I am drawn to the comforting image of an attentive shepherd calling his sheep one by one, holding open a heavy gate leading to an abundant, protected pasture. But I am also struck by less idyllic images of thieves, wolves, and unreliable hired hands. How do I, or we, make sense of these seemingly contradictory visions? The answer lies, I believe, here:
“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.”
Jesus calls not only the sheep who hear His reassuring voice, who come running to the safety of His pasture lands. He also seeks those who do not recognize His voice, who have not come to see Him as the source of peace. He calls the misguided thieves, wayward laborers and wild beasts. He seeks to unite them all in one flock. The great challenge of this task becomes apparent when reading the Gospel stories immediately before and after this passage; they are stories of confrontation, division and exile. It is no coincidence that Jesus pauses to describe “one flock, one shepherd.”
This Lent, we, the sheep at St. Thomas, might reflect upon how we contribute to creating one flock under one shepherd. Do we simply follow one another dutifully through the gate into green pastures? Or do we turn about to seek out those who have not joined the flock, who may seem to be wolves or thieves? Do we do more than feed or clothe or shelter? Do we also extend the invitation to walk through our gate, our doors? Do we, like our Shepherd, call all into one flock?
—Susan Shevlin
