And Shepherds We Shall Be...

"And shepherds we shall be,

For thee, My Lord, for thee

Power hath descended forth from thy hand

Our feet may swiftly carry out thy command

So we shall flow a river forth to thee

And teeming with souls shall it ever be

En nomine et Patris,

Et Filii,

Et Spiritus Sancti"

This Christmas season, I'm reminded of a few often overlooked characters of the nativity story.
Of course we know the main characters of the story: Our Lord Jesus Christ; His parents, Mary and Joseph; and the three wise kings from the east.  But what of the Shepherds?

"Fear not... for unto you is born this day... a Saviour..."

First I want us to take a look at what a shepherd was and what they did:

Yes, a shepherd does watch over a flock of animals, usually sheep, but they do more than that.  A shepherd's main duty is to protect and nourish his flock, which usually ranges from about twenty or so up to around one hundred!  Now I don't know about any of you, but I can barely watch over two dogs and a few kids.  The shepherd, however, knows each and every one of his charges, and they know him.  They recognize his voice, and they know that there is safety with him.  The flock follows him from place to place, from the pasture to the watering hole, and keeps within his sight.  The shepherd keeps a watchful eye on all of them, guiding strays back into the fold and keeping an ever watchful eye out for the dangers in the desert, from snakes and scorpions to lions and wild beasts.  A shepherd's job was from morning till night, and often called for great vigilance and love for the flock.  Unfortunately, the job of a shepherd in the days of Christ weren't as...  Well...  Liked, for lack of a better term.  The status of being a shepherd was to the Jews in those days the lowest of all people.  Many looked down upon them, especially those in the higher levels of society, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees.  Only those who were truly desperate would look to such a job as this.

Now I bet many who read this will think, "Well, this is kinda interesting, but why would I need to know this?"  Shepherding is an outmoded job, now only found in less advanced countries.  But the thing I'm trying to get across is this:

There is still one Good Shepherd, and He is calling for more to help in the gathering of His fold

The quote at the top of this page wasn't just to look pretty.  I take that as a life saying for myself while serving our Lord, the Good Shepherd, for these two years.  I look back to the moment, in the book of John, when Christ is questioning Peter, the chief apostle.  Three times He asks, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?"  And three times, in response to Peter's answer, He says,

"Feed my sheep."

While this was directed at Peter at the time, we missionaries look to this as part of our calling for we who live in these days.  Our Savior requires our help to gather in His sheep, our brothers and sisters who are in need of His strength and protection, and we must rise to the call.  Whether we serve Him by leaving and dedicating our lives to missionary work for two years as I have, or by living our lives in accordance to how He would have us do, all of it counts.

I now pose the same challenge that the Lord has posed to all:  If we do truly love Him, as we profess to do, then we must do as He asks, and Feed His Sheep.

I know that He lives, and that He is actively searching out those who have strayed from Him.  I know that He loves each of us, knows us more than we know ourselves, and always wants the best for us.  And I know that He needs us to be His shepherds.

I have already taken up the calling of being a shepherd in His name.

Will you?