“This fourth Sunday of the Easter season is awash in images of shepherds
and flocks. This Gospel passage, and the 23rd psalm from which its imagery
derives. The original audience listening to Rabbi Jesus would have been
more than familiar with the frequent use of images of sheep and flocks in
scripture and teaching.

Years ago, when I dropped out of college for a bit of time that was
graciously considered by the dean of students as a “leave of absence”, I
lived on a farm in the Upper Connecticut Valley in New Hampshire. This farm
raised blueberries and trees and was self-sustaining for its own produce.
Living there was, quite literally, living off the land. Like most New
England farmers, the man who owned the farm was responsive to his
neighbors’ needs. Farming in New England is not for the faint of heart and
you survive in solidarity with the other resolute souls who try to earn
their living out of that stony ground and frequently harsh climate. One of
the neighbors kept sheep, and when he would need to leave town for a time,
we took care of his sheep. It was thus that I had a very short-career as a
not very capable shepherd. The Mediocre Shepherd, you might say.”

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