The Shepherd is for the sheep

Meditation-1

The month of August is usually full of several events at the Christian Medical college, Vellore. One of the events is the alumni reunion. Let me recall a personal experience during one such alumni union.

The CMC community looks forward to it, because the alumni gather from different parts of India and abroad to bring encouragement through their stories of achievements and aspirations.  An alumnus during one meeting mentioned about his visit to a remote village, only accessible by foot along a narrow and slushy path, to meet his class mate. When he arrived at the end of his three-hour walk, he found out that he was taken ill two days back and was admitted to a hospital in the next town. It took another three hours of walk and two hours of waiting for a conveyance to arrive, before he could reach the town! His friend was delirious with high fever. The doctors at the hospital were tentative about the diagnosis. This doctor was familiar with similar illnesses and knew that it was the early stage of cerebral Malaria. He helped the doctors to begin the treatment. He stayed another day till his friend was better. Referring to this, he said  ‘a friend is for such an occasion’.

The next day, some of us went on a picnic to Thalakonam, a scenic spot at the foot of Horsely hills, with a copious waterfall. While walking back from the waterfall, I watched a shepherd leading his flock on the hilly terrain. He had a rod and a staff in his hand. With his rod he chased the monkeys away, who kept descending from the trees to chase the sheep. He used the staff to lead the sheep forward and break twigs from the trees for feeding them.  The verse in from the Bible in Psalm 23: 4 ‘..your rod and your staff, they comfort me’ came to my mind then. It was the first time I saw a Shepherd with a rod and staff and using them for different purposes. The rod provided protection to the sheep from the attacking monkeys. The staff offered provision of food along the way.  It was a delight to watch this shepherd being alert and restful. The sheep did not look disturbed by the pouncing monkeys. The shepherd was for the sheep.

Both these instances became symbols to me of the ways of God towards us. We live amidst several events of stress and need. The enormity of the needs can have a ‘paralysing’ effect on us. That is when we can be overcome with anxiety and helplessness. Let us be reminded that the good shepherd is always for the sheep! 


M.C.Mathew