Mother’s Day and Sunday of the Shepherd in the liturgical calendar coincided yesterday. Our church service begin with a video tribute to moms, as teachers, counselors, psychiatrists, cooks, cleaners, taxi drivers, etc. and then we learned that the 4th Sunday of Easter is Shepherd Sunday. How wonderful they mesh like that.
Jesus, the good shepherd can be trusted with our lives and our souls. The very qualities He exhibited and continues to bless us are very akin to the qualities of a good mother. With compassion, He cares for us, his sheep. He calls us by name, out of all the millions who have lived on this earth through hundreds of generations, He cares about me. The Bible says even the hairs on our heads are numbered.
He searches for us, not merely physically, hovering over us protectively and watches our every decision, our every need, and directs our pathways to safe havens and wherever God needs us to glorify Him. What a wonderful thing to know in troubling times like today, when wars and financial woes and uncertainty seems to reign. The pastoral image of quiet, tranquility, and safety, like our home should be when run well, is the same image we see in the famous portrait of Jesus carrying the lamb next to His breast. The comparison to a loving parent is apparent.
We can be confident that a good mother and the Good Shepherd are appropriately meshed. I can live with that assurance. It’s like FannyCrosby’s hymn, “Blessed Assurance” (public domain, hymnary.org)
1 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
2 Perfect communion, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight.
Angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]
3 Perfect submission, all is at rest.
I in my Savior am happy and bless’d,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love. [Refrain]
and J.H. Gilmore’s “He Leadeth Me” (public domain, Hymnary.org)
1 He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Refrain:
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
by his own hand he leadeth me:
his faithful follower I would be,
for by his hand he leadeth me.
2 Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom,
by waters calm, o’er troubled sea,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me. Refrain
3 Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
nor ever murmur nor repine;
content, whatever lot I see,
since ’tis my God that leadeth me. Refrain
4 And when my task on earth is done,
when, by thy grace, the victory’s won,
e’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
since God through Jordan leadeth me. Refrain
The role of the Good Shepherd reminds me of a good mom I celebrated yesterday. There is no better way to live this life than with the blessing of both.
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