Jesus Charged His Undershepherds With Feeding His Flock

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus Charged His Undershepherds With Feeding His Flock

Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
John 21:17

Peter, who was Undershepherd #1 of more undershepherds than we could count whom the Shepherd has called and commissioned over two millennia now, was not told to be a counselor, evangelist, preacher, or teacher, but a livestock feeder. Why? Because more than counseling, evangelism, preaching, or teaching, sheep need to be fed. The thing is, and Jesus certainly knew this, left to their own sheep will not eat what they need to thrive. Left alone, sheep will be malnourished, and eventually will starve to death. So the Shepherd was quite intentional from the very beginning to make it clear that undershepherding is first and foremost about making certain the flock is properly fed. And, anyone who believes they may be hearing the Shepherd calling them to the work of undershepherding his sheep needs to understand that Jesus charged his undershepherds with feeding his flock.

For this reason, I have come to see my service as a pastor, should I ever get a chance to take on that role again, begins at the Shepherd’s Table, and will involve making sure that his sheep, both those found and those lost, gather together regularly and frequently to feed on the meal the Shepherd himself has provided. I am not at all sure why, but we seem to have largely separated the sacramental from the incarnational. Somehow, we act as if it is possible to live incarnationally day by day while only occasionally being fed by that which is sacramental. To me this seems a surefire way to weaken the flock, because their diet will be lacking what the Shepherd clearly told his undershepherds is essential.

Now, some get mighty protective, and restrictive, about this whole feeding the sheep business. Some require that only “ordained” undershepherds be authorized to feed the flock. Others, believing for some reason that feeding frequently somehow diminishes the significance of the meal, only invite the flock to the Shepherd’s Table between 4-12 times a year. And, still others say that the sheep can only be fed when the whole flock has been gathered. Well, I believe sheep can be taught, and trusted, to feed one another without benefit of ordination. And, though I can’t speak for all sheep, I know this one likes to eat more often than quarterly or once a month. As far as limiting feeding to only those times when the whole flock has been gathered, well I don’t see what’s wrong with feeding just part of the flock wherever and whenever it may meet. If you and I meet, what is wrong with our sharing a sacramental meal? If your family sits around the dining room table celebrating grandma’s birthday, what is the harm in making that a time when the clan is fed sacramentally? Again, it seems to me that our efforts to live incarnationally will be enhanced by our regularly feeding one another sacramentally.

I’ll grant you that, since relinquishing my pastoral position four years ago, I haven’t had much opportunity to undershepherd Christ’s sheep. But I am hoping, as I, not unlike Peter, repeat my assurances to the Shepherd of my passion to feed his sheep, and to come eagerly and often to the Shepherd’s Table with his flock, that he may, again like Peter, restore me to the calling to which he summoned me at first. As for you who read this, I pray you too may hear the Shepherd’s call to undershepherd his flock, for he has many sheep in his flock who need to be fed.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4