April 9/Fifth Saturday of Lent
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock. ~ Jer 31.10
Gathering scattered sheep, guarding the flock — for most of us, attuned only to the highways and byways of modern urban or suburban life, this sounds picturesque, even effortless. We have an image of Jesus the shepherd smoothly scooping up an errant lamb into his arms; all is calm, all is bright. The reality, of course, is quite different. After all, God made border collies for a reason! In The Shepherd’s Life, his vivid account of the ancient ways of shepherding as practiced today in England’s Lake District, James Rebanks describes the process of gathering in the sheep from the fell (the vast open space that is something between a moor and a mountain). Rather than picturesque and effortless, this is gritty work that takes many grown men, several herding dogs, and a carefully-designed strategy; indeed, Rebanks characterizes the oldest shepherd of the group as performing “the function of a general on a battlefield.” We might remember that in God’s eyes, we are those sheep — unpredictable, wayward, inclined towards disobedience, but ultimately lovable, and loved. We scatter through our own willfulness, and suddenly find ourselves on a far hillside, alone, forlorn, and lost. Some of us dig in our heels (hooves?) and resist God’s outstretched crook. Others among us bleat plaintively, wanting to be brought home but unsure of what to do. Regardless of our attitude, God seeks to gather all of us in, to bring us in from the barren mountainside so that may we may live within his encircling love. As we prepare to follow Christ on the path he will travel through death to new life, we are reminded that our Shepherd is always near us and will keep us safe — if we let him.
God our Loving Shepherd, Guide me home and rescue me from my own waywardness. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040922.cfm
To hear Wells Cathedral Choir sing “Loving Shepherd of Thy Sheep,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urUU9hAuEG4
