Tend the Flock

In the years which stretched out between walking across the stage and being handed a diploma from seminary and walking onto a farm in retirement i must have gone to a thousand, or so seminars to help me with the issue of self identification.  A lot of experts had a lot of different suggestions at the tip of their tongues to help those of us ordained to understand our role in the church.  One of the clearest ones was a man who never showed up in seminary, lived in another century, and was actually appointed by Jesus to be the Rock of the Church.  In his letter to the church of Asia Minor, he wrote a few words to those who sought to give leadership to the newly shaped spiritual community.  "Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ...I exhort the elders  among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge...nor for sordid gain, but eagerly."  (I Peter 5:1-2)  

It is easy to get distracted.  It is too easy for the one who is to tend the flock entrusted to him or her to start looking at someone else's flock.  The old adage about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence is a terrible unrelenting demon for the clergy person.  The preacher starts listening to this green demon which professes that better and larger is deserved and before next Sunday's sermon is cooked, the preacher has forgotten about tending the appointed flock as plans are made to get somewhere else.  

Our role is clear.  The work of the spiritual leader of the church is to tend to the flock which has been entrusted to our care.  We are to be the first knee bent in behalf of the needs of the spiritual community, we are to be the one who helps all the  rest find the basin of water and the towels, and we are the one who is to study the Word of God with one eye on the text and the other on the needs of the flock.  We are to be the one who leads the people of God, or the flock of God as Peter calls it, to the place where water can be found to nourish the soul.  As Christ called Himself the Good Shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for the sheep so are we to serve the one given to us, not the one we want.