GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY IS TODAY - SO WHAT?! 

       In the group of Christian denominations that share the same appointed liturgical readings, the Gospel for today is John 10: 11-18 where Jesus says "I am the Good Shepherd" and among the other readings for today is, of course, Psalm 23.  That Psalm is known by zillions of people all over the world whether Christian or not or even whether religious/spiritual or not.  The language of "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want..." and even "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." may not enlighten all, may even make some angry (as in "I DO WANT!"), but it is as familiar as Shakespeare even if not all the words are remembered. 

       I was struck this morning, while reciting the psalm, by another scripture passage that suddenly seemed a parallel in my strange little brain.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (no, I did not know chapter and verse numbers! I had to look it up.) Most of us of a certain age know it every bit as well as Psalm 23 because of The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn! (and it's on YouTube, of course).  "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."  Whether you believe in God or a higher power or your Lexus, there truly is a season for everything (go ahead, look it up, you can google it or just listen to The Byrds' version).  And that has to do with the Shepherd thing because?     Because, there is a time to be a shepherd and a time to be a sheep.  David, the probable author of the Psalm, was a shepherd in his pre-kingly beginnings, and as King, is speaking of himself as a sheep. 

       Phillip W. Keller says in his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 we should be amazed and grateful that "...the Creator of such an enormous universe of overwhelming magnitude, deigns to call Himself my Shepherd and invites me to consider myself His sheep - His special object of affection and attention."  Of course, we aren't always amazed or grateful if our Shepherd isn't leading us where we want to go.

       The reality of life is that every shepherd is a sheep to someone and every sheep is a shepherd to someone.  We each have our season to lead and to be led and yet many I know never think of themselves as anything but a sheep.  Just last week a friend said to me "I'm not a leader, I'm a follower." A well-intentioned but misguided attempt to throw off  the mantle of responsibility and take on the possibility of upsetting others. Many of us have felt that way and have looked to others to give us our values, our political opinions, and for general approval.  Some I know (me in a past life?!) argue against even sensible advice because they believe that total control of their environment is possible and they can prove they are in charge.  Some take personal offense to anything that differs from how they want the universe to operate on their behalf. 

       I am learning - somedays I'm to be more of a sheep, somedays more of a shepherd. When I'm truly living in the NOW, I'm acting accordingly, yet mindfully, and aware that somedays being a sheep is actually much harder. But the Lord is My Shepherd and I can lie down in green pastures and rest. I'm getting better but still find occasional difficulty letting go of the reins...oops mixing metaphors, wrong animal, time to sign off.  Baa for now...