Why Does the Good Shepherd Carry A Stick?

Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd.                         

A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and
 has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father."

For those that know me, it is no secret that nuns and I did not get along too well when I was under their tutelage.  But, I have to say, that I am forever grateful for the sister that taught me about Jesus.  That first lesson, I will always remember.  It was how Jesus was like a shepherd and loved me so much that He would come to find me if I ever got lost. She had this flip book and it showed a picture of Jesus with a lamb around His neck and a staff in His hand.  I remember thinking how wonderful it was to have a friend like Him watching out for me.  Oh, how wonderful it would be for me to be as innocent and trusting as that boy who heard that story back in 1958.  I admire that child's trusting nature and I look at pictures of him from that time and wonder why he chose to squander all of that innocence!   Let's move away from the past and discuss Jesus as the Good Shepherd 

Jesus, for all of the metaphors he uses about Himself, is a man of action. All shepherds are men of action, they have to be, it comes with the job. I got hung up on the notion of Jesus carrying me back when I wandered away.  Well, a shepherds job, if he is doing it right, is to keep the sheep together in the first place.  That staff he carries is curved at the top, not for some artistic reason, no, that crook in the staff is there so the shepherd can use it to trip up a lamb that is walking away, and walking away when you're a lamb means you are walking from the safety of the flock into isolation and danger.  That staff is also there to ward off predators that attempt to get in amongst the sheep, a blow from that staff could knock a wolf senseless and the Good Shepherd knows how to use the staff to keep the predators at bay. 

The other thing that impresses me about this reading is that we can find evidence in scripture that Jesus did all of the things that He says he will do.  As I said He is a man of action and not just of words.  He laid down His life for His sheep, the crucifix showing the dead body of Jesus nailed there reminds us of what He did.  He also states that He gave His life up and that no one took it from Him.  We see this in the Garden of Gethsemane.  In the confusion of that moment, He, like He had done before, could have simply walked through their midst to freedom, thus foiling the scheme of the High Priest.  But, He did not do this.  In fact, He calmed the situation down, telling Peter to put down the sword and He healed the man who had been injured.  Then there was the kiss and He allowed Himself to be bound and taken away.  I think He saw in that garden while He was praying, all of the things that would happen and He was afraid, and yet when the time came, He took the action that was required and allowed the horrors of that day to take place. 

Using hindsight we can see this, but what else is there in this reading that is of great importance to us.  Jesus says that there are sheep out there that belong to other flocks and He promises us that they too will hear His voice and he gives us His guarantee is that there will be one flock and one shepherd.  I used to carry a prejudice against all things Protestant.  I felt superior that I belonged to the Catholic Church that had it all, the entire treasury of faith, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and I wondered if the Protestants knew that they were on their way to hell.  On the other hand, the Protestants thought similar thoughts about Catholics!  Sure is a nice religion we are in isn't it?  Fortunately, Jesus, the Man of Action, left nothing to chance.  He knew that in spite of our best efforts that some sheep would wander off and form new flocks. He would be the shepherd of them too and when all was said and done, he would reform the flock into one and there would be one flock and only one shepherd. 

Jesus is a man of action.  He told us here that He would lay down His life, that no one took it from Him.  We read the story in our Bible and in testimony to this when He dies on the cross, he utters a loud cry.  A person undergoing death by crucifixion would not have the wherewithal to yell loudly right before death.  Jesus did so in testimony to the voluntary nature of his death and on the third day, this Man of Action defeats death itself as He takes up His life again. 

Michael in 1959 - the start of First Grade

So, that young child that heard and believed sister when she told about the Good Shepherd has grown up now and the years hang heavy on his shoulders and he longs for the days of innocence where a simple picture could produce an unshakable faith.  The boy grew and doubts came and sins entered his life, but he always remembered the truth that sister taught, that no matter what, Jesus would go and find you if you ever got lost.  The boy took comfort in those words back then and the man takes them to heart and takes comfort in them as he ages and gets closer and closer to standing before Jesus, the Good Shepherd. 

Someday, perhaps soon, I will be among the Poor Souls in Purgatory.  My family are not believers or have wandered to one of the "mega-churches of what's happening now" so I cannot depend on them to pray for me once I die.  I pray for the Poor Souls therefore with the hope that they will befriend me once they reach heaven.  There are millions of people that receive no prayers after they die. They are poorest of the poor.  Take a moment of your day and pray an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be for the poor souls and everytime you pass a cemetery, pray for those within by praying, "May the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen."  It will only take a minute, won't you help out?