Shepherds' Faith in Jesus

Only with faith in Jesus can we compassionately shepherd His flock. We can not begin to understand this statement without first understanding the promise from the Word: “I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble, and none shall be missing.” Why the Lord appoint weak, broken, sinful men to be shepherds of His flock?

The biblical shepherds appointed by the Lord would not have met today’s commonly-accepted leadership qualification criteria. Two of the Old Testament’s great shepherds would have been disqualified: Moses for murder; David for adultery and murder. The apostles, personally selected by Jesus after a night of prayer, would have failed the grade as well: Peter for his impulsiveness and not walking his talk; James & John for their ambitiousness & manipulation; Thomas for his lack of faith; Matthew for his collaboration with the enemy; Simon the Zealot for his rebelliousness against establishment. We know that each thought he was the greatest. We know that all twelve were deserters. (These men were the nucleus of the first Christian community. Would you have joined it?) Even the great Apostle Paul would have been rejected for his role in the persecution of the early Church and in Stephen’s murder.

The Lord knew these men’s serious character flaws, yet He nonetheless appointed them to shepherd His flock. In fact, we can truthfully state that they were appointed because of their unworthiness. Remember, the appointment is not for a trivial matter: it is to share with them a responsibility that belongs to God our Father: the caring, the feeding, the nurturing, the well-being of His children. Why would God do that? Whatever His reason, we know that God placed His trust in unworthy man. We need not look beyond ourselves to appreciate the divine trust given to these frail men. No one among us who has been entrusted with the pastoral care and formation of others- be it our children or members of this community- can truthfully say that he deserved God’s appointment, that he is worthy of the Lord’s trust, that he has by himself what it takes to fulfill his entrusted work fruitfully. (Is there anyone here who can say he or she merits God’s trust? Who says he or she is unworthy of God’s trust?) God has faith in us!

Such is God’s faith in us that He promised His flock that His appointed shepherds will shepherd them “…so that they need no longer fear and tremble, and none shall be missing.” Why did God make this promise that is dependent on our response? Because God trusts that we will be faithful to Him! Let us say that to one another: God trusts that we will be faithful to Him! Now why does God trust that we will be faithful to Him? Because Jesus is in us, and He is faithful! Let us say that to one another: Jesus is in us, and He is faithful! And with Jesus in us, the weak men that we are have access through the Spirit to the Father. Thus, we become channels of the love and compassion of the Good Shepherd for His flock. God Himself will shepherd His flock through us – if we have faith in Jesus, if our pride, our human strength, our human wisdom do not get into the way of Jesus.

Our confidence that we can undertake the Lord’s work lies in our acknowledgment of our weakness and our dependence on God’s strength. The Apostle Paul says it all: “I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell with me” 2 Cor 12:9b. “I have the strength for everything through Jesus who empowers me” Phil 4:13. “For through Jesus, we have both access in one Spirit to the Father” Eph 2:18.

The Christian “when I am weak, then I am strong” spirituality is foolishness in our resume-oriented world. Truth is, it is “foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” 1 Cor 1:18. God who didn’t need us but trusted us certainly deserves our faith. When we acknowledge our utter lack and bestow our total reliance on God, we enter the supernatural realm of faith.

Faith ushers us to God’s presence, His life and reality, enabling us to see as He sees, think as He thinks, act as He acts, love as He loves. A person of faith seeks to do God’s will and not his, and relies on the Lord’s strength, not his. He is repentant and thankful, realizing that his whole life has been “a course of mercies and blessings shown to one who has been most unworthy of them.”

A true shepherd therefore has the Good Shepherd’s love for the flock. Moved with the compassion of Jesus, he gathers and reconciles, tends and feeds, so that the flock may increase and multiply. It is a love that impoverishes the giver, for he is to love just as Jesus loved us- to death!. Yet it is a love that enriches the giver as well, because “the one who sows for the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit” Gal 6:7.

In this light, we are to understand God’s assertion, “I myself will look after and tend my sheep… I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest…” Ez 34:11, 15. God’s appointed shepherds receive their outpouring of love from the Righteous Shoot of David- Jesus Christ, through whom, in whom, and by whom God’s flocks are lovingly saved and secured. “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.” 1 Thes 5:24.

Jesus’ invitation “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile” is directed not only to shepherds but to all the flock. It is an exhortation to balance time given generously in service to others with solitude, to balance intense activity with rest. As God’s Word in Heb 4:10-11 says, “Whoever enters into God’s rest, rests from his own works as God did from His. “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place” is an invitation to commune with Jesus in prayer and meditation, so that He may minister to us with His love and peace and refresh our souls. Think of the deserted place- whether at home in your prayer room, in Church before the Blessed Sacrament, or any place where only Jesus and you are present- think of it as a filling station, where emptied of our concerns, anxieties, frustrations and problems, we are infused with the full measure of the Holy Spirit, so that we can declare like David, “you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.”

Lord, we are utterly unworthy of Your invitation to “Come away” with You. Your invitation is an unmerited grace, for no creature by himself can approach his Creator. It is for our benefit, not Yours, for when we are with You, our hearts and minds are stilled. Our time meets Eternity, our weakness is lost to Your perfection, our burdens are relieved in Your rest, and our yearning is quenched by Your Spirit. To be with You is glorious joy beyond imagination, an exhilarating homecoming, for my spirit is at home with Your heart O God. Let me come away and spend time with You, O Jesus! Come away.