The Lord is my Shepherd 2

The Lord is my Shepherd        2

Away from home the shepherd had no one to talk to, so he used to converse with each and every sheep. He had a name for each of them. He knew their good and bad points, he could pinpoint leaders from the fold, he knew those that were weak and needed more attention than others. In the very sense of the word, he treated them and loved them as his own children.

In turn the only human voice the sheep heard was that of the shepherd, talking to them, so they knew his voice. If by chance they meet other folds led by other shepherds, the sheep used to mingle with others all over the grazing ground. But, when the time came to round them up for the night, each shepherd, by turn used to call out his fold, and only those sheep of that particular shepherd’s voice would herd together and follow their master for the night.

Jesus knew well the work, the psychology of the shepherds. No wonder that He called Himself the Good Shepherd, to show us His love, His attention, His interest, His dedication towards us, His fold. In fact you remember when once He said: “My sheep know my voice.” We certainly do. That also means that those who are not of His fold do not know His voice.

He knows each one of us by name. For Him we are not just a number, as we are for the ‘hirelings’. The ‘hirelings’ are all those people who are simply interested in personal gain, in power, in importance; these might include politiciancs, world leaders, union leaders, unfortunately, there might even be some church leaders.

He is the Good Shepherd. And how are we to know who are the ‘good shepherds’ ? Very simple, if they are ready to do as Jesus has done…that is they are ready to give their life for their flock…then they are GOOD SHEPHERDS. A very simple test.

As an example I quote just one from the many, a Bishop friend of mine stuck to his guns and remained with his flock notwithstanding the danger and deaths all over during the Libya Liberation. He could have left for home for safety, yet he preferred to drink the cup to the last drop.        … /3