Feed My Sheep

I think it is pretty safe to say that we have all heard the parable of the lost sheep. I actually thought I understood it quite well. However, a few years ago, I was blessed to have my understanding of that parable deepened. I am a visual learner. Once I can picture something in my mind, it is incredible how suddenly it can make so much sense! On this particular Sunday, Joe, a member of our congregation, shared an experience he had a few years ago when he was with his family on a tour of the Holy Land. While they were at the place where is commonly believed to be that the angel appeared to tell the shepherds that Jesus had been born, something very interesting happened. With his headset on still able to hear the tour guide, Joe walked away from the group for a while. He sat on the hillside, soaking in his surroundings and watching a flock of sheep. Soon he saw one of the sheep running away from the flock. Now I knew where the story was going. The shepherd would, of course, go after the sheep. But I wasn't expecting what Joe described next! Suddenly he saw the shepherd, dressed in jeans, a polo shirt and tennis shoes, running after his sheep. What an incredible visual!! The many times I had heard this parable, never had I considered that when the shepherd left the ninety and nine to go after the one that he would be running. But of course he would! How beautifully my understanding of that parabale was enhanced that day!

Several months later in our Sunday School class, Joe shared a little more about his experience while watching the shepherd and his sheep and I, again, gained a greater insight to the parable. The wandering sheep, as it got farther and farther away from the rest of the flock, made more and more noise. In distress, it looked in every direction - exept the direction from which it was running. Even when the shepherd caught up to his sheep, it was still making a lot of noise. But the moment the shepherd picked it up into his arms, the sheep became silent. Now in the arms of its master, it seemed calm and content.

With Joe's permission I share his experience because with my heightened understanding of this parable, Lesson 20 from Teachings of the Presidents of the Church - Ezra Taft Benson had an even greater impression on me. The lesson comes from the September 1987 First Presidency Message "Feed My Sheep." From the lesson, President Benson said, "Now is the time to apply the Savior’s teaching of the good shepherd to the challenge before us of retrieving lost sheep and wayward lambs." "Now is the time" is so much more significant to me now!

President Benson taught, "In Jesus’ time, the Palestinian shepherd knew each of his sheep. The sheep knew his voice and trusted him. They would not follow a stranger. Thus, when called, the sheep would come to him." I had heard that before. But now, not only can I see a sheep coming to the well-known and loving voice of his shepherd, I see the peace and contentment that comes from the shepherd's loving embrace.

From the end of his story, I learned another great Iesson. Did it only appear to Joe that the sheep didn't seem interested. Or did the sheep really not look back because it had no more interest in what it had left behind. Seeing the shepherd hadn't calmed its cries. That happened only when the shepherd picked it up. Was it only when in the arms of the shepherd that it realized it had lacked its once common peace? Did it have to feel loved before it could feel peace?

Then from the lesson I had another visual teaching. President Benson taught:

"At night, the shepherds would lead their sheep to a corral or a sheepfold. High walls surrounded the sheepfold, and thorns were placed on top of the walls to prevent wild animals and thieves from climbing over. Sometimes, however, a wild animal driven by hunger would leap over the walls into the midst of the sheep, frightening and threatening them.

Such a situation separated the true shepherd—one who loved his sheep—from the hireling who worked only for pay out of duty. The true shepherd was willing to give his life for the sheep. He would go in among the sheep and fight for their welfare. The hireling, on the other hand, valued his own personal safety above the sheep and would usually flee from the danger."

That left me pondering this -- Am I a shepherd? Or am I a hireling?

If I want to be a shepherd, I need to know the sheep. With that perspective in mind, consider this experience President Gordon B. Hinckley shared, which was published in the May 1999 Ensign. He said:

"I received the other day a very interesting letter. It was written by a woman who joined the Church a year ago. She writes:

'Church members don’t know what it is like to be a new member of the Church. Therefore, it’s almost impossible for them to know how to support us.'

I challenge you, my brothers and sisters, that if you do not know what it is like, you try to imagine what it is like. It can be terribly lonely. It can be disappointing. It can be frightening. We of this Church are far more different from the world than we are prone to think we are. This woman goes on: 'When we as investigators become members of the Church, we are surprised to discover that we have entered into a completely foreign world, a world that has its own traditions, culture, and language. We discover that there is no one person or no one place of reference that we can turn to for guidance in our trip into this new world. At first the trip is exciting, our mistakes even amusing, then it becomes frustrating and eventually, the frustration turns into anger. And it’s at these stages of frustration and anger that we leave. We go back to the world from which we came, where we knew who we were, where we contributed, and where we could speak the language.'"

There again I am left asking myself - Am I a shepherd? Or am I a hireling?

In that same article President Hinckley said, "It is an absolute imperative that we look after those who have become a part of us." I believe that is part of feeding His sheep!

The Ensign article is quite long but a "must read" for anyone in a leadership calling!

When we hear "feed My sheep," are we focusing only on "the one" who has strayed? How do we know there isn't one of the "ninety and nine" who is contemplating a flee from the fold? If we give serious consideration to what the Lord means when he tells us to feed His sheep, I think our understanding will be enhanced. I'm sure Joe had no idea when he shared his experience how much it would change me. Joe was feeding His sheep! A talk, a lesson, a smile, a visit. Those are all ways we can feed His sheep. Of course there are sheep who need to be rescued. And that is our responsibility. But there are also sheep that just need to be fed. All of us need to be fed!

In my studies, I found so many things I wanted to share. I am attaching the links to three articles that had so much great information it would have been impossible to include. One is to Ben B. Banks' October 1999 General Conference talk entitled "Feed My Sheep." He shares a wonderful personal experience and also some very interesting findings from a study done by the Church. One is Russell M. Nelson's August 1994 Ensign article "Shepherds, Lambs and Home Teaching." I love the added insight he gives to the scriptures where Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him and tells him once to feed His lambs and twice to feed His sheep, teaching us the difference between the three. The last one is to President Gordon B. Hinckley's October 1996 General Conference talk, "Reach With a Rescuing Hand," at the end of which he challenges us to "resolve to seek those who need help, who are in desperate and difficult circumstances, and lift them in the spirit of love into the embrace of the Church, where strong hands and loving hearts will warm them, comfort them, sustain them, and put them on the way of happy and productive lives."

As we seek to feed His sheep, we will be those strong hands and loving hearts!