The leaders/shepherds are singled out as problematic. They have led scattered the flock, literally
driven them away, and not attended to them.
Shepherds have a responsibility to keep the flock together and to attend
to their various needs. The 23rd
Psalm makes clear, even to those of us not in societies where there are
shepherds and sheep present to us, what the good shepherds do. The shepherds of Israel have not attended the
sheep, they have only provided what is necessary, the fire and altar for
sacrifice, and they have not done the work of loving and attending. When we separate ourselves from those the Lord
has given us to lead and shepherd, and all of us have been given others in our
various relationships, we fail both them and Him. How wonderful is His promise, “Behold, the
days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous
Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice
and righteousness in the land.” His Name?
The Lord is our righteousness. Just what
we need.
To accept the words of Jesus here at face value is to be
shocked beyond the ability to comprehend.
Four times he speaks of eating or feeding in this passage and yet Jesus
uses different verbs for this eating. When
He speaks of what their fathers did in eating manna in the wilderness Jesus
uses a very common verb that just means eat.
When, however, He speaks of what must be done with His flesh He uses a
less common, more intense descriptor that connotes gnawing and tearing like an
animal with a bone that has some meat on it.
So “eats” or “ate” points to something like a meal with knives, forks
and spoons while the word translated “feeds” tells us that we must work more at
it, spend time, but it is a very physical process. The feeding on Jesus is more than we make of
it, it requires us to slow down, work, and savor. It has implications for both life and what we
call the Eucharist.
The Lord is our righteousness, not our accuser. Paul gives hope, that we shall persevere and
that no matter what the world, the flesh and the devil throw at us, it is all
working together for good for those who are called according to His purpose and
in all this we are more than conquerors.
The one who could accuse us, the one who is without sin and therefore
could cast the first stone, Jesus, loved us and died for us and now lives to
make intercession on our behalf. The lamb
that appears before the throne is also the Great Shepherd of the sheep if we
feed on Him, another great paradox of the faith. The one we killed now gives us life if we eat
His flesh and drink His blood. We must
take our time with this idea, this paradox, not check off the box of
understanding, it is a far greater mystery than that, and deserves our constant
attention and meditation.
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