The Lord is my Shepherd!
There’s an old story about a priest who was celebrating his 50th Anniversary of Ordination. For this occasion he had invited his personal friend, Richard Burton, to come and recite his favorite psalm, Psalm 23. Richard Burton agreed to do this
on the condition
that the priest would also recite it after him. At the appointed time, Richard Burton stood and proclaimed the popular psalm with such oratorical mastery the congregation immediately applauded. And then this humble pastor stood up and began to recite, from heart, this beloved Psalm. After he had finished his not nearly so professional recitation, the congregation was in awe, and some moved to tears. Someone in the front pew with Richard Burton leaned over and asked him, "Why did people loudly applaud you and yet were silently moved by the pastor?" Burton replied, "Because I know the Psalm, but he knows the Shepherd."
John 10 is a fascinating allegory which Jesus uses to describe the relationship between Himself and us. It was much more understandable in 30 A.D. because at that time, everyone was very familiar with the work of a shepherd. Most people had probably spent some time on the range, simply sitting and watching the flock of sheep, or at least they had seen these ever present shepherds living, sleeping and eating with a herd of sheep. Now let me be clear. Sheep are not the smartest of animals and not very adept at self-defense! They have to be cared for and protected. They must be personally escorted to water, to verdant pasture and to shelter. They get hurt easily and can be picked off by wolves or other enemies. Also, because most sheep in the time of Jesus were used for their wool more than their meat, sheep and shepherd would spend many years together.
Because of this inability to care for self, the sheep became extremely attached to and dependent upon their shepherd! They knew and loved their shepherd personally and intensely, as their shepherd knew and loved them. The shepherd had a name for everyone of his “pets” and he knew their strengths and weaknesses. Just as parents know the names of their children and which ones require more vigilance.
This is a very accurate analogy to our relationship with God. Boot-strap Christianity does not exist! We cannot save ourselves! We cannot “pull ourselves up to heaven by our bootstraps.” We must be saved by Christ. And the rugged individualism and attitude of self-sufficiency encouraged by our culture is in many ways antithetical to true Christianity. We need Jesus our Shepherd, as He reminds us in John 15, “Without me, you can do nothing.”
Sometimes, the Lord has to “permit” a small cross to come into our lives, a cross which we cannot carry alone, to remind us that we are not self-sufficient. We are not in control. It is important that we get over that delusion, no matter how “successful” we have been in providing for ourselves in the past. As the Spanish proverb reminds us: “Prosperity is the most dangerous situation of man.” It can delude us into thinking we don’t need God. As spiritual author Dan Burke writes, “Man has an infinite capacity for self-deception.”
The truth is that God has always been providing for you! Yes, of course, you work hard and you use the gifts that He gave you. You go to your job and make money and buy the things you need to take care of your family. And then this tiny Covid-19 virus arrives and you begin to realize that you are not in control of your own destiny nearly as much as you had thought. As you have heard me say, any good work is about 99.9% God’s grace and .1% our human effort! I think we can sometimes give ourselves way too much credit to the detriment of our faith.
Now I believe in hard work! I was raised to have a solid, work ethic. I believe in using the gifts God has given us to be entrepreneurial, to use our intellect to solve problems and to raise up the world. And Jesus Himself teaches us that we will be judged by how we use our gifts and talents.
But we have to maintain that balance in Christianity with the truth that Jesus does so many things for us that we don’t even realize. Go back this week, and re-read that famous poem called “Footprints in the Sand.”
The older I get and the longer I am a priest, the more I realize this truth. Do not be deceived. Overcome this blind spot! The truth comes from the lips of Jesus Himself: “Without me, you can do nothing.” And this is why our personal friendship with Jesus is the over-whelming goal of our lives!
“I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.”
God loves us and He desires nothing more than that we be happy. Our happiness is infinitely intertwined with coming to know Jesus Christ, to loving him intensely and to serving Him and our neighbors.
“I came so that (you) might have life and have it more abundantly.” Let this suffering (from the Corona virus) teach us the lessons that will bring us to happiness.
Christ has risen. Christ has risen indeed!
Fr. Brett Brannen
Pastor
