The Good Shepherd

During my childhood and youth I lived in Hochdahl, a small city. It was a project city, designed on the drawing board in the 60s of the last century. When I moved there in 1968 with my parents, there wasn't much there, a few old small town centres, many new building sites and, for a little boy like me, huge areas of fields and meadows.

And there was something, which one hardly sees today: Every summer several shepherds came with their flocks of sheep who grazed on the many meadows. In the meantime, almost 50 years later, this city is almost completely built up. When I go there now, it is like most other cities, filled with concrete with only little green areas in between. I haven't seen any shepherds there for a long time.

I think the majority of today's children know shepherds, when at all, only from stories – or from the Bible. None have actually seen any.

What is also mostly unknown to many, is that the Latin word for “Pastor” translated in German means “Shepherd”. The congregation is the flock whom the Pastor herds and feeds. Yet, even such pastors have become rare, most who call themselves so are in reality only a kind of social manager. Their herd have strayed, because they received no real nourishment, because the fountain no longer overflows with living water.

And precisely in today's situation, Jesus wants to call to us again, as He did 2000 years ago: “I am the Good Shepherd!” He wants to fill us and lead us to a more meaningful, fulfilling life, in Him.

Wherever God's Word is twisted and adjusted to suit society in today's times, when one hears, more often, from the pulpit that one cannot apply these old “stories” word by word to the times we live in, there He wants to show us, what true life was in those days and still is today. God does not participate in every new fad and every social nonsense. God is the One and He is unchangeable, who knows what is good for our lives, because He created us.

In today's times, we as Christians don't have it easy, to oppose the social mainstream. Sometimes, we subconsciously drift along on this deadly wave. However, it is precisely here where Jesus calls us in the second part of today's scripture: “the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep!” Jesus knew that we would, time and time again, stray from the Father's way, that we would run headlong into the erring way and lose Him.

That is why He went to the Cross of Calvary, to take all our sins, all our separation from God upon Himself and open the way to God for us again. He is the Shepherd, who gathers us again and brings us back onto the right path.

Are you still erring through life or have you found your Shepherd?

I wish you a blessed day upon the green pastures of your Father.

Rainer Gigerich