Just Where You Are

In the Judean hills it was easy for a sheep to stray and become lost. When the shepherd put the sheep in the cote at night, he counted them. A sheep missing sent the shepherd on his way to track it down and bring it back to the fold. Once a sheep would realize that it was no longer with the flock, it would lie down and refuse to move, leaving the shepherd no choice but to carry it back. Shepherds are incredible caregivers!

Imagine the parable Jesus might have told this crowd to communicate his feelings toward those who had removed themselves from him — a parable that conveyed anger, abandonment or punishment to the drifter. Instead our Shepherd is not waiting for us to find our own way home to him; he is searching us out and carrying us home. This day receive the Shepherd’s tender love for you – just as you are – just where you are. Kathleen M. Sullivan, ’82MA ’87PhD