The Death of the Good Shepherd
Searching for him in an unlikely place The sheep drew me. Having noticed the stone lambs adorning gravestones in this cemetery recently while walking past, I have returned with the purpose of finding more references to this analogy of the flock. And if possible, to the Shepherd. For this analogy has been alive in my mind for some weeks. During my study of John 10, I found a reference in the commentary to Kenneth Bailey’s excellent book, The Good Shepherd, which I then read with delight, marveling at Jesus’s use of the metaphor – not only understanding its long Biblical tradition, but personally stepping into it. Why these sheep? As I wander and photograph them, I quickly find that they’re adorning the graves of children. What a poignant image. And yet, the peaceful repose of the lambs invites me to consider (and remember) the searing pain of losing a child. Nothing in this world points more emphatically to the wrongness of the death that sin released. This is the first real...
