I would like to share a story about an unusual girl named Laura Bell. After graduation from college, she took a job as a sheepherder in Wyoming. Some of her friends thought she was crazy, but Laura wanted a challenge. Well, she got it.
For the next three years, Laura was on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, tending 2,000 sheep. Her day began at dawn and ended at sunset. All this time she was completely alone, except for her dog, her horse, and the 2,000 sheep.
Laura’s job consisted in keeping the sheep together, moving them about for food and water, and protecting them from wild animals.
Laura’s job taught her a lot about herself. The long hours alone gave her the time she needed to ponder her future, her doubts, and her dreams. But it did more than teach her about herself. It also taught her a lot about Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
The story of Laura Bell gives us an insight into just how hard the job of a modern sheepherder can be. Ancient shepherds had to work even harder. This was because they had no horse, no dog to help them with their job. All they had was themselves. This made their work exceedingly dangerous.
Laura experienced firsthand the qualities needed to be a shepherd and how these qualities can be seen in the life of Jesus, our Good Shepherd and Messiah. You may then ask, “What are they?”
FIRST OF ALL, A SHEPHERD IS A TOTALLY COMMITTED PERSON. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is saying that His relationship and dedication to you and me is as close as the shepherd’s to the sheep. Jesus assures us “I will be with you always, to the end of the Age.”
SECONDLY, A SHEPHERD IS ALSO A DEEPLY CARING PERSON. We read about Moses dropping everything and pursuing a lamb that darted off through the wilderness. His fear was that the lamb would be killed by a wild animal or possibly become lost.
Moses finally caught up with the lamb at a tiny stream of water, where it began to drink feverishly. Moses scooped the lamb up in his arms, saying, little one, I didn’t know you ran away because you were thirsty. He placed the lamb on his shoulders and carried it back to the flock.
When God saw how caring Moses was, he was delighted and exclaimed: “At last, I have found the special person I have been searching for. Moses was a caring shepherd like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who sought out the lost sheep and when he found it placed it on His shoulders and returned it to the flock.
Like the Shepherd, Jesus knows you and me in a deeply personal way. He knows which of us has a weak faith, which of us is apt to become discouraged, and which of us is prone to stray from the flock.
Jesus will never desert us. He is always there to help us. And should we stray from the flock, Jesus will leave the other 99 sheep and go in search of us.
Finally, the shepherd is courageous. What God said to His chosen people through the prophet Isaiah, Jesus says to each of us personally today: DO NOT BE AFRAID…I have called you by name…You are precious to me….Have courage and remember that I am always with you!!!
Laura, our unusual college graduate, lived an experience that taught her about herself and about Jesus. It taught her why the Bible gave Jesus the title of Good Shepherd. It was because he had to a perfect degree the three qualities every shepherd had: COMMITMENT, CARING, AND COURAGE
You and I as Jesus’ disciples must imitate the Good Shepherd by living lives that show our Commitment to the Faith, our Caring for one another, and our Courage to combat the evils of our day by living prayerful and holy lives.
REFERENCE: The Catholic Study Bible (Second Edition). Oxford University Press, 2011. The Gospel of John 10:1-21. Reading Guide p. 420.
(Deacon Anthony P. Cassaneto, Ph.D., a noted writer and teacher, is currently serving as a deacon at St. Lawrence Parish in Shelton and is former director of the diaconate office of the Diocese of Bridgeport.)
