Who Is the Shepherd?
Who Is the Shepherd?
The Shepherd Is God:
He is undoubtedly the true Shepherd. He said in the Gospel:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
And He said: “I am the good shepherd; and I know My own and My own know Me” (John 10:14).
He also said: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27–28).
The Lord Christ spoke about Himself as the good Shepherd in the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15), and how He searched for His lost sheep until He found it, carried it on His shoulders rejoicing, and called friends and neighbors to rejoice with Him.
Just as John 10 is the Gospel of the Shepherd, Psalm 22 (23) is the Psalm of the Shepherd.
In it David sings of God’s care, saying: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness… Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:1–4). How abundant are the references in the Book of Psalms to God the Shepherd.
The Song of Songs also presents God as the Shepherd.
The human soul calls out to Him: “Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed your flock, where you make it rest at noon” (Song 1:7).
It also says: “My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies” (Song 2:16), and repeats the same phrase in (Song 6:3).
It also says of Him that He “feeds his flock in the gardens” (Song 6:2).
God Himself—in the Old Testament—said of Himself that He is the Shepherd.
He said His immortal and moving words in chapter 34 of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, which is rightly considered the chapter of the Shepherd, just as John 10 is in the New Testament and Psalm 23 among the Psalms of David. He said:
“I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick” (Ezekiel 34:15–16).
He also said: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out… as a shepherd seeks out his flock… so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered… I will feed them in good pasture… there they shall lie down in a good fold, and feed in rich pasture… And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep… between the fat sheep and the lean sheep… Therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey’” (Ezekiel 34:11–22).
I advise all ranks of the priesthood to read Ezekiel 34.
There is a question: since God is the Shepherd, do we call some human beings shepherds?
Human Shepherds:
Yes, there are human shepherds. For Scripture says of the Lord: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–12).
Saint Paul the Apostle says to the elders of Ephesus, its bishops and shepherds: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).
Saint Peter the Apostle says: “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder… Shepherd the flock of God which is among you… not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away” (1 Peter 5:1–4).
Thus there are shepherds, and Christ the Shepherd is the Chief Shepherd.
Examples in Scripture of human shepherds are very many.
Now we ask: if God is the Shepherd, how were some called shepherds, even by God Himself?
How Were Humans Called Shepherds?
They were called shepherds for two basic reasons related to God Himself.
- Since God is the Shepherd, then the one delegated by God to the work of shepherding—that is, God’s steward—is called a shepherd. Therefore bishops were called shepherds, because the bishop is God’s steward according to the teaching of Scripture (Titus 1:7).
And the Lord Christ says: “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?” (Luke 12:42). - Since God is the Shepherd, it is required of the one called a shepherd that the Spirit of God dwells in him. Therefore, when the Lord granted His disciples the sacrament of the priesthood, He first breathed on their faces and said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22–23). Thus, being filled with the Holy Spirit was a condition for shepherding.
One of the Qualities of the Shepherd Is That He Is a Blessing
When people choose a person to be a priest or a bishop, they choose the best among those present—the best servants or the best monks. When he receives the grace of the priesthood, they assume in him ideal conduct, nothing less. They look at him as a living practical example of every virtue.
One of the most important qualities of the priest is that he be a blessing.
The widow of Zarephath of Sidon considered Elijah a blessing in her house, as a “man of God,” and she called him “man of God” (1 Kings 17:18, 24). Elijah was a blessing in that widow’s house, for from the time he entered her house “the bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sent rain on the earth” (1 Kings 17:14, 16).
Also the Shunammite woman considered it a blessing for her and her household to make an upper room for Elisha whenever he passed by to eat bread, saying to her husband: “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room…” so that when he came, he would turn in there (2 Kings 4:9–10).
Elisha was a blessing in the Shunammite’s house. He prayed for her that God would give her a son, and He gave her one. When that son died, she resorted to him, and he prayed for her son, and his life returned to him (2 Kings 4:16, 36).
People consider the entrance of the priest into their homes to be a blessing to their homes. When the priest enters the house, blessing enters with him. When the priest fulfills the command of the Lord Christ: “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house’” (Luke 10:5), that house feels the blessing of peace that entered it with the priest’s entrance.
Therefore there is a great difference between sending a deacon from the church to visit a house and the priest visiting the house himself, praying in it, and the people receiving the blessing of his visit and the blessing of his prayer. If it is a new house, he prays the prayer of blessing new homes.
