Praying with the Shepherds

“What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?”
– Luke 15:4

Recently, the gospel about the Good Shepherd was proclaimed at Mass. I personally find it a bit mind-boggling at times to think that Jesus would abandon all others in search of me, his lost little lamb that wandered off. When I sit and ponder this, I am reminded that I am loved, cherished, and that I matter.

There have been many times when I have felt lost and alone, and wondered if anyone cares, or if anyone is looking for me. Then I remember this gospel, and it picks me back up, knowing in fact He is longing to find me.

As I sat with the image of the Good Shepherd, I asked the Lord for other scriptures about shepherds that I should pray with. It did not take long for the story of another shepherd to come to mind. This time it was King David. Specifically, the “ruddy and young” David who was tending the family’s flock in 1 Samuel 16:12, when Samuel came to anoint him King. It is said in the next chapter that he put his life on the line to protect the sheep in his care from wolves, lions, and bears. I am sure he, too, would leave his flock in search of any of his sheep who had wandered off. This small shepherd, whom nobody thought highly of as he was growing up, didn’t let anyone else define him. He knew that God saw him and anointed him for a great purpose, even if others didn’t see him that way. He grew into a great king in the Old Testament and an ancestor in the family line of Jesus.

In this time of prayer, I asked the Lord what it was about the shepherds that he wanted me to know. He gave me one more image in which to enter with my imagination. He took me to Luke 2:8-20. In my mind, I was transported to the fields of Bethlehem with the shepherds who were tending their flocks at night. I saw the angel and heard him exclaim, “For today in the city of David a saviour has been born.” 

In my imagination, I walked in haste with the shepherds who were going to see this “thing that has taken place.” It then hit me that years later, Jesus would tell the story of the good shepherd who leaves his flock in search of the one who was lost. How similar the story was to these ordinary shepherds, who were tending their flocks at night, and left their flocks in search of the One, the Lamb of God.

Mic drop. Mind blown. Wait. What???

The Lamb of God was first found by the shepherds, though he was not lost. This was before becoming the Good Shepherd himself who sought after the sheep of his own flock. This was new to me! It shows me that we can have moments when we are not fulfilled, and we realize something is missing in our lives. For me, I remember finding the missing part was Jesus himself as the Lamb of God, the only one who could truly fulfill my life and the only one who will always be the answer to what I am missing.

We all search for the Lamb, just as the Good Shepherd searches for us. Even in the times when I wander off, I find myself again searching to find my way back, only this time I am a lamb searching for my Shepherd. As I let him find me, I rediscover again and again how loved, chosen, and cherished I am; I realize how each of us is loved and beloved.

Advent is a good time to step back and allow our hearts to seek and to anticipate the birth of Jesus, the Lamb of God. If you don’t know how to find him, allow him to find you. Though the Child Jesus is the Lamb, he is also the Good Shepherd who came down from heaven to seek us and to be with us. In all situations, let’s allow ourselves to be brought to the cradle in the stable to gaze upon the small child wrapped in swaddling clothes who came to save the world.

Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, we give you permission to find us, to be with us this Advent, to be found and cherished by you.

*Image used with permission: Google Creative Commons