Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We give thanks to Rev. Pam Reed, Registrar and Student Support Tutor, for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
John 10:11-18 (NRSVUE)
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 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. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 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. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 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.”
Devotional
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
As a child I didn’t know much about sheep. Growing up in tropical North Queensland, the farms I visited had cattle, sugar cane and tropical fruits, but no sheep – it was too hot and too wet. So biblical images about sheep meant nothing to me. And even for those living in parts of Australia where sheep are plentiful, the realities of how sheep are raised and handled doesn’t match the understanding people of the Jesus’ day had about shepherds and their relationships with sheep.
Our Gospel reading this week, and our Psalm (23), both speak of the Good Shepherd – the one who provides for his sheep and protects them from harm. This is no large-scale grazing operation. This shepherd knows each of his sheep by name, and presumably, by characteristics – temperament, personality, strengths, and weaknesses. This shepherd has an intimate relationship with each sheep. Can we imagine what love is shown by the shepherd (our God) for each individual sheep (ourselves)? Our God wants us to stay close to him, to accept his discipline, and to grow in connection with others (not going off by ourselves}.
As we reflect this Easter season, there’s another link to the motif of sheep and shepherd. In John 21:15-17, Jesus calls on Peter to care for his sheep. Peter isn’t asked to become the Good Shepherd – the sheep are still Jesus’ sheep – but to tend them as Jesus would. Similarly, our Saviour and Lord asks us to care for those he cares for. We, as mature sheep connected to our Shepherd, need to encourage other sheep to also stay close to the Good Shepherd, who knows us each intimately and wants us to grow in his love.
Prayer
Jesus, our Good and Divine Shepherd, help us to stay close to you. Help us to curb our natural desire to do things in our own way and in our strength and learn to seek your guidance and strength in every situation. Thank you that you accept our imperfect ways, and ask us, like Peter, to assist you in caring for your sheep. Amen.
Blessings,
Pam Reed (Registrar and Student Support Tutor)