A Shepherd's Perspective

This is an excerpt from A Shepherd's Perspective, Written by: Rev. Bruce Goettsche

"When I say we are committed to our sheep you need to know what I mean. A good Shepherd would not only risk his life for his sheep, he would give his life for his sheep.


We take great pride in what we do. My friends and I have a very special job; we care for the sheep raised for temple sacrifices in Jerusalem.  Every morning and evening a lamb without blemish is offered in sacrifice. Those lambs have to come from someplace. That someplace is my flock.

At Passover time we are as busy as Turkey farmers at Thanksgiving. It's important we not only protect the sheep but keep them in the best of shape. If we don't do our job, others will be unable to worship.

Most of the time we work alone. So, we talk to our sheep a great deal. We develop a relationship with the sheep. I know, it sounds like we're one bagel short of a basket, but, haven't you ever talked to a family pet when no one else was around???

We talk to our flock so much that it gets to the point that our sheep recognize our voice. All I have to do is call the name of one of my flock and he or she responds instantly.  You mean you didn't know we had names for all our sheep? We do. You could call their name and you wouldn't get any response at all. They don't recognize your voice. They will respond instantly to my voice. That's why at night I can combine my flock with several other flocks and can take turns at watch. In the morning we simply call for our sheep and they follow their own shepherd. If you've never seen it before, it's really quite an impressive demonstration.

Well, anyhow, the night Messiah was born we had combined our flocks and were taking turns at the watch just outside of Bethlehem. A few of our group were already asleep. I and a couple of others were sitting by the fire enjoying a late night snack of cheese and lentils and swapping a few sheep stories. What happened next is something I will never ever forget."

I was reading this and thinking about how God prepared the way for the future even with the shepherds that the angels appeared to the night of Jesus' birth.  God demonstrated his love for ALL people by appearing to the lowly, misunderstood of society.  More than that, God showed us what Jesus would be like through the shepherds and what our own leaders SHOULD be like...Jesus was committed to his followers, he knew them by name, and he was willing to sacrifice for them, for US.  jesus never stops watching over us, his flock, and wanting the best for us.

Think about it...really let it sink in...this small detail of the birth of Jesus has translated to all people, over all time, even to us...I am lowly, and I am strange a whole lot of the time...but Jesus chose to demonstrate his love for me, for all of us...and continues to shepherd us.  We have seen a great light, will we follow it?