December 28: The Servant Shepherd
♫ Music:
Day 26 - Thursday, December 28
Title: THE SERVANT SHEPHERD
Scripture #1: Isaiah 40:11 (NKJV)
He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.
Scripture #2: Isaiah 40:25–29 (NKJV)
“To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Poetry & Poet:
“For the Dying Tomcat Who’s Relinquished His Hissing and Predatory Nature”
by Mary Karr
I remember the long orange carp you once scooped
from the neighbor’s pond, bounding beyond
her swung broom, across summer lawns
to lay the fish on my stoop. Thanks
for that. I’m not one to whom offerings
often get made. You let me feel
how Christ might when I kneel,
weeping in the dark
over the usual maladies: love and its lack.
Only in tears do I speak
directly to him and with such
conviction. And only once you grew frail
did you finally slacken into me,
dozing against my ribs like a child.
You gave up the predatory flinch
that snapped the necks of so many
birds and slow-moving rodents.
Now your once powerful jaw
is malformed by black malignancies.
It hurts to eat. So you surrender in the way
I pray for: Lord, before my own death,
let me learn from this animal’s deep release
into my arms. Let me cease to fear
the embrace that seeks to still me.
THE SERVANT SHEPHERD
“Fed, gathered, carried, gently led”–– this is how our passage begins. When I was a young mom, I repeated this verse back to the Lord, urging Him, “Remember to lead me gently as I tend these young ones. Help me! Shepherd me!” Overwhelmed by my life, weakened by work and sin, I sometimes felt that He had forgotten me.
But notice how this verse flips—I love this part—it first tells us that the Shepherd Himself is doing the mothering things––feeding His flock, gathering the lambs, carrying them, etc. So of course, He knows exactly how to tenderly care for us as we mirror His actions and take care of our youngsters. He knows what it is like to be us; He gets it!
Whether we are tending the young or not, we are always sheep that need shepherding; it is our nature.
What a relief to have a Shepherd. And such a Shepherd!
Isaiah gives us an amazing view of our God in this passage––God is Creator, Holy One, the Lord, the everlasting God, and also…a Shepherd. God reveals His identity and His attributes in this passage, and He tells us our identity and attributes as well: we are sheep, we are His flock, we have a developmental trajectory––we can be weak, we are named, and we are known.
Look at the mosaic and sink into your identity as a sheep. Notice how all the sheep are looking at the Shepherd, even those whose bodies are oriented away from Him. He is the brightest thing in the picture, He is central. And He has their full attention, each one of them. He also has the tools he needs to care for them––notice that His shepherd’s crook is the cross on which He will shed the blood that buys and redeems them, and the cross doubles as a staff that brings them back and guards them, keeps them. His feet are poised at the ready––he can go whichever direction is needed, should one sheep stray. He will not lose any one of His own.
Our Shepherd King is so great and mighty, He calls even the stars by name, over a billion trillion of them! He is the Shepherd of the stars, as well. And because of His great power, not one is missing. He calls the stars by name just as He calls His sheep by name––“Jacob, Israel.” The starry hosts are known, named, and kept, and so are we. He’s not going to misplace one of us human sheep. The reassuring tone of Isaiah is so comforting––“Yes, you are little and weak, and you forget, but your mighty Shepherd is big and strong, and He knows you, cares for you, and will not lose track of you. He will strengthen you.” He protects us, He provisions us, He is present with us––all those comforting “p” words.
Our fear, of course, is that He will lose track of us. Our fear is that he is like us––weak, limited in knowledge, and weary. Our deep fear is that we are hidden from sight and that we will be overlooked and forgotten. Our culture reinforces this anxiety and trains us to shout our individuality to the skies, lest we be missed. “This is my name,” we shout, “here’s how to call me. See what I have done!”
I am no longer a young mother, now I am an old grandmother, a grandma-sheep. And as I have aged, I have learned again and again that our Shepherd does see, does know, doesn’t forget, is ever vigilant––and instead of spending my energies springing away to try and stand out, I have learned to relax into our Shepherd’s arms, like the old and finally wise cat in the poem––no longer out doing, but rather, having come home to rest with my Lord.
The very young, and the very pregnant, and the very old, in their vulnerability, have this wisdom because their bodies lead or force them to have it––to rest and trust the Shepherd.
Ponder: To whom will we compare Him? He is beyond comparison––He calls the stars by name. He created and keeps the solar system and the heavens; His sight surely illuminates our lives and we are not hidden from Him. He is just that powerful, and He chooses to increase our power. We are His own dear young ones, and He will tend us.
He is tending you. He sees you. He will strengthen you.
You have a Shepherd.
Prayer
“O God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd of your people: Grant that, when we hear his voice, we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.”
