Reflections of a Canadian Churchman

Jesus the Good Shepherd   ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.’ -John 10:11-16   There can be little doubt in my mind that when Jesus tells his disciples that he is the Good Shepherd, he is clearly and intentionally evoking the image of the shepherd in the Twenty-third Psalm.   In that treasured psalm, in which the Psalmist boldly proclaims, “the LORD is my shepherd,” we learn that thi...