Five years ago, shortly before I came to Good Shepherd as your rector, a former rector of this parish, Fr. Andrew Mead, emailed me to wish me well. He has been so supportive of ministry here, and the years of his rectorate are happy years to which we should look for inspiration. I’ll never forget Fr. Mead’s words as he connected in my mind the rectorate of this parish with the Biblical imagery of the Good Shepherd found in John’s Gospel. Since that helpful exchange with Fr. Mead, I’ve thought long and hard about what it means to be a good shepherd. The Good Shepherd is, of course, our Lord. But as his disciples, each of us is summoned to be a kind of good shepherd, too.
To be a good shepherd as a Christian and as a representative of a particular parish community is not a task to be taken lightly. In our feeble attempts to be good shepherds in leading others to Christ, we’re fallible, human extensions of Christ’s ministry. We must be reminded of one of the baptismal promises: to proclaim the good news of Christ in both word and deed. Most good shepherds do this effectively through deed.
A good shepherd is one who is known to be reliable, gentle, pastoral, and brave. A good shepherd, like the Good Shepherd, is even willing to give her life for the sheep. And we can’t help but recall the persistent Old Testament admonitions against bad shepherds. Those bad shepherds are rampant among us, in the world and in the Church. The bad shepherds are self-serving, and they scatter, rather than divide.
Scripture suggests that a tree can be known by its fruits. St. Paul seems to suggest a variation on that when he says that a life lived in accord with the Spirit will bear the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As I reflect on our parish life, I see such fruit among us. I see the fruit of the lives of many good shepherds doing their very best to follow the Good Shepherd, who calls us through himself to God the Father. The visible fruit of a parish fired by the Holy Spirit’s love and direction is evident to me on a daily basis. But it was particularly evident this past Sunday as we hosted our Parish Fundraising Celebration.
You will see in this week’s Weekly Word pictures from that event. Notice the smiles and the happiness. Notice the fellowship. This is not clubbiness; it’s the behavior of Christians who are constantly open to the stranger among them, to new faces, and to supporting one another in their Christian lives. This parish is a sheepfold to which our Lord has brought so many, and in our future, there are many not yet of this fold who will find us. It’s all our Lord’s doing, but we must be ready to greet them and love them and welcome them as Christ himself.
I want to thank all who made this past Sunday’s Parish Fundraising Celebration a huge success: the fundraising committee for its hard work, our friend Jessi Cooke for sharing her art with us, and Robert McCormick for the magnificent musical event. And as we look towards this Sunday, our parish’s Feast of Title, I thank you, both parishioners and friends, for bearing the visible fruit of a life rooted in the love of Christ. How can we be anything other than hopeful about the glorious future that God has prepared for us? Through good times and bad times, the Good Shepherd has never forsaken the sheep of this parish. The Good Shepherd has always been drawing the sheep towards the flourishing of eternal life in God.
I will look forward to seeing you in church this Sunday as we celebrate the love of the Good Shepherd who offers us abundant life and to give thanks for this parish, which seeks daily to live into the spirit of its namesake, the One who calls us home.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle