Ezekiel 34:11-16
II Timothy 4:1-8
John 21:15-19
As Christians, we are all called to be shepherds, priests, and pastors, but rarely does a person’s call fit the usual professional job description associated with those terms. Instead, our vocation to shepherd each other hinges on our being part of the Body of Christ. As Ezekiel reminds us, God is the shepherd. It follows that since we are to be the physical presence of God to those around us, all members of Christ’s Body have pastoral responsibilities, no matter our profession or occupation. Ezekiel also reminds us that we are the sheep, so it follows that our duties lie in both directions; we must be open and available to pastor as well as to be pastored.
We never really know who is looking to us for guidance, and often that person is not fully aware of following our lead, so we must all “fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith” as Paul says, and we must do it in the way that is unique to each of us as different members of Christ’s Body. In other words, we simply need to be our best selves: the image of God we are created to be, because each person’s way of proclaiming Christ is a necessary part of the whole. Even Peter and Paul differed in their approach to evangelism, and the church would have been greatly impoverished had they not accepted their pastoral duties in their own individual ways.
Of course, we should never use the fact of our individuality as an excuse for laxness, stagnation, or complacency. As Paul reminds Timothy: “always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out you ministry fully.” Those are not heroic actions in themselves, butt we all know how difficult it is to perform them every day, year after year. Difficult or not, we must never give up, because as was stated before, we never know who is following us as their model and shepherd. Our entire lives must be seen as a function of our priesthood the priesthood of Jesus of which we all partake.
One aspect of being a shepherd which both Ezekiel and Jesus mention is the task of feeding the sheep. A good shepherd leads the sheep to the food and allows them to eat. As good pastors, we must never cram things down anyone’s throat or spoonfeed them when they ought to be capable of sitting up at the table with good manners. Such actions befit tyrannical cult leaders, not church members. As John Chrysostom told his congregation in Constantinople: “Jesus is the shepherd of sheep, not of wolves.” We also need to do ourselves and everyone else a favor and not allow anyone to cram anything down our throats, or demand to be spoonfed when we are capable of doing it ourselves. Just as we never know who is following us (consciously or unconsciously), we need to be aware of our role models and choose them deliberately and wisely, rather than just blindly following someone we do not even realize is leading us.
Accepting our individual status as shepherds, priests, and pastors is difficult at times and can seem a burden, rather than the joy it should be. Perhaps we can take encouragement from another famous pastor: John, a contemporary of Peter and Paul. Once again, John had his own unique ways of shepherding the people around him, the most famous of which was to simply raise his hand and remind the church: “Little children, love one another.” That might seem simplistic, but that is really our only job; everything else is peripheral. If we are faithful to the task of truly and actively loving each other (and sometimes that is quite a chore), then the other duties of being a pastor to those around us will fall into place as Love sees fit. “Little children, love one another.” “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.” “Jesus is the shepherd of sheep, not of wolves.” If we truly love God, our neighbors, and ourselves, we will feed and be fed, and we will walk through the valley of darkness and fear no evil; for the Lord is our shepherd, and we shall not want. AMEN