Be a Shepherd of His Flock (Peter 5:1-4)

He desired to answer the call.  

The young man came to sit with one who would guide.  

The place of meeting was simple.  The older man sat in a straight backed wooden chair, in a room barren of any other furniture, besides the occupied chair and the bench where the young man sat.  The elder had a white beard and deep brown eyes, which led the younger man to believe that the hair on his face and head had once been a shade as dark as his eyes.

"And you believe you have heard a voice," the older man said. "It has called you to be here.  Know that the journey you chose will not be easy.  You will be judged by both your words and your actions."

The younger man nodded.  The message, or calling, hadn't come in the form of a voice.  The Lord hadn't come to him, like He had with Samuel.  The dreams and thoughts leading him here were difficult to explain.  He shifted on his seat.  The old man took notice.  The bench beneath him was wooden and hard.  He offered up his discomfort and stilled himself.

"Some come thinking they will escape the world.  It is not to be so.  You cannot shield yourself from creation, despite its desire to be free of God and destroy itself.  Your calling is to serve.  If to be a servant is not your quest, you should return to the home you have abandoned.

"My calling is to serve," the young man said.

"Many answer such a calling without clarity of thought.  They expect to be glorified for responding to a flutter in their hearts.  Once ordained, they call themselves men of God, and bask in the wealth of those they are to serve.  They will perish without glory.  In truth, those who follow the call will be humbled.  They will be paupers.  They will be ridiculed, spat upon, and possibly beaten.  His name does not protect you from the violence of a broken world."

"I have thought about this for some time now," the young man responded.

"And you have considered all these things?"

Again, there was a nod in place of words.

The old man closed his eyes.  He mumbled a prayer with syllables unintelligible.  When he opened his eyes, he observed the young man for a long moment before speaking. "Do not seek glory, or material gain.  Fools follow these paths.  Do not rise above those who are entrusted to you by the Lord.  You are to serve.  You are to shepherd the flock.  His flock.  I speak to you of this truth only, be a shepherd and embrace His flock.  These words are for your ears, and all who chose to lie at the gate, protecting the sheep.  Peter wrote of the ministry you are called to.  The soul of the words I have spoken are his, not mine."

"You told me to meditate on them before meeting with you."

Again, the old man closed his eyes.  He folded his hands before him.  When his period of silence was passed, he opened his eyes once again, and said, "Serve, never be served.  Give, never receive.  Refuse seats of honor.  Do not embrace the comfortable.  A shepherd considers not himself, but the sheep.  A shepherd loves the unlovable and mourns the lost soul."

After completing his words, the old man rose in silence.  He walked across the room and left through a unadorned door, locking it from the other side.  The young man sat for a while, considering what had been said.  The road he was choosing to walk would be difficult.  Saint Peter's words promise a reward in the end.  A reward for the selfless.  A reward that will never fade, but yet, cannot be pridefully expected.

copyright 2024 - Donald P James Jr