkled to give a rough quality to the prints. The katazome method uses traditional organic and mineral pigments in a medium of soybean milk. The protein in the milk bound the colors to the paper's surface. The use of natural materials is one of the characteristics of mingei (folk art).