The Sheep and the Shepherd

Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

11 I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. 13 This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep[a] that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.[b] This command I have received from my Father.”-John10:11-18

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He truly loves each and every sheep. When a 'wolf' comes, He doesn't abandon the flock. If even one leaves the flock, He searches for the lost one. Some say what foolishness to leave the 99 for just a single lost sheep! What if the wolf comes along in His absence? Jesus loves us so much that no one is too small or too trivial to ignore, each is important and well-loved by Him. He searches for the lost one - whoever or whatever it may be - because He loves it so much. But leaving the 99 doesn't mean He doesn't love them (perhaps He knows that the 99 will stay and remain where He left them, are safe, and can possibly defend themselves if needed). He looks for the lost one because it needs help the most. We are the sheep and Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He will never allow that harm or evil will come upon us. He will never allow that we get lost. Should we find ourselves harmed, lost or in the midst of evil around us, Jesus will come to give justice, peace and love. The question is, do we hide, run away or come to Jesus when He calls?

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An Impasse

Jesus showed Himself again.

1 [a]After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. 2 Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons,[b] and two others of his disciples. 3 [c]Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” 6 So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. 7 So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. 9 [d]When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three[e] large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him,[f] “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. 14 [g]This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.-John21:1-14

'I am going fishing' can also be interpreted as going back to the old life. When Jesus did His active ministry, He and His disciples have something to do all the time - teach, preach, heal, drive out demons, etc. But things changed when Jesus died and resurrected. It seems He was not around all the time. 'What must we do?' or 'What will happen now?' is possibly some questions that each disciple asked. The feeling is similar to a flock of sheep losing their shepherd. Perhaps, it is natural to go back to familiar ways. But God has a different plan. Jesus steps into the void and leads the way. At a time of not knowing what to do, Jesus comes and guides. Above all, Jesus remained true to His promise when He called Peter and the other disciples. Their vocation and their role do not stop, rather, it continues and reaches another level. As Jesus said in John14:18, 'I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.'

There are times that we face an impasse, a void; seemingly, life stopped and there is nowhere to go. But, it is in this very moments that Jesus is all the more knocking in our hearts. He is calling us. Jesus is reaching out to us and wanting to guide us. All we have to do is simply to take His hand.

Image courtesy: The Bible (History Channel)

True Leadership

True leadership is true service especially to the lowliest of all.

1 Before the feast of Passover,[c] Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already induced[d] Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, 3 fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, 4 he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. 5 [e]Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed[f] has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” 11 For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”12 So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? 13 You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. 14 If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.-John13:1-15

Anywhere in time, we can always read and see kings, queens and leaders live in palaces, beautiful gardens, soldiers and servants at their disposal, in short a comfortable life. In Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, he perfectly illustrated the life of the aristocracy and that of the peasantry. The aristocrats, nobles and royals live in palaces, with good food and wine, and flowing money. Life is good for them. But the peasantry lived poorly and sometimes with nothing at all. Those who are powerful and rich expects to be served and looked up to all the time. But Jesus is the most unique of all powerful leaders. He lives poorly, simply, humbly, above all, loves and serves all especially the poor, the lost, the last and the least. Jesus taught a new and better way of leadership - service with love and humility. For me, all leaders are supposed to be shepherds. A shepherd's work is supposed to care, look after, and protect the sheep, and not the other way around (that is, the sheep caring for the shepherd). Jesus is once more inviting us to be servant-leaders. If we want to be a leader, we have to give our life to service. A true leader must never seek his/her own comforts, luxury and needs.

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