Who's Your Shepherd?

Jesus the Good Shepherd/Monastery Icons

The past few weeks haven't been good ones for followers of organized religion.

Crises in the Roman Catholic Church, Southern Baptist and United Methodist Church have all taken up a lot of news-space.

And while this was going on, last week we had an opportunity to watch live-streamed coverage of Michael Cohen's testimony before a Congressional committee, where he referred to the current president as, "a racist, a con-man and a cheat."

Which leads me to ask the question: Who's Your Shepherd?

In the olden days, a shepherd was the person who looked after their sheep. Sheep are not the brightest animals on the block. Given to their own whims, they are prone to getting lost, trapped in bushes and eaten by wolves.

The Bible contains multiple references to shepherds, chief among them Jesus referring to himself as the "good shepherd." In fact, in the tenth chapter of John's gospel, Jesus gives a lengthy description of the job of a shepherd. He says, "The gatekeeper opens the gate for him [the shepherd] and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name..." (John 10:3)

Interestingly, Jesus goes on to mention that "After he [the shepherd] has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow because they know his voice. They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't know his voice." (John 10:4-5)

Jesus continues, talking about how his sheep "will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief's purpose is to kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them [the sheep] a rich and satisfying life." (John 10:10).

So, Biblically speaking, you could say that the evidence of a good shepherd is the condition of the sheep.

If the sheep are healthy and safe, that's evidence of a good shepherd.

But it's important to note Jesus begins his description of a good shepherd by describing the relationship that the shepherd has with the sheep being tended.

The sheep follow the shepherd out of the gate because they know the shepherd's voice and are very familiar with it. You can even say there is a relationship that exists between the shepherd and the sheep.

Contrast that with the coverage that some religious organizations are currently receiving. It's not indicative of any sort of healthy relationship that exists between leaders and congregations at all.

Ditto what Cohen's testimony showed about the current president.

Rep. Elijah Cummings/BlackPressUSA

While members of the republican party seemed hell-bent on discrediting Cohen, the remarkable thing is that none of them could offer an iota of defense for the current president's actions that Cohen was describing.

Cohen admitted, several times, that he was guilty of wrongdoing and was paying the price.

Recall that the current president called Cohen "a rat," right after Cohen was sentenced in December.

A rat, used in this context is a code term, related to the Costa Nostra and the infamous law of omerta. Under the Mafia's worldview, a "rat" or "snitch" is someone who points the finger at another member of the organization, particularly when questioned by law enforcement officials. It's implication is that "if you snitch on us, we'll get you." 

Is this the kind of person we want as the nation's shepherd? Someone who, instead of shepherding the sheep, offers vailed but very real and alarmingly mafia-esque threats?

I would suggest not.

Which brings us to Representative Elijah Cummings' summary statement at the end of seven hours' worth of testimony and cross-examination. Mr. Cummings is Chair of the House Committee on Oversight & Reform. In his eight minutes Mr. Cummings offered a father-to-son like take. Mr. Cummings called on Cohen, members of the Committee and the nation. "Come on now," he said, encouraging us towards our better selves. "We're better than this!"

That's what a good shepherd does.