In one of his long discourses in John’s Gospel (10:11-18) Jesus asserts that he is the Good Shepherd who always takes care of his sheep (us) while the hired hand tends to bail when the going gets tough. It was and is his assurance to us that he will never leave us alone to fend for ourselves especially when the going gets tough. That surely gives us peace of mind and it is also a reminder that Jesus has been true to his word.
There is another level to this message as well and it has to do with us. We are both shepherds and hired hands in our daily lives. Shepherds take care of the flock that is entrusted to them, whatever the flock, however large or however small. At times in our lives we find ourselves in positions of responsibility to watch others: as parents, as older siblings, as leaders of a group. The list is endless.
On the other hand, we are all hired help. We work for others. Even if we are self-employed, we work for those who hire our services. The only person we think we can boss around is ourself; but even then, we cannot, as our actions impinge on how others act. As the poet observed, no one of us is an island unto ourself. We are somehow wired to one another.
The questions we need to continually ask ourselves are two: first, am I a good shepherd of the flock that is entrusted to my care whenever those occasions arise? The truth is, I think, that the answer is “not always”. We may not be a bad shepherd, buy sometimes our shepherding leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe the reason is that we do not take this responsibility as serious as we should. Maybe.
The second asks about what kind of hired hand I am when called to work for another, to be there for another, whatever being there means at that moment when we are called to be there. What kind of job do I do? Do I give it my full attention or a half-hearted one or perhaps none at all, passing the buck so that someone else has to pick up after me? The choice is always ours.
Both being a shepherd to others and being that helping hand when needed convey heavy responsibilities whether we like it or not. My suspicion is that most of the time we go about our daily lives without even giving these responsibilities a second thought, let alone a first one.
What all this boils down to is that, like Jesus, we are called to be servants one to another. Sometimes that servanthood calls us to shepherd others to keep them safe. Other times it calls us to give of our time or talent or financial resources to help those who are less blessed than we are. If you like me, we know that. And if you are like me, sometimes we need something to jog our awareness of these responsibilities. The Gospel a few weeks ago did that to me and for me. And you?
No comments:
Post a Comment