God the Good Shepherd—Reign of Christ Sunday, Year A (Ezekiel 34)
zekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and will sort them out. 12 As shepherds sort out their flocks when they are among scattered sheep, so I will sort out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them into their own land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strays, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged, and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them; he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.
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The
year that began the First Sunday of Advent has reached its conclusion. We have
been following, since the Sunday after Pentecost the story of God’s
covenant-making with Abraham and his descendants. The journey took us to Canaan,
then Egypt, and with the call of Moses, a journey back to Canaan, which was
seen as the Promised Land. Moses didn’t
get to cross over to the Promised Land. That responsibility was left to Joshua
who led the people into the Promised Land, where the people settled in. However,
as we saw with the story of Deborah, the people struggled to stay faithful to
the covenant. On this final Sunday of the church year, before we turn the page
and start again with Advent, we turn to the prophet Ezekiel, who reminds us
that God is the Good Shepherd who cares for the sheep.
The
imagery here in Ezekiel 34 involves shepherds and sheep. At one level God is
the good shepherd who takes good care of the sheep. At a second level, Ezekiel
envisions David (or one from the Davidic line) serving as shepherd. In other
words, the monarch serves as God’s vicar, God’s representative, taking care of
the sheep on God’s behalf. The opening verses of Ezekiel 34, which are omitted
here speak to the shepherds whom God has rejected, the leaders of Judah who fed
themselves rather than their sheep. In fact, these former shepherds allowed the
sheep to be scattered across the hills, making them food for wild animals. God
has chosen to put a stop to them and will step in and rescue the flock (Ezk 34:1-10).
Ron Allen and Clark Williamson comment:
By omitting Ezekiel 34:1-10, the lection overlooks an important point: the exile resulted in no small part from the failure of monarchs (and priests and prophets) of Israel. Instead of seeing that all in the community had the resources to experience blessing (with a special eye on the poor), the rules failed in significant regard. They not only fed themselves instead of feeding the sheep but fed themselves on the sheep (34:2-4). Consequently, the sheep were scattered through exile, becoming prey to wild animals (34:4-9). [Preaching the Old Testament, p. 118].
As we ponder this interpretation by Allen and Williamson
it’s difficult not to think about how many politicians and other leaders feed
themselves but care little for the people they serve and represent. In this
case, God has decided to fire the shepherds of Israel and is taking over the
job by appointing a new David to rule.
This
reading from Ezekiel is paired with Matthew’s account of the parable of the
sheep and goats, where the judge separates sheep from goats based on the way
they treat the least of God’s children (Matt. 25:31-46). That parable draws on
Ezekiel’s prophetic words that emerged during the exile. Ezekiel delivers this
word to a people who lived in exile, knowing that a foreign power controlled
the homeland and the beloved temple lay in ruins. One of the questions that the
people continually raised had to do with what God was up to. Ezekiel answers
that question by reminding the people that God is the shepherd who cares for
the sheep but also sorts them so that justice might be done. If you look
closely here, while no goats are mentioned, you can see where Jesus might have
gotten his ideas about the sorting judge.
A key piece
in this narrative arc that runs from the call of Abraham through the monarchy
(though we only explored this arc up to the story of Deborah) is the
recognition that God is present even when God appears to be absent. As for us,
as Christians, we live within a narrative arc that runs from the proclamation
of John the Baptist, calling for us to prepare the way for the coming of the
Lord, through a storyline that leads to the coming into full existence of the
realm of God. We continue this journey between advents until the second advent
takes place. The message that the lectionary texts are designed to elicit from
us is one of hope. Don’t give up even though the arrival of the realm has been
delayed. As for Ezekiel’s message, God the Shepherd, is present with us. This
interregnum we are experiencing may mirror the exile, but the exile is not a
permanent state. Therefore, even though the flock is scattered, the shepherd
will seek out the sheep and restore the flock.
As with
Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats, there is a word of judgment in Ezekiel’s
message. Rather than sheep and goats, Ezekiel speaks of the fat and powerful
sheep who bully the smaller, less powerful sheep (I should note that in the
omitted verses from 17-19, Ezekiel mentions the separation of rams from goats).
After all, the sheep are now on their own, trying to survive by pushing down
those smaller and weaker. The message Ezekiel offers here is that the people
who eat well at the expense of others in the community will face judgment,
while those who are pushed aside will be blessed. Who are these fat and
powerful sheep? Ezekiel might have Babylon in mind because it was rich and
powerful, while smaller and more vulnerable nations such as Judah lived in fear
of Babylon. How might this situation be reversed?
Due to
the conquest of Judah by Babylon, which removed part of the population from
Judah to Babylon, the nation of Judah was scattered apart. Babylon was, for the
moment, the biggest bully on the block. So how might things change? The word
Ezekiel delivers on behalf of God is: “I will seek the lost, and I will bring
back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the
weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice”
(Ezk. 34:16). Yes, God will seek out the stray sheep, bind up the ones who were
injured, and strengthen those who were weak. As for those who are fat and
strong, they will be destroyed. They will face the sovereign judge, which leads
to their destruction.
Whether it was known by this name
or not, Social Darwinism has been a dominant force in human society from the
beginning of time. Ezekiel might not know the philosophy, which borrowed from
Charles Darwin’s biological theory of the “survival of the fittest,” human
society has operated on this basis and continues to do so to this day. Whether
we acknowledge the premise or not, we have operated with the philosophy that
might makes right. It found its most visible expression in the eugenics
movement of the early 20th century and the genocidal policies
of Adolph Hitler sought to create the master race, which meant that anyone not
fitting his vision had to be removed one way or another. Thus, Jews, Gypsies,
those with disabilities, gays and lesbians, all had to be exterminated. That
philosophy may have been abandoned, but we still operate with the premise that
the strongest will survive, which is why powerful nations invest heavily in the
war machine.
As with the reading from Matthew
25, this reading from Ezekiel 34 speaks of divine judgment. In other words, consequences
come with failing to live according to the covenant stipulations. In this case,
the shepherd will rule against the “fat sheep” who butted the weaker animals
off to the side so they can eat their fill and more. The idea here is that when
these fattened sheep are culled, the rest of the flock will thrive. While
Ezekiel envisions the restoration of the nation in the homeland, Matthew has an
apocalyptic vision of judgment in mind. What links the two besides some of the
language is that both Ezekiel and Matthew’s Jesus speak to God’s concern for
the poor and outcast.
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