This past Sunday we celebrated both the gift of baptism as Gracelynn was baptized, and we also commemorated Good Shepherd Sunday. On such a day, we recall that we have been gathered into God’s fold as sheep, and we are united with all in the flock of Christ.
So are we sheep, or are we shepherds?
Really, we’re both. First and foremost, Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd and is the one who laid down his life for us so that we might belong to God, and so that we might have abundant life. And as such, as Psalm 100 tells us, “we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). But now, having been brought into the fold of Christ, we are also the ones sent to be shepherds by devoting ourselves to one another in community and by creating spaces of belonging for all God’s people.
There’s no question about it: so many people in our society are longing for a place to belong. People want to seen for who they are, and people crave a “crew” to call their own. So what would it be like for us, in the way we live together as a community of faith (and as we live together across congregational lines) to model what it means to be devoted to one another in community? What would it be like for us live into our responsibility to each other as fellow sheep in God’s pasture?
It may sound strange to hear that we have a responsibility to each other in a congregation, let alone in the body of Christ. But connect it for a moment to a family unit: in a family unit, it’s likely you have responsibilities that don’t only impact you, but impact others. And your commitment to those responsibilities won’t only positively or negativesly impact you, but will impact others in your family.
In the same way, even in the church – in the body of Christ – we belong to each other. And because of that, we have a responsibility to each and every person in God’s flock, and a responsibility to each and every person who is not yet in this flock.
So…are you a sheep or are you a shepherd? This week, I encourage you to be both. Be God’s sheep. And live as a fellow sheep alongside the other sheep of God’s pasture. And, live as a shepherd: upholding your responsibility to care and nurture those in God’s flock, and those who are still seeking the depth of God’s belonging.