Who is the good shepherd?

Who is a good leader? What does it take to lead people? What makes a great leader? Are all good leaders, great leaders? Are all good leaders, good? History sometimes answers these questions very definitely, bringing before us men and women of character, courage, integrity. People who inspire thousands, millions to action, to achieve great things, to reach for seemingly impossible ideals.

There are some who have led people with powerful and noble ideals – peace, freedom, co-existence. There are others who have led with powerful but malevolent ideals – suppression, racial supremacy. Yet there are a few things that unite them. They are all driven by passion, a vision, a goal, a dream. And a deep commitment to achieving that dream. A strength to make others not only share the dream but put their hands to the till and achieve the dream.

There are other leaders who inspire people not so much to action or external signs of change but to change within. They are able, by their supreme example, to change people’s beliefs, perceptions, attitudes, behavior and habits. This is leadership of the highest order. And the single difference between a shepherd and the Good Shepherd.

Are we leaders? Most of us are, but only a few us walk the rough road to become good and worthy leaders. Whom do we lead? We lead, first of all by example and in most instance, only by example. The child in a school classroom who chooses to be honest, hardworking and diligent. The young executive who pushes herself harder so that others might follow. The husband who inspires his wife and children. The wife who draws the respect and admiration of her husband and children.

This form of leadership may not be the spectacular or revolutionary kind which takes crowds up mountains, trooping like an army against a dictatorship. It may even be forgotten almost as soon as the person is dead. But it is not any less of a vocation. For we are leaders in the truest sense when we give of out time, our effort, our resources to the people we love. We are leaders not just when we stand on high platforms and make thunderous speeches, but also when we remember who we are in the little things. Recognizing good work and praising generously. Chiding those who do not achieve their potential and guiding them on to higher things. Setting high standards in work and play. How is this commitment expressed? By refusing to shy away from pain and suffering, even in the most harsh circumstances. By falling – for we will certainly fall – and rising again. There are some leaders with promise who start out very enthusiastically and with great ambition, but who give up at the first sign of failure. The believe, that in falling, they have failed. When in truth, it is in not rising again, that they have failed. For to believe that failure is impossible is to imagine they are gods. And it is only true leaders, who realize that falling and failing are part of the human condition.

So who is the Good Shepherd? He is one who lays down his life for his sheep. A leader who places his people and their lives, above everything else – even himself. But this does not necessarily mean a martyrdom in the strictest sense of the term – by throwing oneself in the lion’s den, or by choosing a glorious death. Martyrdom also means choosing to live the hard life. Choosing to be happy and content when it seems impossible to smile. Choosing to forgive those who betray your trust and to place new trust in people you have never trusted before. Being the good shepherd means going out into the night, to search for the one sheep who is lost, when all the ninety-nine others are safe home.

For the love of the multitude is expressed most profoundly in the love of the single soul. The Good Shepherd does not merely love “humanity” in the loose, general sense, he loves every single human being, in the deepest sense possible.