I love this time of year, with all the signs of new life around us and I can’t think of anything more delightful than seeing young lambs springing in the fields, it does my heart good. I could stand and watch young lambs for hours and find their antics both entertaining and relaxing, yet cute as they are, I also understand that they are not pets, nor are they wild animals, they are stock and they are both the property, and the livelihood of farmers.
Whilst out in the car travelling across moorland roads I see signs warning me of lambs wandering on the road and requesting that I slow down, and that feels to be a reasonable request. I was out walking a couple of years ago and some irresponsible people had let their dog roam free without its lead and it was chasing a sheep, the dog’s antics appeared to be a source of entertainment for a group of people, who were actually cheering the dog on! As I sometimes walk on the fells early on a morning, I see the farmer out, bright and early on their quad bikes these day, with their trusty sheepdog and I am reminded that being a good shepherd, it hard and devoted work.
We sometimes refer to Jesus as being the Good Shepherd, indeed, he makes this claim about himself “I am the good shepherd, who takes care of the sheep” in the gospel according to Saint John. I find it quite interesting as I compared the working practices of shepherds in the time of Jesus, and the twenty first century western shepherds we see today. In the time of Jesus, the shepherd would go ahead of the sheep, and the sheep would follow him. Watch a shepherd today in this country and the normal practice is for the sheep to go in front, with the shepherd at the back, direct his sheepdog to effectively push the sheep forward.
You might well ask if that is of any importance, but consider for a moment, Jesus trying to explain the kingdom of God to his disciples and looking out at a shepherd at work. The shepherd leads the way, he is at the front and the sheep trust him enough to follow on. The western farmer pushes, forcing the sheep to go first.
If we apply that illustration to life, as Jesus did, the word “leadership” springs to mind. A huge part of my vocation today is about leading people, not managing, supervising, or forcing. Leadership is about going at the front, setting the example, encouraging, nurturing, protecting, and helping others. I find the image of the Good Shepherd helpful, it is perhaps what we should all be aspiring to be.