The Eternal Shepherd
November 20, 2011 | Patrick Preheim

It is comforting to know that God has deep concern for the lost, wounded and exploited. The biblical tradition utilizes the shepherd metaphor in imparting to us this grace filled image of God. Genesis (48.15), the Psalms, Isaiah (40.11), Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all identify God as the shepherd who guides, restores and saves his people. The gospel of John clearly taps into this theme when Jesus is recorded as saying “I am the good shepherd” who lays down his life for his sheep (10.11ff).

These divine images of a caring shepherd stand in contrast to the human leaders (religious, civil, family) who often exploit the sheep of God’s pasture. Leaders are charged to care for the people of God in the pattern of the Good Shepherd. The weekly news is filled with accounts of human shepherds who have gone astray—those who embezzle money; those who abuse the vulnerable; those who neglect their offspring. As devastating as these betrayals are, they are not the last word. In Ezekiel God speaks passionately about a restoration of the bruised, broken and lost. God also speaks of an accounting for those grown fat through injustice. It is the gospel message echoed by Jesus in the New Testament. God cares for the living and the dead and Hebrews describes this an eternal covenant of which Jesus is the Great Shepherd (13.20).

This truth may give us some peace. When earthly shepherds die, be they good or bad, we are often left somewhat disorientated. The eternal nature of the Great Shepherd allows us to entrust both loved ones and flawed ones into the providence of God. The eternal nature of the Lord invites us to place ourselves—our fears, our hopes, our weaknesses—into the hands of a compassionate and yet just shepherd. As we move into this time of communion we remember that Jesus came to offer the bread of life to the emaciated sheep of God’s pasture; that he came to remind the earthly shepherds of their responsibility in caring for God’s flock; that he came to lead us into green pastures, to guide us through the valley of death, and ultimately to dwell in his house eternally. Amen.