“Rectifying a wrong”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, June 29, 2023
Ezekiel 34:11-16 (Forward, p. 62) CEV p. 875
In John 10 Jesus talks about Himself as being ‘the Good Shepherd’ and while we do hear of the reactions of the crowds (see verses 19-21), we hear nothing of how the Jewish authorities reacted to this claim. I have no doubt that they would have been happy with it, for it harkens back to this chapter from Ezekiel where the civic leaders are lambasted for being shepherds who don’t care for the sheep and who care only for themselves (see verses 1-10). Further along that passage God promises to replace them with a more fitting and dutiful shepherd, firstly with Himself (verses 11-22) and then with another shepherd, a shepherd of His own choosing, a shepherd from the House of David (verses 23-24).
Verses 11-16 are quite explicit about what this ‘proper’ shepherd will do. He will look for His sheep, seeking them where they have been scattered, rescue them and bring them back home. He will take care of them, give them proper nourishment and protect them and keep them safe. And, not only that, He will also bandage up those who are hurt and protect the weak. He will especially protect the weak from the predations and abuse of those who are strong, those that take over essential resources, use them for their own purposes and needs, despoil and pollute them, and then leave the tailings, the aftermath, for the weak and helpless. This new shepherd will rectify all these wrongs and put an end to all these abuses.
I must say that all of this comes as quite an indictment of civic and community leaders, not just back then, but today as well. I think of the infamous Love Canal in New York State or the notorious Sydney Tar Ponds in Cap Britain or the mercury laced watercourses in Northern Ontario. Or, I think of the terribly hazardous working conditions of sweatshop factories in the Third World or China or dangerous practices even with our North American vegetable producers. Making a profit ‘for the few’ has, unfortunately, has often become a standard practice worldwide. But, here, God issues a warning: He Himself will intervene, firstly personally, and then secondly, with someone of His own choosing, who, as far as I am concerned, is none other than Jesus Christ. Jesus will shepherd His people and take care of them but also judge, reprove and punish those who neglect them or despoil them. It is a fair warning to all of us. Should not
we, as His friends and followers, seek to be like Him in His care and regard for others—and avoid being among those who don’t treat them properly? Should not we, as His people, join with Him in being part of the answer and correcting these wrongs? Amen.
Forward notes: “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God” (verse 15).
“For all of Jesus’s attempts to convey the full meaning of following a Messiah who will be handed over to death, Peter seems not to have grasped it prior to Jesus’s death and resurrection. He is gung-ho while Jesus is there—and promptly peters out after the prospect of a bodily Messiah to follow seems to be snuffed out.
“But now Jesus harkens back to that moment by redeeming Peter’s three-fold denial with a three-fold declaration of love [John 21:15-19]. In these words, Jesus clarifies the fullness of what it means to follow him. Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. He extends the metaphor of David and of Ezekiel, commissioning Peter to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured, bring back the strayed, and seek the lost.
“It’s a tender moment but also a weighty one. Jesus predicts that Peter will be martyred, not because of his knowledge of Jesus as the Messiah (which he had before the denial) but because of his love for Jesus, the shepherd of the sheep.”
MOVING FORWARD: “How are you responding to Jesus’s words, ‘Follow me”?