Tails On A Tree

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. 

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”   (John 10:11-18)

This powerful reading is about laying down one’s life for others, for example, not to give up on someone in need of help but to be there when they are lost to fear, illness, loneliness, depression, or addiction.  The list of wolves goes on.  Jesus knew of these hungry wolves and how they catch and scatter us.  We turn to Jesus – or at least we can and should – to fend them off as if with a swinging shepherd’s staff.  It’s great imagery.

We're reminded of this well-known children’s nursery rhyme.

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And doesn't know where to find them.
Leave them alone,
And they'll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.

Little Bo Peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating.
But when she awoke,
She found it a joke
For they were still all fleeting.

Then up she took her little crook,
Determined for to find them.
She found them indeed,
But it made her heart bleed,
For they'd left all their tails behind them!

It happened one day, as Bo-Peep did stray
Into a meadow nearby.
There she espied,
Their tails side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.

She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye,
And over the hillocks went rambling.
And tried as she could,
As a shepherdess should
To tack each again to its lambkin.

We mustn’t be like Bo-Beep falling asleep and not knowing where to find those for whom we are responsible or who depend on us.  When we finally find them, their “tails” may be gone and hung on a tree meaning we’ve been too late to save them.   Suicides are more real than we can imagine.

According to the World Health Organization, the suicide rate is highest in high-income countries and the second leading death among young people.  The WHO reported: “In 2019 suicide was the second leading cause of death among young people aged 15-29 years, after road injury. Among teenagers aged 15-19 years, suicide was the second leading cause of death among girls (after maternal conditions) and the third leading cause of death in boys (after road injury and interpersonal violence).

The most common methods of suicide are hanging, pesticide self-poisoning, and firearms. Key interventions that have shown success in reducing suicides are restricting access to means; educating the media on responsible reporting of suicide; implementing programs among young people to build life skills that enable them to cope with life stresses; and early identification, management and follow-up of people at risk of suicide.”

We must be good shepherds.

Deacon David Pierce