If he sprinkles the house with water over which he has prayed, the household receives the blessing of the sprinkling and feels that the priest has blessed the house. If he prays a liturgical prayer—such as the prayer of the unction of the sick—and offers incense in the house, they feel the blessing of the incense, the blessing of the prayer, the blessing of the oil, and the blessing of being anointed with it. They tell their relatives and friends: our father the priest visited our house and we received the blessing of the prayer of the unction.
A person bows his head before the priest and says to him, “Bless me, Father.” If he places his hand on his head, he receives a blessing from the laying on of hands. If he places his cross on his head, he receives a blessing from his cross and kisses it. If he prays for him with any word of supplication, he receives the blessing of that prayer and goes away rejoicing.
A person may say to the priest, “Give me a blessing.” Everything he takes from his hand is a blessing. If he gives him a cross, a picture, or an icon, he considers it a blessing, even though many similar items may exist in religious bookstores—perhaps of better quality or higher price—but what he receives from the priest is distinguished as a blessing.
If he takes a book from him, it is a blessing, unlike one bought from the market. If the priest signs it with his signature, that is another blessing. If he writes his name with a word of dedication, that is an even greater blessing, which he keeps.
The priest is a blessing and gives blessing; his person is continually associated with blessing.
If he sits with others at a table to eat, he blesses the food before they eat. If someone becomes ill and a doctor gives him medicine, he brings it to the priest to bless it before taking it. If someone intends to marry, he asks the priest to bless the marriage so that it may be the beginning of a happy life. If someone enters an economic project, he asks the priest to bless it so that it may succeed. Even if someone buys a new vehicle, he asks the priest to bless it before using it.
Thus the blessing of the priest enters into all the people’s relationships with him.
If a person authors a book, he needs a seal of blessing. It is not merely permission to print the book, as the Catholic brethren do with the phrase Nihil Obstat, nor merely approval of the information it contains, but also the blessing of the book so that it may be beneficial to all who read it, contribute to spreading knowledge, and have a sound spiritual effect on its readers. The seal of blessing is also a blessing for the author, that the Lord may reward him well.
Every meeting begins with a blessing from the mouth of the priest and is concluded by the priest with the blessing. Spiritually and liturgically, no one should leave a church meeting before hearing the concluding blessing: “The love of God the Father, the grace of His only-begotten Son, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Go in peace; the peace of the Lord be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
In ancient times, the Lord commanded the priests to bless the people during their journeys, as stated in the Book of Numbers: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel: Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace’” (Numbers 6:22–26).
How beautiful and comprehensive was the blessing they heard from Mount Gerizim: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground, and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out” (Deuteronomy 28:3–6).
Because the priest is a source for blessing or for conveying it, he prays for it. He prays every time he goes on a visit or pastoral care, and every time he meets people in a gathering, a seminar, or privately, saying:
“Lord, You know my sins and weaknesses, but not for my sake—rather, for the sake of Your mercy—bless this house or this meeting or this person. Everyone who asks for Your help through me, grant them the requests of their hearts, not because of my prayers for them, but because of their faith in prayer. Give them according to their faith; rather, give them even more because of their need and their refuge in Your generosity, goodness, and love.
Grant them, O Lord, this blessing which they ask from me.
Or grant me, O Lord, this blessing to dwell in my life and in my prayers; place it in my mouth, in my hand, and upon my cross to offer it to them.
And grant me to receive the blessing of those whom I shepherd, and the blessing of those who were about to perish had it not been that You, by Your divine help, saved them through my hands, so that I may say with righteous Job: ‘The blessing of the perishing man came upon me’” (Job 29:13).
Bless me, O Lord, and bless them; bless the one who takes and the one who gives. Bless those who have much and those who have little, and those who wish to give but have nothing.
People rejoice in the priest who is a blessing among them. They feel that their lives have changed for the better because of his presence among them; that God resolves their problems when they reach his knowledge and he presents them in his prayers; and that their requests are answered through his intercessions. Thus they say that this priest is a man of God and a blessing.
The priest of blessing “will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets” (Matthew 12:19), as his Master was, so he also is. He does not become angry with anyone, nor treat anyone harshly or with a wounding word, for Scripture says: “The mouth that blesses does not curse.” Everyone who meets him receives from him the blessing of service.
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