Shepherds!
1…in Mythology
There is a long tradition in human history and culture of shepherding. Not surprisingly, it has found its way into the stories humans have told. Some of them even have interesting connections to our Faith!
In Roman mythology, Faustulus is a shepherd who found the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, after their miraculous survival (some stories has them put in a basket and sent down the Tiber…). He raises the boys until adulthood, but according to legend was killed in the fight between the boys that led to the famous founding of Rome.
Sumer: In one of the most famous epic poems ever written, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero, Gilgamesh, himself is both a shepherd and a king. This connects to a couple of other shepherds who turn out to be kings later on…
2…in the Old Testament
- Abel is the first person in the whole Bible who is called a shepherd. We know this because Genesis 4:2 calls him a “herder of flocks” and it is a lamb that he offers as sacrifice to God in Genesis 4:4. This is part of the reason, along with his own sacrifice as an innocent victim, that prophets would later connect the Messiah to a lamb and St. John the Baptist would call Jesus the “lamb of God” (John 1:29).
- Another great shepherd leading the way for the Good Shepherd is Moses. We see him shepherding his flock in Exodus 3:1 before God calls him to free Israel from slavery.
- David lived as a shepherd long before Samuel anointed him as king as 1 Samuel 16 shows us. This life as a shepherd helped him understand how God is a shepherd, which he shows us in the famous Psalm 23.
3…in the New Testament
- Probably the most famous examples of unnamed shepherd in human history are “The Shepherds” of Christmas in Luke 2:8-20. They are even celebrated in Eastern Orthodox churches, where the commemoration of the shepherds coincides with the Feast of the Nativity.
- Saint Drogo lived in Flanders in the 1100s as a shepherd, and so is the patron Saint of shepherds. He is also the patron Saint of coffee. That can’t be a coincidence.
- A lesser known title of Mary, Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd, refers to a story from 1100s France, where a shepherd saw his animals congregating around one spot to graze. After digging in the spot, he found a statue of Mary lying in the ground. A shrine was built on the spot and miracles have been reported from it.
4. God is a shepherd! (part 1)
- In the Old Testament, God calls Himself a shepherd in some pretty important passages as a prophetic way to show His care for the people of Israel. This will set us up for the later when another Person will call Himself a shepherd too!
- Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 shows how the prophet begs God to shepherd His people, a request God will satisfy in His Son.
- Psalm 23 may be the most famous Psalm in the Bible and sets up God’s people to see the love He has for them, especially when it is presented by Jesus.
- In Ezekiel 34:11-16, God is fed up with the shepherds of Israel and decides He must take care of his people.
5. God is a shepherd! (part 2)
- John 10:11-18 gives us the famous, “I am the good shepherd,” line from Jesus. This shows both his connection to God’s divine shepherd-hood from the Old Testament as well as Jesus’s love for us.
- Luke 15:1-7 shows us the story of the parable of the Lost Sheep. Here, Jesus not only shows the lengths God will go to forgive us and bring us back into relationship, but the joy that takes place in the body of Christ, the Church, the Fold, when it happens.