A Shepherd's Voice

[navychap]

Do we have a shepherds’ voice?
As Laniak develops his chapter on Matthew, a thought was stirred as I read his scriptural references for Matthew on pg. 185. In the Matthew 9:36 reference, we see Jesus reaction of compassion to the crowd, because they were “like sheep without a shepherd.� This brought up the first point of my thought, which was that Jesus recognized the lost flock. He knew his mission was to gather the lost flock, and when he saw their condition, it caused a gut reaction of compassion. This revealed his “shepherd’s heart�, because the condition of the sheep caused his distress.
Do we have a shepherd’s heart? Does the condition of the multitude cause a reaction of compassion, or are we too disconnected to react? A shepherd who is not attuned to the condition of his flock and the other lost sheep he encounters cannot possibly be effective in his vocation. When disconnected, he is only a hired hand who will let the sheep suffer without reaction.
Additionally, there was a response from the sheep to the shepherd. This is seen in the other reference on pg. 185 to Matthew 4:23-24. As Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching, preaching and healing, the people came to him with their sick and demon possessed because they recognized that he could do something about their condition. Whether for selfish reasons or not, the sheep recognized the shepherd’s voice and came to him.
Do we have a similar voice? Or more accurately, have we learned to speak as Jesus spoke so that his sheep know that we are working for the head shepherd? Obviously, we would need to know much more than the words of Christ, but act towards his sheep in a way that would let them see our intent behind our words. Are we gentle and selfless, or arrogant and selfish? One will be recognized as a shepherd in the employ of Christ. The other will be a predator, or at least a detriment to the flock.
So, are we recognized as shepherds through our words, our actions, and our lives? Do we look around and wonder where the flock has gone? If so, perhaps they have not heard the voice of their master. If we are leading a flock, we also can be reminded to keep a soft heart of compassion for our sheep, knowing that they are in desperate need of the care and leading of Christ.

[Chaplain Cline]

NavChap: Interesting insights. As Navy Chaplains we minister in the environment the author describes: "Having authoritative words to preach to God's people, power to provide for them and a heart to intercede for them, the shepherd of Israel now needed the will to guide them to their divinely ordained destination" (pg. 90).

In our role, we provide for them and frequently intercede on their behalf to various levels of the chain of command. Yet in our pluralistic working environment, it is often challenging to "guide them to their divinely ordained destination" since many of the people we work with don't neccessarily ascribe to "God's will". It seems the interest of our "flock" is "help me get out of this situation" or "help me get out of trouble".
For me, a distinction between civilian pastoral work and military chaplaincy is the lack of a unified theological foundation in the military setting.

Your words regarding the "soft heart of compassion" speaks directly to the point of Chaplain Care. Without compassion on the part of the Chaplain, the authority of the officer side can produce abuse toward the sheep.

Thanks for your thoughts.