Good Shepherd, Questionable Sheep
“We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
Contemporary Indian artist Jyoti Sahi’s Good Shepherd mandala. Regarding the image, Sahi writes,
The shepherd goes in search of the one lost sheep, which he brings back to the round fold of his ninety nine sheep. The Shepherd is himself the door of the sheepfold. This door can be related to the eye of the Sun. In fact in ancient religious symbolism, the Sun is also thought of as a shepherd, and the clouds in the heavens are his woolly sheep. The number ninety nine, is eleven times nine. The Twelfth part (like the final hour which makes up the Day) is the Lord, carrying back the missing sheep.
I give [my sheep] eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
— The Holy Apostle and Evangelist St. John (John 10:28)
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Texts for This Week
Prayer
O God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd of your people: Grant that, when we hear his voice, we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.
The King of Love My Shepherd is
The Korea-based Gracias Choir sings the beautiful metrical paraphrase of Psalm 23 poeticized by H. W. Baker to the majestic arrangement of the 20th C American composer, H. R. Shelly. Historically, this well-beloved hymn appeared most frequently with Dyke’s tune DOMINUS REGIT ME, although more recently, John Rutter’s setting of the tune to the Irish tune ST COLUMBA has driven a preference for the text being sung to that simple melody.
If you’re curious about the other Bach Cantatas for Jubilate Sunday, there’s a fine (if somewhat dense) essay up at bach-cantatas.com that you can access here.
