The Bible describes what it means to be a "good shepherd"; it is one willing to lay down their very lives for their flock.  Living in Idaho, this has become a potential reality as gray wolves make their way west from Wyoming into the sheep farms of the eastern part of the state.  Yet I wonder, would the shepherds truly lay down their lives in a wolf attack for the flock?  Is this a reasonable thing to expect?  I think about other "shepherds" who made a good living out of the flocks they were supposed to watch over: Wall Street executives who wheeled and dealed away the hard-saved retirement savings of millions, only to walk away with bailouts and bonuses.  They were supposed to be shepherds but instead were wolves.

Much of the global flock has been ravaged and things look so fearful just now.  Yet it is precisely in times such as these that the ancient words are sung yet again: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me. . . ."  This is the voice of reason-it is the true shepherd 's voice calling out to us.  It is an ancient voice we can trust, for it is the voice of reason.  I may not know exactly how the shepherd will get us through all this in one piece, but I do know he will, for I hear his voiceand it is the authentic call of the One who protects us, who lights up that valley with his promise.

 

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

 

A Psalm of David

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
   for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
   I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
   your rod and your staff—
   they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
   my whole life long.