Mtr Mary Trainor

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus…*

Dear friend,

The “good shepherd” has always been one of my favorite ways of thinking about Jesus. It still is. Yet what I notice now, with a few more years on me, is how much more meaning I find in the good shepherd imagery than I did in the beginning.

In the years since the shepherd and I were first introduced, he has changed from the kindly sheep-loving figure in the spotless soft white tunic, smiling, benign, benevolent and, of course, Caucasian. But even Jesus in the role of shepherd could not have truly been most of those things.

I am not alone in my love of the Good Shepherd. Many are drawn to the shepherd-sheep imagery, and they will find today’s Gospel from John especially appealing.

...just to take him at his word

Most are aware of dangers that social media pose. Fake news. Snarky remarks. Friendships broken over things posted there. But some good things also come from these sources. And one came my way this past week.

I first met Mick in 1985 when we both worked in the same group of private special education schools. We were colleagues and our paths occasionally would intersect. I came to know him as a man of very few words, but one whose word was gold. If Mick said it, it was true. If you needed anything, Mick was there for you. He was a true friend, the likes of which we encounter very rarely.

He sent me a friend request on Facebook. He’s a bit the worse for wear, as many of us are now, his mostly due to cancer and chemotherapy. I find it amazing that he can discuss online difficult political issues with a depth and sincerity that are hard to find. Even those who don't agree with his positions nonetheless know they come from a spiritual center one should not mess with. What we all know is that Mick is a man to be trusted, even--perhaps especially--when you don’t agree with him.

Just to rest upon his promise…

I got to thinking about him as I prepared this reflection. My childhood love of the Good Shepherd has lost a bit of its shine, and needed to do so. No longer do I see him as a clean, well-scrubbed white man holding a spotless little lamb across his shoulders.

Sheep herding is dirty work, with many hours of loneliness. Little sleep for fear of what harm might come to the flock. Worry over illness and injury. Or sheep being lost or stolen.

When the Gospel discusses the shepherd and the hired hand, there is no comparison. The shepherd knows his sheep, and they know him. Not so with the hired hand. At the first sign of trouble, the hired hand runs off, but the shepherd sticks it out. Why, because the shepherd can be trusted to be there when it counts. Few human beings can ever pass that test, though my friend Mick comes mighty close.

I still cherish the Good Shepherd, but my childhood reasons have transformed into adult appreciation. The metaphor is larger than sheep-tending in first-century Palestine. It is, I believe, about the answer to this question: “In whom can I put my trust?”

And to know, ‘Thus saith the Lord…’

Mtr Mary

*’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus, No. 108, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a supplement to “The Hymnal 1982”