–––Book of Common Prayer
Dr. Betsy Barber
Associate Director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation
Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Psychology
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Art:
The Good Shepherd
Artist Unknown
Mosaic
Fifth century
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Ravenna, Italy
The figure of the Good Shepherd and pastoral scenes were familiar to Christians—depictions of a young man, the criophorus, bearing on his shoulders a sheep were known in the ancient world from the sixth century BC and were adopted from the late third century AD into Christian art. The shepherd was understood to represent Christ, as in John 10:11–17 and Luke 15:4–7. Here the beardless figure of the shepherd is in imperial garb, wearing purple and gold and bearing a cruciform staff in place of the usual shepherd's crook. The lunette of Christ as the Good Shepherd over the north entrance of the mausoleum represents a transition period between the naturalistic depictions of the classical period in art history and the stylized representations of the medieval period. Elements of realism have here been sacrificed for a focus on the spiritual elements. Christ holds an imperial staff joined to the Christian cross, thereby symbolizing his combined dominion over both earthly and heavenly domains.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Galla_Placidia
About the Music:
“Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain” from the album For God So Loves the World
Lyrics:
Climb to the top of the highest mountain,
Joyous tidings proclaim to the world,
Lift up your voice, shout the good news:
Behold, your Lord comes to you.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd,
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
He will ever keep them safe from harm.
Behold, your Lord comes to you.
He who made the stars in the heaven,
He who fashioned the earth and the sea,
From time eternal he was God,
The Alpha and Omega, He.
Behold, your Lord!
He will come in power and glory,
He will rule with mercy and truth,
Hope of all the nations
Light of all the world!
He will love the little children,
He will hold them in his arms.
Love him and trust him as a child,
Behold, your Lord comes to you.
About the Composer:
Carolyn Jennings is a professor emerita of music at St. Olaf College, where she taught for many years and also served in administrative roles, including being chair of the music department and associate dean for the fine arts. Jennings is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a B.A. in music, and the University of Michigan, where she received her M.A. in music. Over many years she has served on arts advisory panels, as a workshop presenter, and in leadership roles in several professional organizations. She has been active in promoting the use of inclusive language in texts for singing, and has worked to heighten awareness of how language shapes as well as expresses thought. Among her many commissioned works are a children's musical; a choral song cycle; a composition for the Minnesota Aids Quilt Songbook; and many compositions for church, school, and community choirs. Choral compositions and arrangements by Jennings are widely sung by church, community, college, and school choirs. Her publications include over a hundred choral compositions and arrangements, a number of text translations, contributions to several hymnals, and articles for professional journals.
https://www.giamusic.com/store/artists/carolyn-jennings
About the Performers:
St. Olaf Choir and Orchestra
The St. Olaf Orchestra is a full symphony orchestra rich in international artistry and tradition and known for its enthusiastic and passionate performances. Founded in 1906, the ninety-two member ensemble has been heralded as one of the finest collegiate orchestras in the country, and has twice won the American Prize in Orchestral Performances among colleges and universities.
https://wp.stolaf.edu/stolaf-orch/
The St. Olaf Choir, with seventy-five mixed voices, is a premier a cappella choir in the United States. For over a century, the choir has set a standard of choral excellence and remained at the forefront of choral artistry. Conducted since 1990 by Anton Armstrong, the ensemble’s annual tour brings its artistry and message to thousands of people across the nation and around the world. The St. Olaf Choir has taken fourteen international tours and performed for capacity audiences in the major concert halls of Norway, France, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, and the Twin Cities.
https://wp.stolaf.edu/choir/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Mary Karr (b. 1955) is an American poet, essayist, and memoirist from Texas. She rose to fame in 1995 with the publication of her bestselling memoir The Liars’ Club. She is the Jesse Truesdell Peck Professor of English Literature at Syracuse University in Lima, New York. Her memoir The Liars’ Club, which delves vividly into her deeply troubled childhood, was followed by two additional memoirs: Cherry and Lit: A Memoir, which details her “...journey from blackbelt sinner and lifelong agnostic to unlikely Catholic.” Karr won the 1989 Whiting Award for her poetry, was a Guggenheim Fellow in poetry in 2005, and has won Pushcart Prizes for both her poetry and essays. Her poems have appeared in major literary magazines such as Poetry, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly.
https://www.marykarr.com/
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Betsy Barber
Associate Director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation
Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Psychology
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
Betsy Barber has a clinical practice with specialization in the soul care and mental health of Christian workers. She teaches courses in spiritual formation, soul care, missions, maturity, and marital relationships. She has particular interest in spiritual formation and supervision of students in spiritual direction and mentoring. She worked with her husband as a missionary in Bible translation and counseling ministries for twenty-four years. In addition to being a licensed clinical psychologist, she has background and training in spiritual direction.