Trampling enemies in the way of Jesus
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:35 pm
I am deeply moved by the example of Rabbi Leo Baeck – who voluntarily admitted himself into a concentration camp during the Holocaust to help his fellow Jews. What a stellar example of the courageous, protective leadership that Jesus calls us to embrace! I find it curious that, like Jesus, the rabbi exercised the “strong heart� of his shepherding through a commitment to be present with his people – particularly through suffering. Whereas the rabbi had no opportunity to match the violence of his people’s enemies, Jesus had that option – but renounced it. The Good Shepherd offers his flock a different type of protection than did the ancient shepherd warriors. Jesus indeed “tramples all enemies under foot,� but in a way quite unlike that claimed by King Assurnasirpal I!
In his high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus puts high priority on the protection of his flock:
Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name….While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction….My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one….As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
When Jesus speaks of protection, he seems to have something in mind that is greater than physical safety. What does it look like to protect our flock in the way of Jesus, not sheltering them from all challenge, but claiming the protection of the Father so that we can together fulfill the mission that God has set out for us? As Rabbi Baeck – and Jesus – shows us, it will surely be costly. I pray that it could also be said of me: “he will never desert his flock.�
In his high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus puts high priority on the protection of his flock:
Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name….While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction….My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one….As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
When Jesus speaks of protection, he seems to have something in mind that is greater than physical safety. What does it look like to protect our flock in the way of Jesus, not sheltering them from all challenge, but claiming the protection of the Father so that we can together fulfill the mission that God has set out for us? As Rabbi Baeck – and Jesus – shows us, it will surely be costly. I pray that it could also be said of me: “he will never desert his flock.