The Shepherd

"I am the tyranny of evil men, but I'm trying hard to be the shepherd."
-- Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction)
As I had noted on an earlier post, I try to read the Bible a little bit each morning - or at least look at it online. (Imagine what Paul or Moses would have thought if they had been told, "Thousands of years from now, what you're writing will be on the INTERNET!") The other day, the daily Gospel reading was from John 10, about the shepherd and the sheep. Here is a part that really reached out to me:

11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep."

A few posts ago, I had written about my co-worker's freedom from our place of employment. When I read this passage a few days later, I began to wonder why he left and I am still grinding it out. The wolf came, and I stayed... Why?

Well, last Thursday we had a visitor from our school - someone from the federal government - and he was going around with his entourage. Having seen their location a short time before, I told my fourth period that we were likely to get a visit from them sometime during the class period. Since I'm in a lab full of computers, the fed was sure to come in, look around, and ask questions. I told the kids that they needed to be on their best behavior, because I would be in hot water if the gentleman came in and was not pleased. I didn't know the whole "help me" thing would work, but it was all I could come up with.

Sure enough, the fed came in and saw - with just a few small exceptions - my students on their best behavior, keyboarding away. I was quite proud of them. After that, I began to see something that I had not allowed myself to see for some time... this shepherd is starting to love the sheep, and the sheep seem to like him enough not to embarass him in front of strangers. So, while the hired hands run, I'm starting to see what it means to be a good shepherd...

... even though it feels sometimes as if I'm working for the wolf.