Their Shepherd's Voice

I must make a confession, as a pastor I never appreciated the comparison of clergy to a good shepherd, it felt gross. People aren’t sheep, I thought. We aren’t prey animals in need of another to care for us or make decisions for us. We can think for ourselves and chart our own course. And then I got sheep, and I understood.

At the abbey where I live, we have a small flock of Shetland sheep, and lo and behold, it turns out sheep are not stupid or helpless animals. Sheep are deeply intimate animals. And what I mean by that is that once they know and trust you, sheep are infinitely curious about you. They want to be in your space. They want to lean up against your body and make physical contact with you. Sheep know their shepherd’s voice, and when you commit yourself to being a good, really good, shepherd, they follow your voice. In a moment of fear and confusion, sheep are calmed and assured by the presence of their shepherd. It takes time, and consistent behavior to build their trust. Being a good shepherd means knowing each individual sheep, what is normal for that sheep, their behaviors, and how they fit into the flock as a whole. It means knowing the patterns of your flock and anticipating their needs before an issue arises. I have developed a sense for my sheep, and if I unexpectedly feel the need to check on them, I do, rather it is convenient or not, and more than once that intuitive sense has averted danger and harm.

Pope Francis’ papal pectoral cross was that of the good shepherd carrying a lamb, followed by the flock. Just as sheep know and trust a good shepherd, we can identify the good shepherds of our own society, our own congregation, our own community, and our own country. The good shepherds are the ones who lead with mercy, not power. The good shepherds always place the common good over ego, self-interest, and retribution. Good shepherds do not divide their flock and rule through violence and threats of violence. Like sheep, we will follow a leader, unlike sheep we often fail to choose wisely. We can make the choice to follow servant leaders, or those who rule through fear mongering and an abuse of power.

Our country is void of course and in rebellion against the teachings of all major world religions. As a pastor in the Christian tradition, I do not have the option to ignore and stand passively by in the face of a government that has become predator, rather than a protector of the people. My vocation as a shepherd requires me to place my own body between targets and tyrants. There is nothing in either Catholic or Protestant traditions that can justify smashing out a car window and tearing a father away from his screaming and traumatized family. You cannot claim to be a follower of Jesus on one hand, and support the starving of children on the other. Children are never your enemy.

Welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and the prisoner, is not partisanship, it is orthodoxy. If we proclaim the inherent worth and dignity of humans, we must mean all humans, or in the words of another good shepherd, “Todos, todos, todos!” What madness it would be to look down at your hand, not recognize it as part of your body, and then cut it off and cast it aside. And yet, can we not recognize the dismemberment of our communities?

I am a shepherd called to follow a Lamb. I don’t know any other way. Across all borders of human imagination and political structures, may people of good conscience and faith hold a common prayer to re-member our community, re-member our flock.

Originally posted in the Bennington Banner