The Good Shepherd

Every town and city

has a heart.

Podunk diner

or courthouse square,

some center where

the energy congeals.

If you have a message

to proclaim, that's where

you need to go.

The crossroad in San Francisco

is Powell and Market

where cable cars turn around

and the BART riders

emerge from underground.

So on this fine June day,

I tucked my Bible and

my water bottle in my pack

and looked for the best spot

to stand.

A big line waiting to ride

the cable car was stretched up

Powell and the homeless

and the hustlers leaned against

the low wall around the pit

of the BART station entrance.

Across from the would be riders

looked like the best place to start,

captive audience, you know?

Over the years,

the most important thing I've found

is to choose the right piece of scripture,

something that connects with people

on the very day you speak.

-if you want them to hear you.

if you want to give a message

that cuts through the noise.

So I chose the story of the good shepherd

from the gospel of John, chapter 10.

"Good people, I have something I'd like

to share with you today. Yes you, all of you,

bless you on this fine summer day.

It's a story from the Bible which

I ask you to consider, especially today.

I think you'll see why.

There are a lot of shepherds in the bible, right?

That's not too surprising. After all that's how

a lot the people of the time supported themselves,

with their flocks. For food and clothing.

Even to this day, there are many shepherds

in that land.

So when Jesus spoke to the Pharisees

they knew what he meant. When he said that

he was the good shepherd, the one who lays down

his life for the sheep. And when he warned them about

the hired hand who is a not a good shepherd,

who runs away when the wolves and thieves come

because the hired hand cares only

for the money he can make from the flock.

You see where I'm going with this, right?

We hear claims from high places,

the very highest places in our land

from our leader, our hired hand

that only he can protect us from the wolves.

But his speech is filled with lies

and he seeks to fill his pockets

with profits from us, his flock.

We're getting fleeced, you know what I mean?

But Jesus told the Pharisees that he was the gate

and that his sheep would know his voice

and follow him. How do you think they

would know his voice? Was it sweet

as a dove cooing in the olive tree?

Did he speak with the majesty of a king?

I think not. It was the completeness

of his love. And his promise to give up

his life for them. And he did.

But his love went beyond the flock

gathered there to hear him, he said that

there were other flocks not present

who he would gather

and bring with him through the gate.

Some of you probably recognize

that his promise was to live with him

in eternal life. But what of the others,

the flocks ungathered? As some of us are not?

I don't deceive myself, that I'm gonna

bring you into the fold today, but I still

have a gift for you, one that reaches

beyond the ashes or the grave

where we all eventually find

our respite from this world.

And that is simply this:

what persists after we have left?

Love. In the hearts of our families

and friends. And for some of us,

far out into the world.

like the stone tossed into the lake

sending ripples to the farthest shore. Love.

For all the flocks in all this world.

Like the good shepherd.

So I caution you, beware of the hired hand

the shepherd who seeks benefit solely for himself

and confines his concern for his flock only as long

as it profits him and burnishes his name.

and even then he will abandon them

to wolves and thieves.

God bless you, and enjoy this day.

The cable car rolled down Powell

and the people waiting drew out their tickets,

some resumed looking at their phones

and a few aimed their cameras at me,

to memorialize this San Francisco side walk curiosity.

The homeless sitting on the sidewalk

nudged their cups a little closer to the crowd

and one young woman put her hand

to her lips and blew me a kiss.

They climbed onto the cable car,

with excited eyes and smiles

and as it began it's journey over Nob Hill

to Fisherman's Wharf.

Some of them waved goodbye.

I opened my water bottle

and refreshed my throat

and waited for the next line to form.