This past Sunday, many churches celebrated Mother’s Day.  Other churches also commemorated “Good Shepherd Sunday,” which is celebrated every fourth Sunday of Easter.  The key text for the day is John 10, where Jesus says:

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

I really like what Bishop Erik Varden had to say concerning the day.  He writes of the difference between the “Sunday school picture” of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and what he’s come to understand the reality to be.  From his blog:

Only much later, when I started studying the Bible — and discovered what a fascinating, magnificent book it is — did I realise that the shepherd in fact stands for something rather different. Of course, ancient Israel was nomadic. People did not settle in one place. They moved around seeking favourable conditions for themselves and their flocks, which were their livelihood. A shepherd was exposed to risks: inhospitable nature, wild animals, bandits. The image par excellence of the Old Testament shepherd is David.

He goes on to say:

The Christ-image in the parable of the shepherd does not suggest a chilled hippie pursuing an alternative lifestyle. It suggests a profile of clear strategy, courage, and a spirit of sacrifice, qualities we look for in a trustworthy leader. 

When we turn to the Gospel we have just read, we find that it’s about trust above all. ‘My sheep hear my voice’, says the Lord: ‘I know them, and they follow me.’

Clear strategy, courage, a spirit of sacrifice, trust.  All true of Jesus, and all possible (on some level or another) for us, too.  Definitely a good reminder as the Easter season continues.

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Well, the first month of year 49 has been anything but boring.  It started with a couple of birthdays in the neighborhood coupled with various Easter things.  Then I caught a cold (which is always worse than it sounds and yet not).  Before I knew it, the calendar turned to May, which brings the end of the school year (which is always early for me since I teach seniors).  Now that the cold is gone, I’m trying to get back to a normal rhythm, which is a good challenge.  I’m curious to see what year 49 brings.  It’s just getting started, which is a sobering and exciting thought.