Man harnesses the wool of sheeps and processes them into clothing to ward off coldness. When wet, the wool becomes too heavy for sheeps to carry in water so they drown, for they cannot swim. Too, they have no sense of directions, and are easy prey to other animals for they have no horns, claws or fangs to defend themselves.
But the sheep is a privileged animal. Jesus, the Redeemer, is man’s Good Shepherd and theirs, too. Jesus chose David, the shepherd boy, to be the king of Israel who reigned for 40 years to shepherd His people. Indeed, shepherds are close to Jesus’ heart. They were the first visitors when He was born in Bethlehem.
Search for the lost
Jesus is likened to a Good Shepherd. He came to save not only Israel but the entire human race. His entire life epitomizes shepherding the lost and the least. The loving, merciful shepherd in his travels around town and villages, healed the sick, feed the hungry and drove away evil spirits from possessed people. He likened them to a sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:35).
To the Pharisees, scribes and tax collectors who criticized Jesus for eating with sinners, he narrated the Parable of the Good Shepherd. A loving shepherd would leave 99 sheeps to search for a lost one until He finds it. Then he sets it on His shoulder with joy (Luke 15:4-5).
The parable illustrates the compassion of Jesus for a lost soul. That there is “more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who have no need for repentance.”
Commissioning the 12
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-10), Jesus set the standard of Christian conduct in conformity to God’s will.
After His resurrection Jesus ordered the apostles to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that “I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Peter, as the leader of the apostles, is the spokesman for the Christian communities. From Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria the apostles divided the world to determine assignments. And like Peter, the first shepherd of the church, always reminded church leaders to tend the flock in their midst “not by constraint but willingly as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly” (1 Peter 5:2-4). And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, they were persecuted and martyred.
Joie de vivre
Ah, the joy of living, the French says. Life is sweet, good and joyful. It complements the axiom of Greeks and Romans: Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.
Today’s generation enjoy all the fruits of man’s quests to improve life, make it comfortable and pleasurable. The world is not only engaging the best of man’s cravings but entertaining man’s craving to the hilt. The world adheres to the theory of materialism. It is defined by Webster as “physical well-being and wordly possessions constitute the highest value and the greatest good”.
The fallen nature of man is at its apex. Gluttony at its best, to update every material thing he owns. Hunger and poverty abounds not because the world lacks resources but due to man’s diminishing desire to share—to love his brethren. Endless cravings has neglected God’s “love for neighbors” dictum. Shepherds where art thou?
They have diminished tremendously in numbers. Too, the demands of shepherding a staggering number of followers necessitate a more practical way to spread the gospel. Jesus’ reminder is no longer taken so seriously. “Woe to the shepherd who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture” (Jeremiah 23:1) is no longer as threatening.
Pope Francis, concerned about the hunger and forms of slavery that chains people to poverty, reminded the flock he shepherds to help the people in their parishes. When he expelled a “German luxury bishop for his $43-million new residence complex,” Christians knew he means compliance.
How do Christians become fishers of men in a materialistic world? So, difficult, theologians say, for men are afraid of uncertainty.
Charles Spurgeon in How To Become Fishers of Men, lamented: “One reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church.” He said this 150 years ago.
Looking back, Paul, after he established Philippi, the first Christian community in Europe, shared his apostolic love and concern, human sensitivity, anxieties and fears to this Christian community, when he said: “Whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things…then the God of peace will be with you.”
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Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.