Deacon Tom Writes,
“The Good Shepherd”
God has a plan for our lives. Like
any good plan, it’s designed to work, so that anyone who follows it will achieve
the desired result. The trouble is that at some point along the way we get
tired of following the plan God has laid out for us and we start doing things
our way. What happens? We all have our stories, don’t we?
Jeremiah has to contend with
some shepherds who have abandoned the plan God designed for them. As shepherds
they were not protecting their flock. To the contrary, they were exposing them
to the very dangers they should have been protecting them from. God sees this
and will not stand for such an outrage. What does God do? He promises to send a
real shepherd, to tend and care for his sheep, so that they no longer live in
fear or be at risk, and to gather those who have strayed.
We know, of course, that Jesus
is the promised Shepherd that Jeremiah foretold. Does Jesus live up to the
standards that Jeremiah prophesied about Him? Very much so! Even a cursory
reading of the four gospels provides ample evidence that Jesus is the “Good
Shepherd”. For so often we read where Jesus teaches His followers not to be
afraid and that He cares for the people God has entrusted to Him, curing them
of their sickness, physical, spiritual, and mental; He feeds them physical and
spiritual nourishment; He dispels the darkness by teaching them about the
Kingdom of Heaven and about a life of virtue. And when things take a turn for
the worse, He even dies for them, even those who did Him wrong! Jesus fulfills
Jeremiah’s prophesy beyond imagination!
Is Jesus our “Good Shepherd”? Does He calm our fears?
Nourish us? Protect us? Provide for our needs? Did His death save us? Does our
relationship with Him change the course or events of our life?
In today’s gospel, the “Good Shepherd” that Jeremiah prophesied
would one day appear, calls His followers “to
come away by themselves to a deserted place for a while”. There, within our
deepest being, we can encounter the “Good
Shepherd” and perhaps get to know Him better and thank Him for His
guidance, protection and care.
Enjoy the Day!
Deacon Tom
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