“The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.”
Psalm 23:1
The image of Christ as Shepherd is familiar to us. The title of Christ as the Good Shepherd also is familiar. The Lord’s own declaration that he is not only shepherd but also the gate for the sheep takes more effort on our part to truly hear. He not only walks ahead of us or behind us to ensure our way and to be our safety. He IS the way by which and through which we enter and leave. He is the way of our true journey, the way of arrival to which and for which we are born.
There is much in life that vies for our attention. There are things, experiences, and even people who give us cause to think too little of ourselves or too much of ourselves. These can cause us to draw our resources from the place in our lives where they are truly needed to places that offer tempting but empty promises of self gratification and self satisfaction. They cause us to walk in or under a cloud of suspicion, excessive self protection and, perhaps, eventual disappointment, regret, and resentment.
Our Shepherd approaches us not in spite of all this, but precisely as God’s own response to all this. Our every misstep is met by God’s step toward us. Our every act of pushing away is met by God’s choice to step toward us that we might step into the Divine embrace. Every word that arises from our hurt or anger, every word of truth we fear or simply refuse to speak is met by the Word who proclaims: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)