RW 272, “Shepherd Me, O God”
Devotion
This hymn by Marty Haugen was sung recently at a funeral I attended for the husband of a colleague. Once again I was struck by the image of God in Christ as the Great Shepherd. I have struggled at times as parishioners have referred to me, their pastor, as their shepherd. Honestly, this frightens me a bit; after all, what do I know about being a shepherd? I grew up in small towns, but not on a farm and none of the farmers I knew had sheep.
Yet, here in Psalm 23 – through the Bible, this hymn and others – those of us called to be shepherds have a guide. Fortunately, pastors are only called to model our ministry after Christ; for it is only Christ who shepherds us from death into life.
Prayer
“Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life.” Amen.