By Kirsten
I don’t really have a whole lot to say. This verse came to me as I was trying to think of something to post a blog about. It may seem lazy, but the Word of God speaks for itself. As this Missional Church class has been going on, a deep set conviction has been bothering me, namely, I have been called as a shepherd to God’s flock, yet what have I done to take care of the flock? This may be a passage we can all muse on a little while.
Ezekiel 34:1-10: “The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.”
Kirsten,
I have been thinking about this too and you are right, this verse is truly inspiring. I think we all could use to be a lot more concerned for one another, much like the shepard is for his sheep.
America is probably the hardest place in the world to be a true Shepard. This is because the goats are so intermingled with the sheep that very little can be done by the flock.
I think one of the largest problems in the American Church is that a large portion of the people who come to church on Sunday are un-converted. This is largely to blame on the attractional model of church. As long as we have a tug of war going on in the Church between the sheep and the goats…..little will be accomplished.