Word in the Hand

Gospel John 10:27-30  Jesus said: ‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life; they will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me. The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone, and no one can steal from the Father. The Father and I are one.’ The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is the first image that Christians proclaimed. Around the 3rd Century there are many artist’s impression of Jesus as a young man with a sheep held safely on his shoulders. From our earliest years the pastoral style of the Children’s Bible illustration has given us this lovely, warm image; an image of comfort and protection; the gentle Jesus, meek and mild. Except that now we know, that the shepherd is not who we used to think he was. Shepherds in the time of Jesus were hard, itinerant men with little regards for polite society. The hills were wild places, living in them meant you had to...

Gospel John 10:1-10  Jesus said: ‘I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.’   Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.   So Jesus spoke to them again: ‘I tell you most solemnly, I am the gate of the sheepfold. All others who have come are thieves and brigands; but the sheep took no notice of them. I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe: he will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pas...

You care for me as a shepherd for a lamb; Finding fields of  fragrant clover; Pools of clear water; A haven for my soul. With You I walk in ways of truth. Death holds no fear for me; Depths of despair will not bind me; For you have not left me alone; You guard me with weapons of truth and justice. You feed me with the Bread of Life; Despite those who rage against me; Blessed by your Love; I can ask for no more. Every day of my life is filled with You; My resting place in Your arms Forever. wordinthehand 2010 in response to the Round Robin Challenge http://outmavarin.blogspot.com/

John 10:27-30 Jesus said: ‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life; they will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me. The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone, and no one can steal from the Father. The Father and I are one.’ 'The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;’ The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is one that we have all found easy to relate to from our earliest years. In fact the very first ‘artist’s impression’ of Jesus is though to be an early Roman wall painting of a young man with a sheep held safely on his shoulders. From our earliest years the pastoral style of the Children’s Bible illustration has given us this lovely, warm image; an image of comfort and protection; the gentle Jesus, meek and mild. Except that now we know, that the shepherd is not who we used to think he was. Shepherds in the time of Jesus were thugs with a day job. They were hard, itinerant men with...